Museums haven’t been places of equality and solidarity, where everyone feels like they belong—and UMMA wants to change that. But, in order to have an art museum that truly is for everyone, structural changes need to take place to address the history and culture of racism, colonialism and white supremacy in which all museums (including UMMA) were created. Adopting an actively anti-racist stance is one part of how UMMA is attempting to confront that history and take steps to repair and make up for the damage done by that history.

For the past several years, our work has been focused on pointing out and addressing issues of systemic inequalities in museum collections, exhibitions, and practices — though not always in public ways. These public commitments are coming now as a recognition of the fact that equality, justice, and peace for those who have been marginalized is long overdue.

Being actively anti-racist is much more than being “not a racist.” It means fighting against racism in all of its forms — many of which may or may not be visible. In a society that privileges white people and whiteness,racism is embedded and reinforced throughout our media, culture, social systems, and institutions. Institutional racism is the policies and practices within institutions that benefit white people or prioritize the voices and experiences of white people to the disadvantage of people of color. 

Being an actively anti-racist museum means pointing out those inequities in structures, ideas, behaviors, systems, and policies and changing them so that they are equitable for all people.

The list is long. A few are highlighted here, and additional reading is linked at the end of this page.

• Colonialist collecting practices that include looting, over-valuing art from white/european artists, and ignoring the violence and exploitation that these collecting practices have and had have on others
• Writing object labels from a eurocentric point of view and using terms based in white supremacy
• Cataloguing and data collection practices that don’t account for or allow non-western attribution styles
• Developing and prioritizing educational programs primarily for students from affluent, mostly white school districts or neighborhoods
• Communications and marketing practices that favor white voices and experiences while tokenizing BIPOC individuals
• Police-izing museum security
• Creating spaces that are intentionally unfamiliar and unwelcoming to BIPOC audiences - upholding aesthetics of sterility and seclusion that affirm white senses of security, quiet contemplation, and privilege
• Creating and upholding hierarchies that place art by white artists at its zenith, while relegating works by BIPOC artists to the realm of the less-visible, less-funded, less-important spaces of the museum. Acting as if such hierarchies are normal and natural, instead of particular racist constructions.
• Promoting values of objectivity and scholarship and speaking from an “institutional voice” - failing to acknowledge the (overwhelmingly white) authors behind these highly subjective statements  
• And many more

The Black Lives Matter banner is about both a public show of support and public accountability. We hold ourselves accountable to the public, and it’s the public who will ultimately decide if we’ve made good on our commitments. Signifying our support and accountability with a banner on the building is just one small step on this journey.

BIPOC is an acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. The term is used in UMMA’s commitment to anti-racist action because it is currently the most inclusive term of the communities that have been marginalized by colonialist, racist, and white supremacist ideology, specifically acknowledging that not all people of color face equal levels of racism or discrimination in our society.

There are many more details outlined in our FY 21 DEI Plan that is available to download above and via this link. Working out other details is part of the work we still need to do. That may not be a satisfying answer, but these are complex issues without satisfyingly simple solutions. 

We will be open, honest, and transparent about our progress towards defining those details and we will be held accountable by both the public and our committed staff, volunteers, and partner organizations who care deeply about these issues.

We would love to hear from you and value the input of all of our visitors and publics while we engage in this important work. Please email umma-dei-leads@umich.edu with any thoughts, considerations, feedback, or other messages. 

• A work team has been established and they have begun a process of analyzing current, past, and hopeful partnerships to help guide how we partner in the future.
• A new, annual project is in development that would open the Museum’s most visible, glass-walled gallery (Irving Stenn, Jr. Gallery) to the purpose of supporting and showcasing the work of partners and artists who are shaping a collaborative and equitable future. 
• Recently opened and upcoming exhibitions deal with issues of colonialism in UMMA’s collection, the Museum’s historical collecting practices, issues of gender, sexuality, and power structures, and 
  • Learn more:
    • Unsettling Histories: Legacies of Slavery and Colonialism
    • We Write To You About Africa
    • Oh, honey.... A queer reading of the collection
• Became an official partner of the Inuit Futures in Arts Leadership: The Pilimmaksarniq/ Pijariuqsarniq Project, a Canadian-based initiative that aims to support Inuit and Inuvialuit in their pursuit of higher education and professional opportunities in all aspects of the arts and humanities. Additional partnership details will be announced shortly.

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• A work team has been established to identify 1) what questions need to be asked as part of this review process, 2) when in the process of developing exhibitions or programs should this review take place, and 3) how to ensure the review is conducted in an open, accessible, and transparent manner. 
• We have run a pilot for such a feedback form for an upcoming project in development and are evaluating the first round of feedback, solicited from all staff members. 
• For projects already in late stages of development, we have added additional DEI and anti-racism related review criteria to existing project post-mortem surveys and group discussions. 
• Going forward, UMMA-generated large-scale projects will be advised by a committee of specialists and partners, including students, faculty, community members and artists.

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• Several editions of our Art In Your Inbox email series have been and will continue to be developed by or in collaboration with third-party editors, curators, and community members
• We have launched a new Guest Instagram Curator program that will support students and emerging artists in the development of new online exhibitions across UMMA’s social media platforms and website. 
• There are other projects in early stages of development including the pilot of a podcast featuring the voices, stories, and experiences most often absent in the collections of art museums.

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• We have added custom fields to and adjusted the Inventory Module of the UMMA Shop point of sale system to allow for better quantitative analysis of merchandise mix
• We continue to add merchandise from, among others, BIPOC artists and makers in relation to current and upcoming exhibitions such as Oh, honey… and Unsettling Histories

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• As of July 22, 2021, museum maps are avaiable online and print for visitors in English, Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish. Additional languages may be considered in future years.

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• The donation boxes have been removed temporarily and will be rebranded and relocated when the Museum reopens to the public.

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• This project is on hold while the Museum is closed and our staff is working remotely.

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• A working group has evaluated all K-12 schools that have visited UMMA for guided and self-guided tours over the past three years. 
• In those three years, UMMA has served 62 K-12 schools, 23 of which are Title I (37%). Title I schools are schools in which children from low-income families make up at least 40 percent of enrollment are eligible to use Title I funds (US Department of Education). 
• During the 2020-21 school year, UMMA supported K-12 teachers by creating and providing virtual resources, available on UMMA’s website and emailed directly to teachers. 
• Synchronous virtual field trips were provided to Title I schools in Detroit while asynchronous field trips and engagement activities were provided to K-12 teachers at Title I schools in Washtenaw County.

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• The Director’s Acquisitions Committee, an advisory group, has added a full-voting membership position by a member of UMMA’s Student Engagement Council. This position is generously funded by current DAC member William Heidrich. 
• In summer 2021, bylaws will be drafted and established for the Director’s Acquisition Committee, including formalizing processes around new membership outreach and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
• Every member of our Student Engagement Council now receives a stipend for their time and effort. This helped us recruit our largest and most diverse SEC group.

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• Language about the Museum’s commitment to anti-racist action has been added to all new job descriptions and postings.
• A working group has been created to look at the Museum’s diverse hiring and recruiting resource guide to expand it and identify areas of weakness; we are exploring how to involve outside experts in this process.
• DPSS has changed their uniforms from a formal look to a more casual polo and khakis.
• We are in the process of redesigning how we post our internship openings online so everyone has equal access to opportunities.

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• In summer 2021, UMMA staff will be undergoing a museum-wide IDI Assessment to establish a benchmark for where UMMA is institutionally in terms of Intercultural Competency. This benchmark will allow us to identify the proper trainings to ensure this effort can be as effective as possible.
• More than 70 UMMA Docent Volunteer Corps completed in an Anti-Racism Teaching in the Museum course, mandatory for those who wish to guide tours when the museum reopens. This year-long course included both asynchronous and synchronous elements that takes our Docent corps through a broad understanding of what anti-racism is, how to be anti-racist in museum education programs, and how to understand and work through biases when interacting with visitors and educating about Museum exhibitions and programs.

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• Following consultations with the Office of Institutional Equity, we are convening a small group of peer advisors who will be made available to UMMA staff, students, and volunteers to provide resources, support, and guidance to help individuals navigate the reporting process.

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• A working group has been established and is meeting regularly to develop various scenarios for how to accomplish this very complex task. Their scenarios will help us decide how to approach an inventory in a way that is respectful of the ethics of categorization, what budgetary and technological resources are needed to accomplish the inventory effectively, and who will do the inventory. We are in contact with and learning from other museums that have completed similar projects.

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• This action item is on hold until a collections inventory is completed.

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• A working group has been established and is working through logistics of which individuals and communities we need to collaborate with on the development of the acknowledgements.

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• This work has been folded into the “Establishing Partnerships” and “Creating a Review Process” action items. View that update.

Updated June 4, 2021

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