Black Lives Matter Statement

We write to you, our friends, the Bruce Museum Community, with sadness, frustration, and outrage. Museums are devoted to collecting and showing the good and the best, to eternal values. We highlight those in our galleries as role models—and that is why we believe we are also called on, as an institution, to be an advocate and model for the good and the best in our Nation and in our one people.

We hear the voices of the Black Community calling out across the nation. We share your pain and grief at the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and others before. We share your indignation at the racism, overt and systemic, that divides our country and denies equal opportunity and equal safety to all Americans. With you, we ask: how many Black lives must be lost before we make change? How can a nation founded on principles of equality for all tolerate deep systemic inequities? How can we not protect an equal chance at life, liberty, freedom from fear in the streets, and the pursuit of happiness in safety for all Americans?

The Bruce Museum exists and serves to promote the understanding and appreciation of Art and Science to enrich the lives of all people. That is our mission statement—but at the Bruce Museum it is also our passionate vow to share what we have, and have been so richly given, with all people equally. We renew that vow to our Community. We promise to redouble our efforts to engage all people fairly, equitably, with love and enthusiasm; we invite diverse voices right into the heart of the museum, and we will make sure those voices are represented in our exhibitions, programs, and in our public voice.

The Bruce Museum’s family is diverse, but united by these shared values: We are a community of the curious. We believe in the power of science. We see the life-changing impact of art, and we witness daily the force of our educational programs. We know that openness, understanding, and appreciation are keys to changing the world. We question, and we learn, for it is only by learning and empathy that we change.

Sincerely,

James B. Lockhart III Board Chair

Robert Wolterstorff The Susan E. Lynch Executive Director