June 2011

RACE

Are We So Different?

By Janice L. Kaplan

“Race,” says Barbara Stauffer of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, “is integral to all our lives.” Yet, it is a topic many people are afraid to talk about. Perhaps that will change when the traveling exhibition, “RACE: Are We So Different?” opens at the museum on June 18.

The exhibition challenges some long and widely held scientific beliefs about “racial differences,” going so far as to question the very concept of race. It also looks at racism in the United States throughout history and today.

“We view this exhibition as a conversation starter,” says Mary Jo Arnoldi, lead exhibition curator at the Museum of Natural History. “It is our hope that ‘RACE’ will spark thoughtful dialogue and a respectful exchange of ideas and experiences, among adults and also between parents and children.”

With this in mind, the Smithsonian is organizing a series of programs for family audiences and adults under the umbrella of “Let’s Talk About Race at the Smithsonian.” The series will include programming for all ages, including preschool and elementary-school children who may be too young to understand some of the more complex concepts in the exhibition.

The installation explores race through science, history and lived experience. Using interactive activities, historical artifacts, photographs and multimedia presentations, the exhibition conveys three core messages: that race is a recent human invention, that it is about culture, not biology and that race and racism are embedded in our institutions and everyday life.

Youth naturally will be drawn to the exhibit’s interactive components. For instance, one activity invites visitors to take a picture of their skin and then compare the color to other visitors’ skin tones that are projected on a large screen. A video in a re-created cafeteria engages young people with the question, “Who do you sit with at lunch?” The Natural History Museum reached out to four local schools to design and create school lockers that are installed in another part of the exhibition. Created by students at at Bell Multicultural High School, CentroNia Bilingual Public Charter School, Kimball Elementary School and the School Without Walls, the lockers “represent the students’ collective thoughts, ideas and experiences around and about race,” said Arnoldi.

Another area of the exhibit explains why race is on the census, asking visitors to weigh in on how race should be addressed in the future. A re-created pharmacy is the setting for stories relating to race and racism in the healthcare system and raises issues of health disparities. Changing demographics, as reflected in the 2010 census, and health inequities are among the many challenges touched upon in the Smithsonian installation that are also being addressed by organizations in this region (see sidebar).

Understandably, visitors come to the exhibition with their own life experiences and preconceived notions about differences. Mariama Richards, co-director of diversity at Georgetown Day School (the first integrated school in the District when it was founded 65 years ago) points out that race, like sex, is a topic some parents are uncomfortable talking about with their children. “The best place to start is by pointing out that ‘different’ is all around us,” she says. “Children pick up on that from an early age.” She counsels against telling children we are all the same. “They know that is not true.”

Bomani Johnson agrees. Director of the D.C. office of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and the father of a 2-year-old, Johnson disagrees with the philosophy and practice of parents who teach their children to be colorblind. “Because society is not one color,” he emphasizes, “and teaching children to be colorblind negates the value, history and contributions of all the people who have made our society what it is.”

“Talking to young children—or any age for that matter—can be hard work,” adds Joanne Hurt, a mother of two and executive director of Wonders Child Care Center, which serves 700 children from birth through sixth grade in 10 locations in Maryland and the District. “When we as parents answer their questions relating to race, our reactions often carry over from the way we were raised. Children take their cues from the way we respond,” she adds. “It’s important to be aware of that.” It’s also important, she says, to anticipate their questions. Hurt points out that there are excellent resources available to parents, including books, websites and videos, to help them navigate conversations and experiences.

She shares the classic example of a child who points at someone in the grocery store. The child may be noticing unfamiliar clothing, a disability, a person who is unusually tall or overweight, or a different ethnic background from her own. A parent’s response can shape that child’s views well into the future, Hurt says.

Finally, the Community Foundation’s Johnson suggests that the easiest way to begin to learn about an individual or family is by sharing a meal in your home, surrounded by the things that are important to you and reveal who you are—everything from the dishes you prepare to the paintings and photos on the walls. “Start by discussing something you have in common and go from there,” he adds.

“RACE: Are We So Different?”
June 18, 2011 through Jan 1, 2012
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
10th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Call 202-633-1000.

The exhibition was curated by the American Anthropological Association, and was designed and built and is being toured by the Science Museum of Minnesota. It is recommended for children in middle and high school and adults.

A sampling of Smithsonian programs includes a heritage bookmaking activity with artist Sushmita Mazumdar, storytelling by historian and genealogist Maria Goodwin and a “Hip Hop/Kung Fu Connection” program, including a performance by Hop Fu, a deejay group that performs live hip-hop accompaniment to kung fu movies.

A day of family activities is planned for October 22. In addition, trained volunteers will be stationed in the exhibit to encourage visitors to engage in conversation about the exhibition and race. Also, educators from the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, the Anacostia Community Museum, the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Museum of Natural History are developing a family guide for parents of younger children.

Beyond those are many other programs and exhibitions around the Smithsonian that relate to “RACE,” including the Greensboro Lunch Counter on view at the National Museum of American History. For more information on Smithsonian offerings, visit mnh.si.edu/race. For more information about the broader “RACE” project, visit understandingrace.org.

Check your local library or book store for publications that encourage conversations between children and adults. For instance, All Families are Different by Sol Gordon and Vivien Cohen, All the Colors We Are: Todos los colores de nuestra piel/The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color by Katie Kissinger and Wernher Krutein, Black is Brown is Tan by Arnold Adoff and Emily Arnold Mccully, Black, White, Just Right! by Marguerite W. Davol, Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull and Yuyi Morales, I Love My Hair! by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley and E.B. Lewis, It’s Okay To Be Different by Todd Parr; and The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi.

Inequities Close to Home

In conjunction with the exhibition, one local foundation is bringing attention to issues of equity, access and opportunity within the Washington area through its “Putting Race on the Table” initiative. The 37-year-old Community Foundation for the National Capital Region “can help local families learn about individuals and organizations successfully working to reduce racial inequities and racism in our region,” said foundation president Terri Lee Freeman. The foundation encourages families to learn and talk about the racism that exists in the Washington area, which leads to troubling consequences for everyone. “There are steps you and your family can take to be more aware of racism in our community and to take a personal stand against it,” Freeman says.

The Foundation invites residents of all ages from D.C., suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia to join its community of givers in tackling the community’s greatest challenges—including inequities in education, healthcare, housing and the workplace.

For instance, “The conditions in which we live and work are likely to determine how healthy, or unhealthy, we are,” adds Margaret O’Bryon, president and CEO of the Consumer Health Foundation (CHF). A funding partner of the Community Foundation, CHF is dedicated to achieving health justice in the region through activities that advance the health and well-being of historically underserved communities. “As parents, we can help our children understand that health is about so much more than access to a doctor,” said O’Bryon. “It’s about poor quality local schools, issues of neighborhood safety, the lack of affordable housing, no access to healthy food and the lack of good jobs,” she adds. “It’s hard to talk about these issues without talking about race.”

Parents can learn about the Community Foundation’s “Putting Race on the Table” initiative and find out how families can take action and support nonprofits that are working to end racism and reduce racial inequities in education, housing and income by visiting thecommunityfoundation.org.

Janice L. Kaplan is a Washington-based writer and communications professional who specializes in helping nonprofit organizations tell their stories.