구겐하임뮤지엄에 이어 브루클린뮤지엄의 전직(7) 현직(56) 직원 들이 공동으로 성명을 발표했다.  이들은 공개서한에서 브루클린뮤지엄 지도층의 흑인 및 원주민계 직원 차별 부당대우에 사과를 촉구했다. 특히 큐레이터 15인 중 11인이 백인으로 흑인과 인디언 원주민 큐레이터를 고용할 것을 비롯 조목조목 요구사항을 제시했다. 

UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED

Dear BKM Leadership and Community,

We have mobilized current and former Brooklyn Museum employees, because we are tired of museum leadership violating and disregarding our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) staff and community, while claiming that our institutional vision is to be “where great art and courageous conversations are catalysts for a more connected, civic, and empathetic world.” We have experienced and/or witnessed, and for some have been made aware of, acts of racism, from tokenism to gaslighting, toward Black people in this institution, and we can no longer be silent. 

Despite our progress, the Brooklyn Museum is not yet a model for institutions seeking anti-racist futures. The demands below have been raised: in formal Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access (DEIA) proposals; conversations with managers and leadership; and exit interviews; as well as by our community. The demands grew out of the harm and daily mistreatment of BIPOC staff and the acknowledgement of the Brooklyn Museum’s legacy of white supremacy and colonialism. Fulfilling our mission and vision statement, we hope this letter inspires a “courageous conversation” and these demands serve as a “catalyst” for change for museums seeking to dismantle white supremacy. 

We love the Brooklyn Museum. We have made incremental progress compared to other museums through having more BIPOC staff as well as frequent exhibitions, and public and educational programs that uplift marginalized voices in the arts. These achievements come at the expense of staff who work tirelessly without adequate resources, and are often disrespected and jeopardized by leadership despite their dedication. We are proud of our work and do not want BIPOC to suffer as a result of making these demands, especially given impending staff and budget cuts compounded by COVID-19. 

We have witnessed our leadership condone racism individually, culturally, and institutionally, resulting in the mistreatment of staff, visitors, and community members, and in the high turnover of BIPOC employees. In the past four years, over 50 BIPOC employees have left the Museum. Leadership should state how they are going to prioritize non-white and non-Western perspectives, as we know this has not been a priority. We need public recognition that our vast holdings of art were gained through colonialism and that the surrounding neighborhoods are assailed by gentrification in part due to the museum’s very presence.  By not recognizing the value of the surrounding neighborhoods and their experiences, the Museum has been compounding the trauma of modern day colonialism--gentrification.

We hear continually that we can be looked to as an institution that prioritizes the voices of the marginalized. However, leadership enforces systemic oppression and white supremacy, which profits off of our communities’ history, culture, and support to the detriment of our communities’ voices, advancement, and livelihoods. We urge you to stand with us to continue and intensify the meaningful anti-racist work that has already been done internally, and the example of workers across this country, to push against white supremacy at every level of this institution.

We see this moment as an opportunity for real change. This unprecedented moment requires an unprecedented commitment to radical reimagination. These demands and the work that is being done by those on the frontlines are a beginning of the structural changes necessary to reevaluate leadership and transform the Brooklyn Museum to ensure its growth and success: 

Representation

HIRE BIPOC CURATORS. Under current leadership, 11 of 15 curator hires are white. Hire Black curators and a curator of Native American art, a position that has gone unfilled for 3 years. In the wake of major cuts and layoffs, create a concrete plan for fellowship and career development opportunities for BIPOC. 

ENHANCE KEY COLLECTIONS. The African art galleries have been closed for 3 years. Now is the time to fast track the installation of the African, Islamic, and Pacific collections to diversify the art and stories we share with visitors. Fund the Libraries & Archives, to ensure our histories are preserved and accessible, not defunded, erased, and lost to history.

DIVERSIFY OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT STAFF. These departments do not represent the diversity of our followers and visitors. To better connect with the Brooklyn community, hire more BIPOC in the Public Information, Marketing and Communications, Development, and Editorial departments. Be brave in our public statements and responses to community concerns.

FAST-TRACK THE LIVING LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT. In acknowledgment of our colonial legacy, leadership must immediately accelerate the meaningful work we have begun with the Lenape-Delaware Nations and prioritize this continual restitution in all departments. 

LET THE COMMUNITY SPEAK FOR ITSELF. With power comes responsibility—and public accountability. Hold a town hall. Bring rooted, historic Crown Heights representation onto the board of trustees. Reinstate the Community Gallery and staff artists shows. 

Equity

WELCOME ALL TO ALL SPACES, WITHOUT POLICE PRESENT. We denounce police presence during Black History Month First Saturdays, and beyond. Visitors should enjoy the museum without the threat of police violence or surveillance, and seeing the public, especially young people, freely enjoy our pavilion, lobby, cafe, and outdoor areas bring staff joy. We understand meaningful work on eliminating NYPD funding has been done; funds should be used internally for our own Security staff, for anti-racist training and better support our communities. Make this work visible and accountable to our public, including advocating for reallocation of NYPD funding to social service and cultural agencies.

SERVE AUDIENCES WITH DISABILITIES. Many restrooms are not accessible to all. The access programs coordinator position is currently frozen in the wake in COVID-19. Access should be prioritized in all museum departments. We must center all of our community members across the structure of the museum.

INVEST IN DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESS. Create and publicly share a hiring timeline for a DEIA Director. Stop requiring additional, unpaid labor from BIPOC staff members, and require biannual anti-racism and unconscious bias training for all staff, but most urgently and more frequently for leadership and the Board. Quicken the review and implementation of pay equity. All staff, especially front of house, should be paid at least a living wage of $40,000 with benefits, and leadership compensation should be capped. 

VALUE PEOPLE OVER OBJECTS. Following the recent April 2020 Association of Art Museum Directors statement regarding deaccessions in the wake of COVID-19, deaccession artworks by white male artists, overrepresented in the collection, to ensure staff compensation and benefits, especially for BIPOC staff. Hire a deaccession coordinator. We need to actively support overworked staff in times of extreme overtime to avoid injury and burnout. We must support each other. 

Transparency

INCREASE TRANSPARENCY ABOUT COLLECTIONS. Community members of all ages ask us about the origins of our collection. Object labels should have provenance information in plain language, or galleries should display clear, direct statements about acquisitions. We must commit to new research for objects with questions about their history, raised both internally and by our community. We must continue to work on cultural restitution and share that process externally.   

CREATE TRANSPARENCY IN STAFFING. Provide a yearly report on the website detailing workforce statistics (including salary bands) with respect to race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and age, including those discharged. Post pathways, career tracks, and salary bands on employment listings. Empower and revamp HR and immediately finish the employee handbook. HR must institute anonymous reporting for acts of racism and bias impacting staff, in an accessible email format, with reports resulting in action.  

HOLD LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABLE. Under current leadership, 10 department head and senior appointments, 8 of whom are white, were made without search committees; many have not stood up to hold leadership accountable and are complicit in mistreatment toward the BIPOC community and staff. Moving forward, we must have immediate and anonymous 360 reviews for staff making salaries of $80,000 which should be used when considering staff cuts, rather than letting go of knowledgeable, energetic staff—mostly BIPOC. We demand transparency around financial decisions that affect staff and community. 

We invite you to work with us to meet these actionable demands, which are neither unrealistic nor too ambitious. We will consider these demands met when completed with care, as we have heard for far too long that “we are working on it.” Spread love, it's the Brooklyn way.

Signed,

59 Current Employees (10 now former)

7 Former Employees

Brooklyn Museum Employees Accuse Administration of Staff Mistreatment

Former and current workers have stepped forward to decry the behavior of executive leadership at the Brooklyn Museum, denouncing “the harm and daily mistreatment” of workers of color.

https://hyperallergic.com/588184/brooklyn-museum-staff-open-letter