The Children’s Museum of Phoenix joins our local community, our country, and the world in sadness, outrage, and frustration at the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the many other victims of senseless violence fueled by racism. Also, we acknowledge that these recent tragic events are part of an inexcusable history of racism, prejudice, violence and inequity that has plagued America since its inception. The Children’s Museum family stands hand-and-hand together, and with our community, in affirmation that Black Lives Matter.
As an organization built for the youngest in our community, we recognize our unique responsibility to stand up for the rights of our children to live in a world free of any prejudice based on sex, race, age, sexual orientation, nationality, socioeconomic status, or religion. In these challenging times, the Museum will continue to be a safe place where children learn about the world around them – exposing them to new ideas, beliefs and values that teach us to appreciate and understand our differences and to celebrate our commonalities. We commit to our community that through our work with young children and their families we will be part of the solution of making our world more inclusive, equitable, and peaceful.
The Museum is committed to I.D.E.A. – Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility – and moving forward we commit ourselves to the following:
- Starting with the CMoP Board of Directors, endeavoring to have diverse representation from communities of color and under-served communities, at minimum proportionate to the ethnic and cultural makeup of the City of Phoenix, and be accountable publicly in our annual report;
- Evaluating and augmenting our existing exhibits and programs to assure they are building cultural understanding, encouraging positive and healthy social interactions, and celebrating diversity;
- Expanding the scope and work of our I.D.E.A. Committee to including a review of our current I.D.E.A. Statement, creating a funding mechanism for the committee’s work, and empowering the committee to impact staffing, hiring, exhibits, programming and other business-related policies and procedures;
- Ensuring all hiring and staffing practices including recruiting, interviewing/auditioning, hiring, training, continuing education, internal promotions, compensation, disciplinary actions, assessments, etc. are fair, inclusive, equitable, and focused on employing a diverse representation of our community and are at a minimum proportionate to the ethnic and cultural makeup of the City of Phoenix, and to be publicly accountable to this in our annual report;
- Also, but not limited to, providing additional and ongoing I.D.E.A. training for the board and staff; providing educational resources about racism, prejudice, discrimination, and cultural celebration to our members and visitors; providing free meeting space for community conversations and work on social justice issues, and putting additional focus on our Every Child program to ensure broader access to the Museum.
The Children’s Museum is committed to taking an active role in fighting racism in our community. We encourage all families to have conversations about racism, prejudice, discrimination, and the benefits of a just, equitable, fair and peaceful world, and are pleased to share age appropriate resources to help start the dialogue.
Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” We hope that you will join with us in educating our children so they can be the first generation of Americans to overcome the scourge of racism and hatred and enjoy the fruits of love and friendship among all.
Helpful Resources:
American Psychological Association
Children’s Books:
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, PhD., Marietta Collins, PhD., Ann Hazzard, PhD.
The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman
