We are a group of museum professionals who are interested in effecting radical change in our field. We believe that it is the persistent and pervasive presence of structural racism in our institutions that is at the heart of the museum field’s failure to diversify its boards, staffs, collections, members and visitors, despite over a generation of effort in this area. We also believe that coming to understand and recognize entrenched racism is a difficult and potentially contentious undertaking—but also a necessary step—if America’s museums are to serve its diverse citizenry.
How to Address Trauma Related to Curriculum Violence
Curriculum violence refers to the subjective curricular choices around lesson planning or learning experiences that cause a student psychological harm, intellectually and/or emotionally. These educational interactions can exacerbate historical or institutional trauma, particularly for historically oppressed and marginalized groups such as people of color, women, people of varying faith, members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, dual-language learners and people from immigrant populations.
Teaching Tolerance: Social Justice Standards
The Social Justice Standards are comprised of anchor standards and age-appropriate learning outcomes divided into four domains—Identity, Diversity, Justice and Action (IDJA). The Standards provide a common language and organizational structure: Teachers can use them to guide curriculum development, and administrators can use them to make schools more just, equitable and safe. The Standards are leveled for every stage of K–12 education and includes school-based scenarios to show what anti-bias attitudes and behavior may look like in the classroom.
Design Thinking for Educators
This toolkit contains the process and methods of design along with the Designer’s Workbook, adapted specifically for the context of K-12 education. It offers new ways to be intentional and collaborative when designing, and empowers educators to create impactful solutions.
The Dreamspace Project
Alyssa Machida is a writer, artist, and educator based in Detroit, MI. She is currently an Interpretive Specialist at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Working at the intersections of art, education, and social justice, she is dedicated to building critical pedagogy and anti-oppressive frameworks into museum practice. She has developed The Dreamspace Project, a workbook seeking to unearth the complex ways that our lives and work not only intersect with, but are deeply rooted in global systems of oppression.
Arts Ed Collective: Arts Ed Profile
The LA County Arts Education Profile survey was administered to all 2,277 public schools in LA County to learn about the quantity, quality and equity of arts education. They found that nearly every school offers at least some arts instruction, and most schools offer at least two disciplines. At the same time, they found troubling inequities that reflect disparities in the wider society.
Art Education + Social Justice Book Club
Art Education + Social Justice Book Club engages readers in an exchange of readings and dialogue regarding contemporary issues in the arts, arts education and social justice.
Art Credit: Jane Mount
Course Curriculum: Can You Hear Me Now—Connecting to Visitors through Real Stories of Artifacts and Place
This curriculum is intended for use by service providers (field service programs, state and regional museum associations, etc.), consultants, and others who present training workshops for paid and unpaid staff of museums, historical societies, historic houses and other organizations. The curriculum content is based on standards in the StEPs program and geared for small- to mid-sized organizations.
MASS Action: Museum as Site for Social Action
The Minneapolis Institute of Art, in collaboration with stakeholders across the field, is creating a platform for public dialogues on a variety of topics and issues affecting our communities locally and globally, leading to actionable practices for greater equity and inclusion in our institutions. MASS Action launched in October 2016 with a gathering of 50 museum practitioners for an action-oriented conversation around topics of equity inside the museum, relevant programming, and community engagement.
