ABSTRACT
The mid-2000s saw an unprecedented rise in the number of black women appointed to curatorial positions in major institutions throughout the United States. Following in the tradition of black feminist philosophies that validate black women’s stories as theory, this piece is crafted through the words of black women curators themselves. Black women assumed curatorial roles in major museums including the Hammer Museum, the Institutes of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia and Richmond, Studio Museum in Harlem, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Brooklyn Museum, and others. The ideological violences that museums exact can become quite tangibly material when, for example, the incredible wealth of board members is distributed to museums and to helping governments and law enforcement maim and kill black and brown subjects. Multimillion-dollar investments by the Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Walton Family, have resulted in fellowship programs in undergraduate institutions and in museums dedicated to fostering curatorial inquiry amongst underrepresented populations.
