You guys have all made some interesting remarks concerning Mr. Herring's
remarks; perhaps there is justification to any remark, and there is
freedom of speech in this country.  But the best way to flush it out is
to communicate, communicate, communicate.  If we can get the devils out
perhaps they can be exorcised.

Ross' statements below about certain people with certain backgrounds
meeting certain criteria is obviously dead-on.  But if you are an expert
on Asian Art or Oceania, you're certainly not going to apply to a museum
job that requires knowledge in computer chips or aquariums, or the wild
west, no matter what ethnic background you have; it's the knowledge you
carry that's of interest to the employer.  Perhaps I am being too
generous because there's the other side of it, "not what you know but who
you know."  I prefer to think that it's our knowledge, motivation, and
charm that creates the friendships and network we build in this museum
world.  If that makes me naive then mea culpa.

O
Olivia S. Anastasiadis, Curator
Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda, CA  92886
(714) 993-5075 ext. 224; fax (714) 528-0544; e-mail:  [log in to unmask]

On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 22:31:56 -0400 "Ross Weeks Jr."
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>I am sad to see this nasty name-calling arise in a professional forum.
>
>While many of us would never had posted such a note, I disagree that
>it is
>"racist" to observe that an applicant of one race or another probably
>would
>best succeed in getting a particular job.  I have no idea what the
>circumstances are with the Louis Armstrong Museum   I can assume the
>majority of those having educational background in African-American
>studies
>would, indeed, be African-American.  The Museum states it would prefer
>an
>individual whose background includes such studies or exposure.
>
>In the instance of the SAR museum, which Mr. Herring has just
>resigned,
>might we assume that the selection committee would much prefer (1) a
>descendant of a Revolutionary soldier; (2) a male; and (3) a white.
>
>Am I a "racist" by making  this additional observation?
>
>I have seen AVISO advertisements placed by museums that suggest
>certain
>non-professional criteria would be applied in the search.  A museum
>devoted
>to Irish-American heritage suggested an Irish-American would be given
>careful consideration; several related to Jewish subjects gave the
>same
>"tilt" in favor of Jewish applicants; and so it goes.
>
>I must hand it to the United Daughters of the Confederacy.  They have
>a
>"private" museum called Battle Abbey in Richmond Va. (open only to
>members).
>Recently they hired an entry-level person who is a Yankee by birth, a
>Virginian by higher education.   There is probably no long-term future
>for
>her there, though.
>
>----Original Message-----
>From: Jackie Hoffman-Chin <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
><snip> <snip>
>
>>. You are obviously
>>an angry, little racist who should confine his
>>inane rantings to his bathroom mirror
>
><snip> <snip>
>. SHAME!
>>jhchin
>

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