Tracing America's Painful Past Can Offer Lessons for the Future

By
Lonnie Bunch 13615-171

On Saturday night, staff from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation will be attending the DuSable Museum of African American History’s “Night of 100 Stars,” a benefit highlighting the amazing achievements of notable individuals, including artist and musician Chancelor “Chance the Rapper” Bennett, former World Food Program executive director Ertharin Cousin, and Lonnie Bunch, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. and former president of the Chicago History Museum.

Lonnie Bunch also had a piece in today’s New York Times about a recent incident at the National Museum in whcih someone placed a noose near one of the museum’s exhibits. This follows instances of nooses being left elsewhere on the National Mall in recent weeks, and in other places around the country as signs of racial hate and intimidation.

Bunch offers a powerful view into the continuing story of racism and bigotry in this country, as well as our uneven progress to fulfill our nation’s ideals. He writes about his work to curate the history of African American struggles in a deeply personal way. “Anger and sadness are always parts of this work, but I never let them dominate it. Instead, I use them to help me connect with the people who have suffered and continue to suffer immeasurable pain and injustice, while clinging to their humanity and their vision of a better country.”

Museum of African American History & Culture - Wide Angle

Whether it’s the experience at the National Museum or a visit to Chicago’s own DuSable exhibits, the lessons found within their archives, and in our shared lives, are of critical importance for each of us to reflect on and learn from.

Read Bunch’s entire article here: www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/opinion/noose-smithsonian-african-american-museum.html

For more on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, visit: www.nmaahc.si.edu

For more on the DuSable Museum of African American History, visit: www.dusablemuseum.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home Visiting Helps Combat Effects of Toxic Stress in Young Children

By
Guest blog by Diana Rauner, President, Ounce of Prevention Fund & Gaylord Gieseke, Vice President, Voices for Illinois Children  The number of children at risk for the short and long-term effects of toxic childhood stress is growing dramatically. This was the dismal news highlighted in a policy statement released last month by the American Academy of Pediatrics and in a recent op-ed from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Both cite new research that demonstrates that the cumulative effects of growing up in environments replete with violence, parental depression, chaos and other uncertainties can literally alter the healthy, normal development of a young child’s brain. These stressors can impede a child’s capacity to “power down” from the fight or flight reflex, which reduces his ability to manage his temper and emotions or show empathy to others. It can also lead to later drug and alcohol use, obesity, heart disease and even early death. But it doesn’t have to be th...
Read more

Preschool Attendance Matters

By
Image
by Stacy Ehrlich and Julia Gwynne  Nationally, there has been a great effort to increase funding for early education programs to increase enrollment of at-risk children into high-quality programs, such as Head Start. However, recent research highlights that once children are enrolled in preschool, they must also regularly attend to reap the benefits. A study conducted by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, in collaboration with Chicago Public Schools, found that preschool students who are chronically absent – meaning they miss 10 percent or more of enrolled school days – have lower levels of math, letter recognition, and social-emotional skills by the time they enter kindergarten than children who attend regularly. In the 2011-12 school year, 45 percent of 3-year-olds and more than one-third of 4-year-olds were missing this much school – equivalent to three weeks. Moreover, for a portion of these students, preschool is the beginning of a pattern t...
Read more