But so do most white college graduates. Suddenly a woman who was clearly in a hurry and clearly very blond rushed up to me and demanded that I “quickly get the elevator because she was late for a meeting” with senior management of the museum. Carl Sandberg once wrote of Chicago that it was “a city of broad shoulders.” In some ways, the museum fields treats diversity as if it were “a city of broad shoulders,” capable of encompassing almost any aspect of museum life. More interesting still would be if foundations began to use staff diversity as one of their granting criteria. In this excerpt, he discusses the challenges faced by a an African-american boy in an American school. Shoo fly, shoo! “I just assumed….” These unspoken assumptions often blind us to the possible. Other programs have as many as nine or 10 students but the numbers fluctuate wildly on an annual basis. You can change your ad preferences anytime. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. The title of the exhibit comes from the old children's tune of the same name and if you go online and actually look up the song "Flies in the Buttermilk," there are instructions for teachers: "If students don't know what buttermilk is, then call it yellow milk. Instead of being made from heavy cream, it's made from low-fat milk that is soured by adding lactic acid bacteria, much like yogurt. Within a submenu, When a new museum-school partnership is announced, it is viewed as another notable example of how the profession is grappling with diversity. Few programs have more than one or two students of color. A Fly in Buttermilk By James Baldwin “You can take the child out of the country,” my elders were fond of saying, “but you can’t take the country out of the child.” They were speaking of their own antecedents, I supposed; it didn’t, anyway, seem possible that they could be warning me; I took myself out of the country and went to Paris. And more important, what should museums do now to create a more meaningfully diverse profession? Yet there are model programs that impressive results in shaping and supporting minorities who are interested in joining the profession. Now customize the name of a clipboard to store your clips. - Buttermilk fried chicken (bacon and chive waffle, hoc sauce gravy) - Red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting The highlight was the fried chicken - they served it in a giant bowl, it was literally a giant mountain of fried chicken placed in front of you. By James Baldwin. Unfortunately, words are not enough. They can muddy and interfere with our best efforts. When I first attended national meetings of museum professionals in the late 1970s, I was struck by how few people of color were present. Baldwin speaks to America now, as he spoke to America for most of his life. For example, the AAM meeting in Baltimore had 12 sessions that were included in a “Diversity Pathway” and more than 30 panels that examined some aspect of “multiculturalism.” Almost all the recently drafted mission statements of museums promise a greater appreciation of America’s heterogeneity. Do we continue to muddle along, or do we find the creativity, the resources, and most important, the will to change? Lord of the Flies, William Golding's classic novel about English schoolboys marooned on a deserted island, is a powerful examination of human nature.The following Lord of the Flies quotes illustrate the novel's central issues and themes. This family includes a young black male who is enrolled in an all white high school. Greenberg, Katherine. Packed with stories and insights for museum people, Field Notes is delivered to your inbox every Monday. Most of these employees had worked at the Smithsonian Institution for more than 30 years. A total of less than 2 percent would not be surprising. It would be tasked to develop concrete plans and publications, determine model programs, outline possible financial support, create strategies to garner political and media support, and, ultimately, generate a blueprint for successful change. Technically, this type of buttermilk is referred to as cultured buttermilk. During a farewell luncheon, they reminded me that except for their mass hiring in the 1960s, the museum had failed to bring mid- and entry-level African Americans into the museum. It would be interesting if more foundations collaborated and pooled their resources to better leverage their impact, such as the Ford Foundation and Philip Morris fellowships that support under-represented artists. 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