smithsonian insitute
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Lonnie Bunch III Becomes First Ever Black Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Try as they may, black excellence can only be denied for so long. To that point, congratulations are in order to Lonnie G. Bunch III—founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture—who cracked the code and just became the first black person in the 173-year history of the Smithsonian Institution to…
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Of Art and Plunder: Why Black Curators Are Still Shut Out of the Art World—and Why It Matters
In the movie Black Panther, the first person we see Erik Killmonger confront is a white museum curator. Contemplative and curious, Killmonger gazes at a series of African artifacts—his locs, denim jacket and designer combat boots thrown into sharp relief by the female curator’s prim, blond cut and dark suit. He interrogates the white expert…