On July 4, 2020, the UMMAA graduate student community submitted to Museum faculty and administration a Graduate Student Manifesto, which was drafted in response to calls for racial justice articulated by the Black Lives Matter movement. On July 9, 2020, UMMAA graduate students, faculty, and staff met to discuss a Black Lives Matter (BLM)/Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) Action Plan proposed in response to the manifesto, which was voted on and accepted on July 13, 2020.
This action plan contains a list of changes that UMMAA graduate students, faculty, and staff are working to enact within our Museum. Our central goal is to create a Museum that is safe, supportive, and welcoming to all people, most especially Black and Indigenous individuals and People of Color (BIPOC) and which nurtures a vibrant intellectual community that encourages the free exchange of ideas and exploration of diverse theoretical perspectives. With this document, we hope to lead the way in creating a more diverse and equitable environment, not just in our Museum, but within anthropology more broadly.
Click these links to read our Student Manifesto and original UMMAA Black Lives Matter/Diversity Equity Inclusion Action Plan in full (updates to Action Plan items are below) and see our timetable for action.
