“I am disappointed that it took the death of an unarmed Black man
for you to join the conversation about the colonial past and present of the
British Museum,” says Bayryam Mustafa Bayryamali in a letter addressed to
director Hartwig Fischer.
Bayryam Mustafa
Bayryamali
BP or not BP?
activists at the second “Stolen Goods” tour at the British Museum in May 2019
(image courtesy Martin Al-Ashouti)
Dear Hartwig Fischer,
In light of your recent statement regarding the death of George
Floyd and your performative show of solidarity to the Black Lives Matter
movement, I couldn’t help but wonder what actions you might take to address
racism and colonialism within the British Museum. On one hand, I am happy that
you have finally decided to listen to outside voices and attempt to “find the
right ways to allow the Museum to better reflect our societies and our complex,
contentious and blended histories, and become more than ever a theatre of human
connection.” Simultaneously, I am disappointed that it took the death of an
unarmed Black man for you to join the conversation about the colonial past and
present of the British Museum, and its imperialist significance.
I also wish you weren’t so reactionary in your
response, though I am not surprised. As a member of BP or not BP?, I have tried
to engage with you on numerous instances and present you with various
opportunities to right your wrongs: to break ties with BP, an oil sponsor that
uses the museum to greenwash its image and is guilty of numerous instances of
environmental racism, and to start listening to the voices of communities whose
objects you have plundered and looted. Nonetheless, you did not listen. Why
should I trust you now? What actions have you planned to address the overlaying
issue of colonialism that your museum is built upon?
You claim that this time is a “generational
opportunity to reconsider, rethink and rebalance the display of the collection,
introducing greater diversity of collections on display, expanding museum
narratives. And above all, involving multiple voices.” Again, you fail to
understand that the British Museum does not just display cultural heritage from
across the globe. From the Benin Bronzes to Gweagal shield, the Museum holds
hostage of looted objects and separates them from their communities with
alarms, vitrines, walls, guards and borders. The British Museum imprisons
objects to showcase its own national significance and imperial power. Over time
the museum has become instrumental in championing the orientalist belief that
these objects from the communities considered as “other” would be best taken
care of in the hands of the colonizer and those shaping the imperial
consciousness. You are right, this might be a generational opportunity to
acknowledge that the British Museum has promoted racist and colonial
stereotypes for decades.
The influence of a museum that centers the experiences of white
Britishness over the experiences of others shapes the understanding of the
world that surrounds us. Your museum has socialized many to believe that the
histories told by your museum are the only authentic one. Your imperial
conditioning and tradition have been instrumental in maintaining racism and
colonialism across Britain and around the globe. I am deeply perplexed by your
commitment to inclusivity and diversity now. What has stopped you from taking
this action before? Until you acknowledge that the British empire colonized,
looted objects, started wars, and established borders while displaying world
heritage as the beacon of its moral high ground, your commitments to diversity
will always boil down to tokenism. Until you acknowledge that the same borders
that separated families, incarcerated immigrants, displaced indigenous
communities, and divided the descendants of the communities these valuable
objects were stolen from, your commitment to listening to outside voices will
always be only performative. The British empire was built upon racism and
racist ideology, and your museum was its most valuable instrument.
You decided not to reflect on any of these matters in the face of
numerous “Stolen Goods” tours and performances by BP or not BP. You are
continuing your sponsorship deal with British Petroleum (BP), an oil company
that is guilty of numerous instances of environmental racism. If you look at
the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, it has been disproportionately affecting
Black, native and poor communities in its spill response, compensation, and
treatment of workers. You cannot commit stand in solidarity now without
condemning BP’s crimes and instances of environmental racism. Your
oil-sponsored exhibitions display stolen objects, or have workers facing low
pay, poor conditions, and zero-hour contracts while managers and directors take
enormous salaries. Boards of trustees of major oil-funded cultural institutions
are overwhelmingly white, rich, and male, and are rarely accountable to their
staff and the public. While the climate crisis is still disproportionately
affecting Black, Indigenous, and land-based communities, until you end this
sponsorship deal you cannot fully commit to addressing racism and
anti-Blackness within the museum.
Even though I appreciate your current dedication addressing the
colonial past and ongoing present of Britain, I would like to warn you:
decolonizing museums cannot take place until we decolonize the world. I
strongly believe that the issue of repatriation is essential in our fight
against a world of borders and a rigorous commitment to working with local
communities will enable you to expand museum narratives, I urge you not to stop
just there. What kind of horizontal organizational structures you will consider
implementing? Will you increase the pay of front of house, security and
housekeeping staff? Will you pledge to address the issue of
excessive whiteness in your senior posts? Will you commit to reshuffling your
board of trustees with voices of the Global South? Will you commit to a world
without borders that you have sustained and benefited from?
The British Museum has profited immensely from
the plunder of formerly colonized nations, now it is time for those who have
felt the brunt of imperialism to decide what the British Museum should look
like in our present.
Best,
Bayryam Mustafa Bayryamali
https://hyperallergic.com/570591/letter-to-british-museum-hartwig-fischer/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=D061720&utm_content=D061720+CID_e1f53a5ef1b718bb7de9e71abda5cd2e&utm_source=HyperallergicNewsletter
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