ABSTRACT
There is a growing mandate to diversify cultural philanthropy. Yet, we still know very little about how cultural patronage varies within the upper-middle and upper class along lines such as race and ethnicity and generation. Using the case of African American museums, this chapter presents a theoretical framework for understanding how and why patrons from various racial and ethnic groups, professions, age cohorts, and lifestyle groups define the value of cultural institutions in distinct ways. Diversity and philanthropy are analyzed through the lens of what is termed “museum values.” “Museum values” encompass patrons’ broad understandings about why museums should exist; their specific perspectives about museums’ strengths and weaknesses; and, their views about how museums should be organized, governed, and adapted in the future. Museum values are approached as socially situated—or, as shaped by the environments and identities of supporters, as well as the cultural repertoires to which they have been exposed. Within this analytical framework, supporters’ perceptions about what is peripheral or central to museums can be understood as influenced by the beliefs and values of the various communities of which they are a part and their experiences and identities as members of those communities.
