Had a meeting about inclusion and diversity in museums and galleries. I was glad to be invited and said some of the things I say often but this time it was to the people who are in positions to change things. It was good and it was honest. Typically, I didn't beat around the bush or pull my punches, though I wasn't trying to offend anyone in the room - just make them think about the consequences of their decisions.
One person was particularly interesting in terms of liberal attitudes, believing that as a white middle class woman, she understood everything about issues of cultural diversity because she'd spoken to, consulted with non-white or black people.
I have realised a big problem with some of the people working in this area. Though they understand the debates. They understand that no one wants to be ghettoized or understood only in terms of their cultural or ethnic background, she failed to understand that we are not all the same and that difference must be acknowledged and respected before an organisation can think about diversity. It's the myth of the level playing field or colour-blindness. Everyone who has experienced racism knows perfectly well that we do not live in a colour-blind world and it is not a level playing field. Some groups are under-represented within, if not mis-represented by, dominant culture. That's the realistic starting point.
More and more I've come to realise that we, othered people, have to have those conversations that we have among ourselves with non-othered white people. I am beginning to understand that they actually don't realise what the issues are because they haven't heard them. It's not completely their fault that they keep speaking on behalf of others and keep taking up positions that replicate their own power while promising that things will change.... Mostly but not completely.