Latest News
- Legacy Entertainment designing massive LBE for Beijing Enlight Media
- IAAPA moves 2021 Asia Expo to Shanghai in August
- LEGOLAND Florida Resort to kick off 10th Anniversary celebration with high wire walk by Nik Wallenda
- Museum of Illusions added to ICON Park Play Pass
- Panasonic providing specialized projection technology for Illuminarium experience centers
- Christie introduce Pandoras Box Version 8 for real-time video processing and show control
- SeaWorld San Diego introduces Sesame Street drive-thru experience
- Anaheim: Disneyland steps up as mass COVID-19 vaccination site
Joint statement from museum associations on 1/6/21 events at US Capitol
The violence and chaos that ensued in our nation’s capital on January 6 was horrifying and reprehensible, and a clear attack on our democracy and society propagated by deliberate deception and misinformation from elected officials. On a day that the United States recorded the most COVID-19 deaths in a single day so far, rioters invaded the U.S. Capitol building in an effort to overturn the unambiguous results of our presidential election resulting in the additional tragic loss of lives.
Museums serve millions of people of all backgrounds and political persuasions in communities across the country, who cast their vote on Election Day. Regardless of whom their ballots favored, our support for the democratic process and the peaceful transition of power must be unequivocal.
There is no doubt that systemic racism and the consistent downplaying of the threat of white supremacy in the United States allowed for the security breach on the Capitol, a museum itself, to take place. The treatment of the rioters, many of whom bore clothing and paraphernalia symbolizing hate, violence, and white supremacy, highlights a pronounced double standard in how peaceful Black and brown protesters fighting for racial justice have been treated.
At this dark junction in our nation’s history, museums must lean into their missions and step up to the challenge ahead of us by fighting against white supremacy through educating our communities, building empathy, combating disinformation, and uplifting the stories and voices that have endured in the margins. As interpreters and educators of history and culture, museums and museum professionals have the power to uphold democracy and democratic norms, call out bigotry and hate, and fight for racial justice.
We thank our members of Congress who returned to the Capitol after rioters were cleared to resume the electoral college count and certify President-Elect Biden’s victory, the members of the media who stayed to accurately document this atrocity, and the museum professionals who are now assessing the impact to the Capitol’s collections.
It could not be clearer that it is time for lawmakers to unify around the certified election of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris. Only united can we move forward to confront our nation’s many challenges, chief among them addressing systemic racism in the United States and ending the pandemic.
American Association for State and Local History
Association of Art Museum Directors
Association of Children’s Museums
Association of Science and Technology Centers
Council of American Jewish Museums
Share this:
- aam, AAMD, AASLH, ACM, American Alliance of Museums, American Association for State and Local History, Association of Art Museum Directors, Association of Childrens Museums, Association of Science and Technology Centers, ASTC, CAJM, Council of American Jewish Museums, museums, US Capitol
Related articles
More in this category
Latest Issue
Leads & Opportunities
-
Cedar Fair seeks Corporate Director, Communications The position will lead strategy development and execution... -
Pursuit seeks Financial Analyst, FP&A This role will focus on all aspects of financial planning... -
AOA seeks Show Set Designer There will be a great deal of freedom, which will be... -
Visualization firm THE THIRD FLOOR has openings for a... THE THIRD FLOOR is currently seeking Postvis Generalists,... -
CineVenture seeks 3D character animator CineVenture develops high-end content for the global...
