Reimagining Norman Rockwell's America

Uncomfortable art tours, long-term loans, and code of conducts, are all methods Europeans museums are using to confront the racist history behind paintings and artifacts in their exhibitions. They’re also trying to confront the unjust methods in which some artifacts have been taken from non-European countries. “While museums continue to argue that they are neutral spaces, the fact is that they are not. There is always one side of the story that has been privileged over the other in these spaces, and we need to be more honest and open about that.”

In a movement that started from a trending hashtag on Twitter - #BeingBlackandMuslim - scholars and activists around the country are working to reduce stereotypes about Black Muslims. Organizations that arose from the movement now compile toolkits, syllabi, and other educational materials about being Black and Muslim in America, and how stereotypes and racism is perpetuated both within and outside religious communities.

In order to call attention to the role of northerners in the history of American chattel slavery and the source of portrait sitters’ wealth, the Worcester Art Museum has begun to add information about a sitters’ slave holdings and participation in the slave trade to wall labels.

In order to raise funds to purchase new work by women and artists of color, the Baltimore Museum of Art has deaccessioned redundant or hard to display work by major male, white artists.

Through academic study and scholarship, the work of pioneering curators and new hires at prestigious organizations, and focused collecting by museums, the work of 20th century African American artists is becoming increasingly recognized resulting in a rewriting of the story of American art.

In an effort to combat racial injustice, former plantations are shifting the narrative typically given on tours to focus on the lives of the enslaved who once lived there instead of enslavers who owned the plantations. The initiative sprung from a need to accurately portray the history of slavery and better “inform the present.”

Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the country. Nationally, a Gallup poll found that 55% of Americans believe “race relations between Blacks and whites to be either "very or somewhat bad." To improve race relations, the YMCA in Milwaukee created a course called, “Unlearning Racism.” Participants ranged in race, occupation, and age. The class covered topics like white privilege and how to address racism. It also required students to engage in discussions about racism.

Kindred is a program to diversify Pima County libraries' staff, events, and collections. They run programs centered around Black history, culture, and experiences, including Black story time and talks featuring prominent local people of color. Topics include Black history, female entrepreneurship, and quilt codes for the Underground Railroad. A grant allowed them to distribute 200 copies of Octavia E. Butler’s “Parable of the Sower” with a guide for discussion. Pima County built on Kindred’s work by launching new collections featuring materials written by and for LGBTQ+, Indigenous, and Latino patrons.

Students and educators across the country are discussing how to implement anti-racism curriculum in the classroom. Although it can be challenging, educators are using a myriad of methods to teach students about racism. “We are a part of the curriculum, the way that we show up, the way that we enter spaces.”

In this excerpt from Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt’s book, Biased, the author details the role surveillance and apps like Nextdoor play in perpetuating and disrupting discriminatory housing policies, racism, and segregation in the United States. Furthermore, it details how online communities can be spaces for meaningful discussions on race and racism in America.