The Phillips Collection Hires Its First Chief Diversity Officer

By Hamzat Sani, Special to the AFRO

Racism seems to be having a moment. Whether it’s your local legislature, at the culture of carshare service Uber; in the syrup at your local Waffle House or disrupting your cup of coffee at Starbucks, incidences of overt racism seem to makes news at a daily clip. Often as a response these institutions then hire executives armed with the ability to handle the complex landscape of racial bias. Frequently Black women have been just what the doctor ordered to restructure, reshape and reconcile organizations on the brink of collapse.

The art world has not been without incident. Earlier this year the Brooklyn Art Museum came under public scrutiny after it announced the appointment of a White curator for their African Art collection. Art lovers called out the inequitable relationships that had become ingrained in how museums engaged with non-majority White communities.

While The Dupont located Phillips Collection hasn’t recently experienced backlash or accusations of racism, the country’s oldest modern art institution is taking the progressive step of hiring on its first Chief Diversity Officer Makeba Clay. The New York born expert on Diversity and Inclusion Strategies has consulted with several art and academic institutions in the D.C. area including American University, Princeton University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. In an interview with WAMU Clay mentioned that she suggested the Smithsonian hire for the role she currently occupies at Phillips, but as far as she knows, they haven’t followed her advice. The Smithsonian does have  an Office of Equal Employment and Minority Affairs which, according to its web site, is designed to “promote diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the Smithsonian’s workforce, programs, and activities.”

Clay’s role at the Phillips Collection will be to be responsible for all aspects of the Phillips’s institutional diversity and inclusion strategy. Clay layed out the details of her new role for the AFRO, “As the Chief Diversity Officer at The Phillips Collection, I am charged with leading the institution through an organizational culture transformation process that aligns with our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

While Clay’s role is a new, The Phillips Collection has had an official Diversity Statement as part of its Strategic Plan since 2013 and staff have worked with an Inclusion  anD Diversity Task Force since 2016. In addition the art institution also has partnered with THEARC as far back as 2014 to bring its artistic programming to residents on the East side of the city. Currently the Collection offers Free field trips to schools in Wards 7 and 8 and will establish long-term [email protected] programming in winter of this year.

Despite these efforts Phillips leadership recognized the importance of pushing forward, “This is a truly pivotal moment for the museum world but also for the Phillips as we approach our 100th anniversary,” said Dorothy Kosinski, director of The Phillips Collection. “Duncan Phillips embraced a philosophy of diversity and inclusion as part of the museum’s cultural DNA. Makeba’s expertise and leadership will enable us to build upon the strong foundation we have established and better reflect on our exhibitions, programs, board, and the diverse populations we serve.”

Clay hit the ground running as she is in charge of an initiative that waives the $12 admission to the museum for visitors that are younger than 30 from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

“I am working with my colleagues to build institutional capacity through training and workshops focused on implicit bias and inclusion. By ensuring that we have people from all backgrounds within the museum, we will be a stronger institution. This also includes making the pathway to jobs in a museum accessible to people of all backgrounds.,” Clay told the AFRO.

She’s also working on a paid internship program.

“Many students may be interested in museums, but because internships in art museums are widely unpaid, they may not have the option to take an unpaid position. We are working to eradicate this road block and make the way to employment at an art museum that much more accessible.”