As mass demonstrations against racial violence continue across the United States, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) has introduced a digital initiative exploring racism and racial identity in American society.
The “Talking About Race” portal was originally set to launch in fall, although “a rash of racially charged incidents” has prompted the Washington, DC museum to move up the release date of the digital initiative.
“Talking About Race” offers access to more than 100 multimedia resources that examine the corrosive impact of racism and racial identity onto American culture.
The initiative explores the notions of race and inequality through eight content areas, including “historical foundations of race,” “whiteness,” “being anti-racist” as well as “social identities and systems of oppression.”
Each section features scholarly essays and videos with various activists, historians and thought leaders on race and equity, including “The Art of Community” best-selling author Charles Vogl, Harvard-trained lawyer and activist Verna Myers, as well as late-night television host Trevor Noah.
“Since opening the museum [in 2016], the number one question we are asked is how to talk about race, especially with children. We recognize how difficult it is to start that conversation. But in a nation still struggling with the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and white supremacy, we must have these tough conversations if we have any hope of turning the page and healing. This new portal is a step in that direction,” Spencer Crew, interim director of the NMAAHC, said in a statement.
The museum also notes that research demonstrates that many people believe they do not have the information they need to discuss race “in a way that is candid, safe and respectful of other viewpoints and experiences.”
According to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey, the frequency of conversations about race and race relations among American families depends in part on a person’s racial and ethnic identity, age, education and political affiliation.
Most black and Asian adults (63% and 66%, respectively) state that race or race relations come up in their conversations with family and friends at least sometimes, compared with about half of white (50%) and Hispanic (49%) adults.
While the NMAAHC has recently launched “Talking About Race”, the physical location of the museum and its Smithsonian counterparts are still closed to the public in response to the coronavirus pandemic and have not yet set a date for reopening. IB
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