Kids in Museums has always wanted all families to be welcomed, involved, and feel they belong in museums, so every child and young person is part of the experiences and opportunities that museums offer. We believe that museums should be inclusive, equitable spaces and have a responsibility to facilitate and support conversations that lead to a fairer, more equal society for everyone.

In summer 2020, there was an international outpouring of horror, grief and anger after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. Following the killing, there were protests around the world calling for systemic political, economic, social and cultural change. The protests shone a spotlight on long-term racial injustice in all areas of society and were a catalyst for many cultural and heritage organisations to begin to act to address long-term inequality related to race.

We believe all museums and heritage organisations have a responsibility to take action alongside their audiences to become anti-racist organisations and decolonise their collections. We want to see children, young people and families at the centre of these efforts to promote long-lasting change in the sector and society more widely.

This resource suggests some next steps for working with children, young people and families to address the need for change highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement. The resource is a work in progress, and we welcome suggestions for additions. It is not intended to be an exhaustive guide to decolonising your museum or becoming an anti-racist organisation. Instead we hope that it will provide a helpful starting point for museums wanting to start to make this journey alongside their communities.

Keep reading

Follow the links below to continue reading our resources.

You can find a list of definitions, resources and suggested reading to refer to below.

Definitions

Anti-racist

Being anti-racist means fighting against racism in all its forms. There is a useful definition from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which clearly explains the different types of racism people from minority ethnic backgrounds encounter in their day to day lives.

Decolonisation

It is difficult to come up with a definitive description in relation to museums. Decolonisation is not just about restitution and repatriation (returning objects either on request or following research about their provenance to an individual or community or state or nation respectively), but that can play a part.

It is about making space for communities – whose stories have been ignored or excluded from how museums document, interpret and present their collections – to become involved in shaping a museum’s work. It is part of the role of all museum staff to bring these diverse voices from their collections and the communities around them into their practice.

The Abbé Museum in Maine in the USA explains how decolonisation is woven through all the work of front and back of house staff in their strategic plan. This article from Museum Next highlights different examples of decolonisation in museums around the world.

Black Lives Matter

#BlackLivesMatter started as a movement-building project in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer in 2013. It was a statement about the systemic injustice inflicted on the Black community. The movement has grown into around 40 locally led chapters around the world, each focusing on the impact of racism in their communities.

73% of 18-24 year olds polled for iNews said they agreed with the stated aims of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Resources

Reading lists

Tell us what you think

This is a quickly evolving area of work. We would love to hear your thoughts about what support you would like for your work with children, young people and families in this area. It would also be fantastic to hear about your best practice examples so we can include them in future versions of the resource.

Please get in touch by email: [email protected]

This guide was created in collaboration with the Kids in Museums Black Lives Matter Steering Group. Thanks to:

  • Kids in Museums Trustees: Stephen Allen, Emmajane Avery, Yasmin Ibison and Rosemary Laryea
  • Catherine Ritman Smith, Head of Learning and Skills at V&A Museum of Childhood.

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