The museum field is experiencing a critical gaze that is both "of the moment" and long overdue. Museums were built as colonial enterprises and are slow to awaken to the harm caused by their actions which are not limited to the capturing and keeping of Indigenous ancestors, the exclusion and erasure of Black voices, bodies, and creativity, and the positioning of white power in the C-suite and board rooms. For decades, the conversation about equity and inclusion in the museum field has become louder. It is no longer possible to ignore the systemic racism embedded in our society and our profession. The Inclusive Museum Leader offers insights and perspectives from two recognized museums leaders who have joined together to offer practical solutions and opportunities for today's museum leaders. Authors share their journeys to becoming inclusive leaders, as well as decisions they have made and actions they have taken to build equitable practices within their organizations. Throughout the book are personal exercises and provocations the reader is invited to respond to, making the book a valuable tool for any museum leader looking to enhance their style and re-frame their decision-making process.
About the Author: Working in museums for more than twenty years, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko believes they have the power to change lives, inspire movements, and challenge authority. A museum director since 2001, Cinnamon is a frequent presenter at national museum meetings and is often asked to comment on national museum issues. As the president/CEO of the Abbe Museum (Bar Harbor) from 2009 to 2019, she was the motivational leader behind the museum's decolonization initiative, working with the Native communities in Maine to develop policies and protocols to ensure collaboration and cooperation with Wabanaki people. Prior to joining the Abbe in 2009, Cinnamon was the director of the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum in Crawfordsville, Indiana where she led the organization to the National Medal for Museum Service in 2008. In 2019, Cinnamon became the director of the Illinois State Museum. Cinnamon holds a BA in anthropology and art history from Purdue University, and is a graduate of the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) MA program in anthropology with a specialization in museum studies. In 2016 Cinnamon gave her first TEDx talk, We Must Decolonize Our Museums (www.tedxdirigo.com) and she's been featured on the Museopunks podcast series. She's the author of Museum Administration 2.0 (2016) published by Rowman & Littlefield, The Art of Healing: The Wishard Art Collection (2004) published by the Indiana Historical Society, and co-editor of the Small Museum Toolkit (2012) published by Rowman & Littlefield. Chris Taylor spent 15 years working in museums, primarily at the Minnesota Historical Society. He began his career as an educator, but quickly saw the power that history can have on an individual's identity. Through the stories they elevate (or suppress), museums have the power to either fortify or disrupt the status quo, but Chris came to understand that this must be an intentional choice. He began teaching undergraduate courses at the University of Minnesota on "Diversity in the Museum Field" as part of a museum fellowship program designed to increase the diversity of museum professionals. At the Minnesota Historical Society, he successfully created the department of inclusion and community engagement to steward the museums systemic efforts for inclusion and equity. He also became the first chief inclusion officer in the museum field, a role he occupied for 4 years. Museums around the country sought out Chris as a consultant for their inclusion and equity efforts. In 2019, Chris Taylor was recruited to become the chief inclusion officer for the state of Minnesota, one of only two states to have such a position. There he leads the development and implementation of a statewide strategy for inclusion and equity across over 20 state agencies. His publications include Getting Our House in Order: Moving from Diversity to Inclusion published in The American Archivist.