Copied from a comrade:
Friends, I need your help.
For too long, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh’s leadership has engaged in tactics of silencing and retaliation towards employees, especially around issues of equity and inclusion concerning BIPOC staff, children, families, artists, partners, and communities.
That changes today.
Please read this open letter, penned by myself and vetted by trusted colleagues. It is signed by 50 past and present Museum staff heroes who love the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. We are passionate, and we care about the wellbeing and empowerment of BIPOC and their allies because Pittsburgh deserves better.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1smkA-kJx5tjOOgmu7wAj0xIWPQ-M9PGro1l7zJ_GC7g/editBased on these experiences, as a start, I recommend that the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh:
* Complete a full equity audit of their finances and distributions and their policies and practices.
* Make a commitment in perpetuity to quarterly mandatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training for all staff, including Directors.
* Turnover a majority of institutional leadership with the intent to represent at least 50% BIPOC.
* Designate and hire a full time Senior Director of Equity and Anti-Racism.
* Remove the cost of admission to both Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and MuseumLab.
* Reflect on how the leadership and board can continually learn and listen from staff, communities, and the people we serve.
* Provide a forum for affected staff (past and present) and constituents to meet with the Board
Friends, please share/comment/react/talk/call/write/ask questions. Please do not let this go unheard.
As people who work with and for children and families, it is time to hold the leadership of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh accountable for positive change.
"Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me.” - Fred Rogers
With Love,
Will
