Episode 3.07: Traditional White Art

My Racist Friend

Don and Amy start this week's discussion with a job listing by the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields that sought a director to “attract a broader and diverse audience while still maintaining the Museum’s traditional, core, white art audience.” The conversation also includes antique shops selling symbols of white supremacy in Oregon, students calling out teachers and organizations for racism, and a possibly inevitable revisiting of John Hughes films.

Additional resources:

• "Newfields job posting sparks community controversy" (The Butler Collegian, Emma Quasny, February 17, 2021)
  https://thebutlercollegian.com/2021/02/newfields-job-posting-sparks-community-controversy/
• "Letter from our Board of Trustees and Board of Governors" (Newfields, February 27, 2021)
  https://discovernewfields.org/statement
• "Curator calls Newfields culture toxic, discriminatory in resignation letter" (Indianapolis Star, by Domenica Bongiovanni, July 28, 2020)
  https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/arts/2020/07/18/newfields-curator-says-discriminatory-workplace-toxic/5459574002/?fbclid=IwAR2DlqMFjJR-_w4HhZtr8ZwODyjVXnVbmhhvj0vLNGoCeg9MkDgD1RpekwA
• "The Indiana Murals" (Indiana University Bloomington)
  https://murals.sitehost.iu.edu/history/index.html
• "Symbols Of White Supremacy Confront Oregon Shoppers At Antiques Mall" (NPR, by Emily Cureton, February 14, 2021)
  https://www.npr.org/2021/02/14/961532763/symbols-of-white-supremacy-confront-oregon-shoppers-at-antique-mall
• Oregon black exclusion laws (Wikipedia)
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_black_exclusion_laws
• "When Portland banned blacks: Oregon's shameful history of an 'all-white' state" (The Washington Post, by DeNeen L. Brown, June 7, 2017)
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/07/when-portland-banned-blacks-oregons-shameful-history-as-an-all-white-state/
• "Black Voices: IU Panhellenic Association member says group's post promoted white saviorism" (Indiana Daily Student, by Agness Lungu, February 11, 2021)
  https://www.idsnews.com/article/2021/02/iu-panhellenic-sororities-white-saviorism-circle-of-sisterhood-instagram
• "Teacher redefines n-word to Black student in AP history class" (NBC, by Dave Elias, February 16, 2021)
  https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2021/02/15/teacher-redefines-n-word-to-black-student-in-ap-history-class/
• "What About 'The Breakfast Club'?" (New Yorker, by Molly Ringwald, April 6, 2018)
  https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/what-about-the-breakfast-club-molly-ringwald-metoo-john-hughes-pretty-in-pink

Special thanks to BCC interns, Rylie Cook and Constance Johnson, for helping with research for this episode.

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