'White Thinking' and the failed promise of diversity in Scottish heritage

'White Thinking' and the failed promise of diversity in Scottish heritage

This project responds to a key challenge in the Scottish heritage sector: what is the next step in transitioning small-scale diversity projects in Scottish heritage organisations to more sustainable, and structural, forms of organisational and cultural change? While various organisations have signalled a commitment to longer-term changes, the innovation in this project is focused on bridging the gap between the wealth of smaller-scale anti-racist heritage projects taking place in Scotland today (which are often led by individuals and/or small collectives), and the 'promise' of structural change in a sector which is predominantly white and from higher socio-economic backgrounds.

The title is taken from Lilian Thuram's book, White Thinking: Behind the Mask of Racial Identity (Hero: 2021). The book asks, 'What does it mean to by white? Beyond just a skin colour, is it also a way of thinking? If so, how did it come about, and why?'. Thuram's career spans football (he is France's most capped player) and anti-racist activism. Thuram, and one of the translators of White Thinking will be leading some of the project's work at Kelvingrove Museum to ask how and why the white gaze determines and fixes representations of racialised minorities as fringe, exotic, and inferior. If they are represented at all.

The project responds to the call of Museums and Galleries Scotland's report Empire, Slavery, and Scotland's Museums (2022) to 'ensure anti-racism is embedded in [museum] workplaces and public spaces'. Through practice-led interventions involving stakeholders across education, heritage organisations, and communities, this project brings together organisations of different sizes, and with unique challenges, to create a community of practice. Our partners include the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum, HMS Unicorn, Kelvingrove Museum, Museums and Galleries Scotland, the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians of Glasgow, and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Our outputs include anti-racist step-change plans for organisations, a new exhibition on the history of South Asian medical professionals in Scotland, community co-designed resources on the legacy of David Livingstone, workshops for curators, and a programme of public events for Black History Month Scotland.