What does it mean to truly listen? And how does the answer to that question relate to our lives as museum professionals?
The theme of Western Museums Association 2015 Annual Meeting is Listen • Learn • Lead. It’s no coincidence that the first word in the theme is listen. Truly listening is at the core of our work with our internal and external communities. But what does this mean? How do we know when we are truly listening, and how do we develop and practice this skill?
It wasn’t until recently I even realized that I had felt this way. That is the insidious nature of systemic racism—you never realize how much you hate yourself or even why.
Like all Americans, I grew up surrounded by a white dominant media, but the communities I lived in never reflected what I saw on TV. Additionally, the majority of my teachers (authority figures) were white, especially in high school, where they taught a school largely made up of Latino, Black, Asian, and Pacific Islander students.
