Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past
Please note: The links within this announcement are accessible only within the Smithsonian network. Publicly accessible links will be available when the initiative officially launches.
For 175 years the Smithsonian has been the caretaker of America’s treasures, the archivist of its history and the narrator of our shared story. But that story is incomplete and inaccurate if it does not acknowledge and include the voices of those oppressed by racial injustice.
This summer, the Smithsonian will launch our initiative to address race and injustice. Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past seizes on this pivotal moment in time to help Americans explore and confront our nation’s complicated history. The initiative seeks to spark positive social change and build a more equitable shared future through interdisciplinary scholarship, dialogue, engagement, and creative partnerships, including with Bank of America, our founding donor for this groundbreaking effort.
A series of integrated events—everything from national broadcasts and summits to local town halls and immersive pop-up experiences—are designed to spark conversations nationally, regionally, locally and among friends and family. The social media campaign for Race and Our Shared Future begins today, to introduce the initiative’s themes and build anticipation for and interest in the official launch in July. The campaign will strive to engage communities and individuals by highlighting history, current events, and Smithsonian-specific objects and collections designed to generate online conversations.
Race and Our Shared Future will explore the history and legacy of race and racism in the United States and globally by using the Smithsonian’s resources in creative partnership with national and regional organizations. Our vision is to create a hopeful future for all people using history and reconciliation to create context and transform our understanding and responses to race and racism. We will present the difficult topic of racism as knowable, relevant and, most importantly, surmountable.
The initiative is organized around six thematic pillars: Race and Wellness; Race and Wealth; Race and Place; Race, Policy, and Ethics; Race Beyond the US; and Race, Arts, and Aesthetics. We will examine each theme through a full array of virtual platforms and programming to drive engagement, dialogue, connection, and conversation among experts, political and community leaders, scholars, and individuals from all walks of life and a diversity of experiences.
There are several ways in which Smithsonian units and staff can participate in and shape this initiative, including sharing collections, research, and expertise, co-branding events, and more. Visit the Race and Our Shared Future’s Prism page for information, updates, and to offer your own ideas and suggestions. We will offer more guidance, ideas, and collaboration opportunities as we move closer to the official launch.
I see great potential in our power to unify as One Smithsonian on this effort. Follow our social media campaign with the hashtag #RaceAndOurSharedFuture as we begin to introduce Our Shared Future: Reckoning with our Racial Past to our visitors, communities, and nation.
Sincerely,
Lonnie G. Bunch
Secretary
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Posted: 9 June 2021
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Categories:
Collaboration , Education, Access & Outreach , Volunteer Voices
