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White volunteers at Art Institute of Chicago are fired after woke consulting firm advised bosses to prioritize 'equity and diversity'
Daily Mail ^ | Oct. 23, 2021 | Stephen M. Leopre

Posted on 10/23/2021 4:52:31 PM PDT by rickmichaels

The Art Institute of Chicago fired more than 150 volunteers and suspended its decades-old docent program after the famed museum hired a woke consulting firm that advised the cultural institution to ditch the 'wealthy white' guides and prioritize 'equity and diversity.'

Even worse, the mostly elderly docents, who are well-versed on the the exhibits at nearly 150-year-old museum on Lake Michigan, were terminated by email on Sept 3 because it wanted to 'rebuild our program from the ground up.'

The museum - featured prominently in the 1986 hit film Ferris Beuller's Day Off - hired The Equity Project, a Colorado-based consulting firm, which found the program was outdated and would often skew towards wealthy white women and had too many barriers preventing people of color from entering the program.

'Sometimes equity requires taking bold steps and actions,' said Equity Project executive producer Monica Williams. 'You really have to dismantle and disrupt the systems that have been designed to hold some up and others out.'

The Equity Project was founded in response to Donald Trump winning 2016 Presidential Election.

'Today, the Equity Project brings transformative work to organizations across the globe,' the company's bio claims. 'Their expertise lies in creating spaces filled with grace for people to show up as they are, and developing actionable strategies to help organizations advance their equity efforts.'

Just last year, 186 workers - about 30 percent of museum staff - demanded 'transparency' and 'racial equity' amid layoffs.

Art Institute Chairman Robert Levy wrote an op-ed defending the decision and said that the plan to do so had been in the works for 12 years.

'Critical self-reflection and participatory, recuperative action is required if we are to remain relevant to the changing audiences seeking connection to art,' he wrote.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: artinstitute; bidenvoters; chicago; colorado; criticalracetheory; crt; dailymail; docents; dontneedyou; equityanddiversity; godsgravesglyphs; ilinois; libidiots; monicawilliams; robertlevy; stephenmleopre; theequityproject; wealthywhites; whitevolunteers
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To: rickmichaels

The previous (probably unwritten) requirements for being a docent were to be a rich, educated member of the girls club who knew and loved the exhibits and could provide a quality tour.

Those people are being replaced by poor people who probably cant pronounce most of the artists names, don’t care about the artwork, and will demand benefits along with a salary.

And sadly the rich old people who got fired from the volunteer positions will continue to contribute to the new program.

At least until the stuff they like in the institute is out in storage do make room for the new some exhibits. A well deserved dissing for them.


21 posted on 10/23/2021 5:37:54 PM PDT by Bernard (The very best scientific articles always contain this phrase: “My personal intuition has been…”)
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To: rickmichaels

Tear the Institute Down.

It’s of no furthur use and was built by Whitey. No way to atone for that.


22 posted on 10/23/2021 5:38:19 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Critical Marx Theory is The SOLUTION....)
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To: rickmichaels

That’s so unnecessary - and mean. Those volunteer docents work very hard and train very hard. They probably have the equivalent of a Masters in Art History by the time they get through it.

And they’re being replaced with a bunch of ignorant, probably barely literate paid employees whose only qualification is their color.


23 posted on 10/23/2021 5:38:43 PM PDT by livius
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To: rickmichaels

It is hard to feel sorry for the the ‘useful idiot’ Karens suffering unrequited love for communism.


24 posted on 10/23/2021 5:44:01 PM PDT by WMarshal ("Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither.")
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To: Secret Agent Man

Probably fire the volunteer, and pay a minority to do same job.
Only not as good.


25 posted on 10/23/2021 5:44:06 PM PDT by Iceclimber58
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To: Iceclimber58

These places don’t have tons of money to pay volunteers.

Thats why they use volunteers in the first place.


26 posted on 10/23/2021 5:45:25 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: 1956tbyrd
https://theequityprojectllc.com/

Not one white dude on their home page....surprised?? Not.

Diverse group of coworkers

Put equity to work.


The Equity Project is a leading equity, inclusion, and diversity (EID) consulting firm that empowers organizations to infuse EID into every facet of their work and lives.

Equity, inclusion, diversity, equality, justice…We understand the complex equation of creating a world where everyone can thrive. At The Equity Project, we’ve defined a customizable way to assist you in your path to equity.


27 posted on 10/23/2021 5:45:53 PM PDT by ealgeone
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To: rickmichaels

Wrong skin color in their “diverse” workforce.


28 posted on 10/23/2021 5:47:58 PM PDT by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is it?)
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To: rickmichaels

Wouldn’t it be easier to load the cattle cars with Whites?


29 posted on 10/23/2021 5:51:15 PM PDT by bray (Our patience is wearing thin Joe)
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To: Hodar
I anticipate that this museum is going to fall on bad economic times;

Nope. Plenty of government arts funding. Plus grants from the Ford, Rockefeller, and other foundations. Plus grants from woke billionaires.

It's hard to live without patronizing anti-white, anti-Christian businesses. They're everywhere. And these businesses subsidize woke nonprofits and NGOs.

"Get Woke, Go Broke" isn't true. If you're patronizing Amazon, Walmart, Microsoft, Apple, American Airlines, the NFL, McDonald's, Starbucks, and most other big businesses, then your money is trickling into woke museums.

30 posted on 10/23/2021 5:53:04 PM PDT by Angelino97
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To: Newbomb Turk
Same volunteers they fired were probably supporting the place with their large donations. Really stupid move.

Yep. Museums are not money-making enterprises. They depend on financial contributions to keep the doors open.

Typically, docents are old ladies with time on their hands and a passion for the arts. Volunteering at the museum gives them purpose and a social outlet - hanging out with other old ladies with similar interests.

I would imagine you're correct about the docents donating financially to the museum. They're also more likely to bequeath money in their wills.

And, more to the point... I can't imagine the museum turning down volunteers... if there are no black docents, it is likely that none have sought to volunteer.

31 posted on 10/23/2021 5:57:54 PM PDT by TontoKowalski (You can call me "Dick.")
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To: Angelino97

If majority of blacks and socialist/communists take over these roles, the next thing we’’ll hear is that the art offends them and must be removed or destroyed.


32 posted on 10/23/2021 6:02:23 PM PDT by myerson
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To: rickmichaels
A smart small museum director in the area would immediately issue a press release soliciting assistance from the fired docent volunteers, focusing on how much their knowledge and passion would be appreciated.

Give those ladies a chance to reconnect with their friends doing an activity they enjoy... and divert all their financial contributions to the new museum.

33 posted on 10/23/2021 6:02:59 PM PDT by TontoKowalski (You can call me "Dick.")
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To: rickmichaels

Years ago, we would visit the Art Institute of Chicago every other year or so when we lived 30 miles away in Northbrook. We’ll never make a visit again. Go Woke, Go Brook.


34 posted on 10/23/2021 6:06:40 PM PDT by ReleaseTheHounds ("The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." M. Thatcher )
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To: rickmichaels
Something slightly similar happened at a large university I live near. My wife (who is Chinese) and I each have multiple degrees from this university.

My wife was taking a number of Chinese children there to ice skate (the university maintains a large, very nice skating rink year-round). Even though some of them are not direct children of employees or alumnii, they bent the rules for my wife. The children were very well behaved, and had lots of fun there. Sometimes I took them when my wife couldn't do it.

One year, after these outings had been going on for three or four years, they got a new athletic director, or a new chancellor, or a new director of the skating rink, I'm not sure exactly, and suddenly the special treatment ended. My wife inquired, and was told that the powers that be felt that the Chinese children were not representative of diversity, and that more room needed to be made for children "of color" from the neighborhoods close to the university.

This lasted for one season. Then the policy was reversed, and the Chinese kids were allowed to come back, although some lost interest or their parents didn't want them to go. The group wasn't the same again.

I don't know — but I have suspicions — about what happened to cause the second thoughts on the part of the management of the skating rink.

35 posted on 10/23/2021 6:06:54 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: rickmichaels

Chicago.
Detroit 2030. (If that late.)


36 posted on 10/23/2021 6:07:57 PM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: rickmichaels

This is our deep state enemy: woke morons, with noodle arms, 50 IQ savages who don’t know which bathroom to pee in.

Of course this description will terrify our brainwashed, defeatist Soros trolls here on FR.


37 posted on 10/23/2021 6:08:10 PM PDT by sergeantdave (Federal courts no longer have any standing in America. )
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To: rickmichaels

I agree with Putin. Wokeism is a crime against humanity and should be treated as such with a full Nuremberg type trial of those who commit these heinous crimes.

Even these civil rights violations. The only good woke is a ____ woke.


38 posted on 10/23/2021 6:09:12 PM PDT by Boomer (Leftism is a mental illness wrapped in a perverse ideology resulting in insanity. FJB)
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To: rickmichaels

Its time for a unified “White Out” where white people do the same as blacks did with MLK and stop patronizing bigoted things. Schools, mueseums, company’s, sports, the whole 9 yards. Let the 13% of blacks with less money and buying power support this woke crap.


39 posted on 10/23/2021 6:38:17 PM PDT by The MAGA-Deplorian ( Democrats are lawless because Republicans are ball-less! At 2 )
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To: rickmichaels

I’ll bet most, if not all, of those whites fired are DemocRATS. Enjoy the wokeness of your party.


40 posted on 10/23/2021 6:39:34 PM PDT by AlaskaErik (In time of peace, prepare for war.)
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