43. Blake Bradford Aims To Increase Number of Black Museum Professionals with Lincoln University Program

Museum Archipelago

In episode 36 of this podcast, Bill Bradberry, Chair of the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Commission, described encountering the glaring lack of cultural diversity within and around the museum industry, particularly in leadership. He cited the new Museum Studies program at Lincoln University as an example of a program that addresses the problem directly.

Blake Bradford is the director of that Museum Studies Program, a partnership between Lincoln University and the Barnes Foundation. In this episode, Bradford describes ways to change museum institutions that already consider themselves successful. He also talks about museums as public-facing institutions, inviting his students to think critically about how truth is established through museums, and what surprises him about his students.

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Topics Discussed:
00:00: Intro
00:15: Blake Bradford
00:53: Museums Accountable to The Public
01:49: Convincing Museums to Do The Right Thing
02:24: Museum Studies Program at Lincoln University
03:20: “Safe” Diversity is Not Diversity
04:30: Critical Analysis Curriculum
07:10: Taking The Magic Out of Exhibit Production
08:36: Post-Museum Students
11:01: Outro