Black Lives Matter movement and the global call to repatriate African objects held in Western museums

Black Lives Matter protests this summer have called for the removal of statues memorializing figures involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and Western colonialism. Activists also have renewed calls for museums to return art and artifacts stolen from colonialized African countries.

Kathleen Bickford Berzock is the associate director of curatorial affairs, Block Museum, specializing in African art, as well as the curator of the travelling exhibition “Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange” across Medieval Saharan Africa. She can be reached Aug. 3 and 4 at 847-736-4286 or kathleen.berzock@northwestern.edu.

Quote from Berzock:
“The rapid expansion of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States in the wake of the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others is unfolding alongside global movements for justice and equity that likewise stem from the legacies of systemic racism, including the continuing impact of colonialism across Africa. Questions raised about -- and demands made for -- the restitutions and/or repatriation of cultural objects now held in Western museums are part of this.

“These are important conversations that will have implications in Europe and in the United States. Of equal importance and urgency is the need for institutions that have benefited from Africa’s cultural heritage, including its visual arts, to commit to active dialogue, support and partnership with African artists, museum professionals and scholars of cultural heritage.”