Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion in Museums

Johnnetta Betsch Cole; Laura L. Lott

doi:10.5771/9781538118641

Summary

Diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in all aspects of museums’ structure and programming are top issues in the field today – and in the overall arts/culture sector. Much has been written, from various perspectives, over several decades. Yet, a lack of diversity remains and exclusive practices and inequities persist in all types of museums.

A go-to resource for readers interested in learning about diversity and inclusion work in the field – past, present and future. This edited collection of the most important essays, speeches, and reports on these topics seeks to facilitate a much-needed intergenerational dialogue that builds on lessons from the past, broadens thinking about the many different facets of this complex work, and ignites inspiration for continuing to correct inequities across museums of all types, sizes, and locations.

In this book compiled and edited by Dr. Johnnetta Betch Cole, who has served as both director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and as the president of both historically Black colleges for women in the United States, Spelman College and Bennett College (a distinction she alone holds) and Laura Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums, (the first woman to the lead the organization), thought leaders in the museum field present their research, analysis and work to answer some of the most challenge questions facing the museum field. Why do these problems persist? How can a new generation of museum leaders champion change to better represent the communities that museums strive to serve and engage? What can we learn from those who have been observing, experiencing, and writing about these issues?

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2019
ISBN-Print: 978-1-5381-1863-4
ISBN-Online: 978-1-5381-1864-1
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 170
Product type: Edited Book

1. Contents No access
2. Preface No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
1. 1. Flies in the Buttermilk: Museums, Diversity, and the Will to Change No access
2. 2. Museums, Racism, and the Inclusiveness Chasm No access
3. 3. Museums, Diversity, and Social Value No access
4. 4. Women’s Locker Room Talk: Gender and Leadership in Museums No access
1. 5. Twin Threats: How Ignorance and Instrumentality Create Inequality and Injustice No access
2. 6. The Leadership Imperative: Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion as Strategy No access
3. 7. History That Promotes Understanding in a Diverse Society No access
4. 8. Pipeline Is a Verb: Field Notes on the Spelman College Curatorial Studies Pilot Program No access
5. 9. Museums and ADA at 25: Progress and Looking Ahead No access
6. 10. Catalyzing Inclusion: Steps toward Sustainability in Museums No access
7. 11. It’s Time to Stop and Ask “Why?” No access
1. 12. Much Has Been Taken, but All Is Not Lost: The Restorative Promise of First-Voice Representation No access
2. 13. No Longer Hiding in Plain Sight No access
3. 14. The National Museum of the American Indian: Whence the “Art Object”? No access
4. Part 4. PERSONAL JOURNEYS No access
5. 15. Disability and Innovation: The Universal Benefits of Inclusive Design No access
6. 16. Maybe This Time: A Personal Journey toward Racial Equityin Museums No access
7. 17. Museum Musings: Inclusion Then and Now No access
Appendix A. Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Definitions No access Pages 127 - 128
Appendix B. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey No access Pages 129 - 140
Appendix C. Museum Board Leadership Report Excerpt—The People No access Pages 141 - 146
Appendix D. Selected Resources No access Pages 147 - 148
Bibliography No access Pages 149 - 152
Index No access Pages 153 - 160
About the Editors and Contributors No access Pages 161 - 170