Like many of our members and community members, the staff and Board of the Association of Midwest Museums were shocked by the violent, hate-filled acts that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, August 12.
Some of our member museums have offered their reactions and reflections on Charlottesville to their communities over the course of the past week. We write today to share a few of those statements, as they capture so poignantly our own perspectives:
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- “The events in Charlottesville remind us why history remains relevant and how much work still needs to be done to create a society that is just and welcoming to all communities.” – Minnesota Historical Society
- “We believe in inclusive freedom – all people enjoying rights and privileges of equal number, quality and kind.” – National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Minnesota Historical Society Facebook Post
We encourage citizens living in the Midwest who are grappling with understanding the events in Charlottesville to seek resources and insights from the many museums in this region – from information about Jim Crowe-era statues like the one in Charlottesville to Civil Rights and discrimination in contemporary American life.
Recommended exhibits and museums:
- Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, University of Illinois-Chicago, IL
- Race: Are We So Different? by the Science Museum of Minnesota, traveling to Chicago in November
- Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO
- The Power of Children, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, IN
- Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI – “Using objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice.”
- Facing Freedom in America, Chicago History Museum, IL
- Rosa Parks Bus, The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI
Other resources:
- Reconsideration of Memorials and Monuments, by Modupe Labode, Associate Professor of History and Museum Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on
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Tools and Resources In the Wake of Charlottesville, by Cecelia Walls, for American Alliance of Museums Alliance Labs,