Today we met Veronica Donahue, Associate Dean of Advanced Academic Programs at JHU, and she gave us some advice about our seminar. She said “drink deeply of this city.” Today was our first drink and for me it was a drink taken in with deep emotions and reflections. We all have our personal stories woven into the fabric of the places we come from, the values we strive for, and the essence of our souls. I heard stories from my classmates that moved me and I know I am in good company with people willing to share deeply of themselves.
Today also reaffirmed that we humans are so terribly flawed. However, we have an equal capacity to rise up and overcome to right our wrongs or meet our challenges. The epiphany today is this city represents our worst and our best stories we have to offer as Americans. Our failings are displayed for others as an omission of our grave sins and a warning for others…but it is more than that. So many stories have an element of hope no matter how grievous the circumstances. Love and justice always try and find a way and that is not unique to America.
Museum professionals are the seekers and caretakers of those stories. Our job as museum storytellers is to seek out the truths. Notice I did not say truth. The more perspectives we present in our storytelling the more it signals inclusiveness and avoids the danger of the single story that Chimamanda Ngozi warned about in our course assignment. I have already learned that all museums struggle with this simple but sometimes allusive concept. It may not be fully achievable due to resources or size of a museum but it should always be a goal. I feel fortunate that I live in a place where different perspectives are welcome in our profession. There are certainly examples of places and times that this was not the case for museums.
We have only taken our first drink in this city full of stories but we will never be able to drink all of it. The stories are too vast and rich. I felt that as we hunted for our objects in the National Museum of African American Heritage and Culture. We were forced to bypass amazing stories in the interest of time and at the cost of our inherent curiosity. I suppose the reality is a great museum is never done because there is always another amazing story waiting to be told.
Tomorrow is another drink from an endless glass and I intend to make it another memorable one.
Dave's Museum Journeys 