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Branigin, Anne. (2018). It's Bigger Than a Hip-Hop Exhibit: What the Controversy Around White Curators in Black Spaces Reveals [Updated]. TheRoot.com. https://www.theroot.com/its-bigger-than-a-hip-hop-exhibit-what-the-controversy-1829266570

Bunch, Lonnie. (2018). Real African American History: A Story Told by Many Voices. nmaahc.si.edu. https://nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/real-african-american-history-story-told-many-voices

Callahan, Yesha. (2018). National Museum of African American History & Culture Issues Statement on Backlash Over White Hip-Hop Curator. Essence.com. https://www.essence.com/culture/national-museum-of-african-american-history-culture-issues-statement-on-backlash-over-white-hip-hop-curator/

Carmichael, R. (2018). Backlash Over White Hip-Hop Curator at National Museum Of African American History. NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2018/09/29/653013077/backlash-over-white-hip-hop-curator-at-national-museum-of-african-american-histo

Chandler, D. L. (2018). White African American History & Culture Museum Hip-Hop Exhibit Curator Sparks Twitter Debate. Hiphopwired.com. https://hiphopwired.com/765933/timothy-anne-burnside-nmaahc-hip-hop-debate/

Schonfeld, R., Westermann, M., & Sweeney, L. (2015). The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey. The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

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The underlying issue here is that seemingly minor decisions (such as hiring a white woman  to do Hip Hop) can have long lasting consequences. 

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The underlying issue here is that seemingly minor decisions (such as hiring a white woman  to do Hip Hop) can have long lasting consequences. 

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The decision made to hire Miss Burnside may have been done in isolation, but the backlash exposes the inherent issues in minority employment in the museum field. There aren't any hard and fast theories here, but rather a broad issue that must be addressed.

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Second, the response of her colleagues left much to be desired....

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Second, the response of her colleagues left much to be desired....

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Many pointed to an Andrew Mellon Foundation study that found that only 7% of museum specialist positions were held by people of color. Burnside's colleagues used this to state that there was no one qualified to fill these positions.

According to the Root, "for black curators in particular, the art world’s insular circles and lack of diversity can drive feelings of isolation and disenchantment, with little recourse. The net result is that the vast majority of the country’s artistic spaces shut out black people as curators, even as black artists create more and more of the art featured in them."

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After reading the Twitter comments and various articles before the statement, the 'apology' fell on deaf ears. As someone who is actively seeking a job in the field, I feel that issuing statements using terms like 'diversity,' 'inclusion,' and other buzzwords takes away from the issue. People of color are underrepresented in the field, even at the NMAAHC.

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My reaction as an African American male seeking a full time job in the field...

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My reaction as an African American male seeking a full time job in the field...

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https://www.essence.com/culture/national-museum-of-african-american-history-culture-issues-statement-on-backlash-over-white-hip-hop-curator/

https://nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/real-african-american-history-story-told-many-voices

https://hiphopwired.com/765933/timothy-anne-burnside-nmaahc-hip-hop-debate/

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/29/653013077/backlash-over-white-hip-hop-curator-at-national-museum-of-african-american-histo

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The museum responded by submitting a statement about the incident.....

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The museum responded by submitting a statement about the incident.....

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The African American story is the quintessential American story. And in our museum, it is a story told, preserved and appreciated by people from different backgrounds. Our museum is one of the most diverse and inclusive in the world.

As a museum dedicated to telling the American story, through an African American lens, we recognize the lack of diversity in the museum field. Many of our staff worked on the front lines for decades to open doors for African Americans and people of color. Founding director Lonnie G. Bunch III and deputy director Kinshasha Holman Conwill have stood at the forefront of this discussion.

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Meet Timothy Anne Burnside, a museum specialist at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). 

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Meet Timothy Anne Burnside, a museum specialist at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). 

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Burnside launched the Smithsonian’s first hip-hop collecting initiative 12 years ago while at the National Museum of American History. Since joining the Museum in 2009, she has also played a key role in building the hip-hop collection as part of a larger curatorial team.

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The revelation that the Hip-Hop exhibition was curated by Burnside, a white woman, effectively caused #BlackTwitter and #AcademicTwitter to engage in digital fisticuffs.

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#AcademicTwitter quickly responds to this post...

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#AcademicTwitter quickly responds to this post...

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Academics and colleagues of Miss Burnside then began to defend their actions, by essentially stating that she is certainly qualified, so what is the big deal?

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#BlackTwitter responded. Twitter user @kashmirVIII summed up the controversy by posting the following: "we [are] basically saying there is NO black person in the US fit for a job that entails knowledge of a culture WE created?"