[Nhcoll-l] SPNHC Diversity Statement

[Paul Mayer]

The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections would like
to express our solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

We are listening to our friends and colleagues within the science and
broader community, we will continue to listen and are committed to
meaningful and sustained actions to directly address systemic racism in our
community. We acknowledge that museums and academia have played a role in
the oppression and discrimination of marginalized groups. We recognize the
lack of diversity and inclusion within the collections based sciences and
acknowledge we can do more as a society to root out racism and create an
inclusive academy.

We are a community of thinkers and problem solvers. We can bring our full
effort into creating the kind of meaningful change being called for. We
will be intentional in our steps moving forward. As a community we define
ourselves by our ability to work collaboratively and embrace challenges. We
are listening to our colleagues in the geosciences and the recent Call to
Action (notimeforsilence.org). We are in the active stages of forming a
committee and developing a strategic plan for inclusion, diversity, and
equity within SPNHC. We will bring our full resources to bear on
implementing this strategic plan, and we will be identifying and tracking
meaningful metrics to assess change. We will examine leadership roles,
invited speakers and sessions, and society awards to assure representation
from underrepresented racial/ethnic, cultural, and ability groups. These
are our first steps in a long walk towards meaningful change that will
result in a stronger, more resilient, inclusive, and supportive society.

Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collection
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