'Confronting Hate Together' will finally be displayed, but not at the Wing Luke Museum
"Confronting Hate Together" will return, but won't be held the Wing Luke Museum where a controversy surrounding the exhibit emerged earlier this year. Instead, the Washington State Jewish Historical Society will present the exhibit at an event in September for "the Jewish community alongside our friends and allies."
"Immense harm has been caused to the Jewish community by not being able to show the exhibit," the group said in a statement. "The anti-Jewish ideas and attitudes that fueled the (Wing Luke Museum) employee walkout (whether conscious or not) have yet to be adequately acknowledged. And, at the same time, the greater Seattle community will be deprived of an important cross-cultural educational opportunity."
"Confronting Hate Together" is an exhibit jointly produced by the Jewish Historical Society, the Black Heritage Society of Washington State, and the Wing Luke Museum.
It aimed to show how Black, Jewish, and Asian-American communities have faced prejudice in Seattle's past, and how hate crimes continue in modern times. For example, such communities faced housing exclusions and were often grouped side by side.
Jewish families helped Japanese-American families while they were incarcerated during World War II. When a Seattle church refused to host Martin Luther King Jr. in 1961, Temple de Hirsch Sinai stepped in.
The exhibit initially opened in May at the Wing Luke Museum, but a group of museum staff members objected to material included in the Jewish portion of the display and walked out. They argued that the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas should be included, and that part of the exhibit framed protest rhetoric as anti-Semitic.
During the museum employee walkout, the exhibit was put on hold. Wing Luke officials told KUOW that it was being updated. In its statement, the Jewish Historical Society said it has been "open and responsive to feedback from partners, sensitive to the international climate and challenges," and has modified the exhibit.
In June, the Wing Luke Museum planned to update the displays and reopen. In July, the museum announced the exhibit would be moved.
At the time, Steve McLean with the Wing Luke Museum told KUOW, "We saw this as an opportunity to explore some of the missing perspectives that were part of the the rationale for the walkout, both amongst the Palestinian and Muslim communities, also some further education about Zionism, anti-Zionism, antisemitism."
This week, the Jewish Historical Society announced it will host "Confronting Hate Together" at an event in September, but it won't be presented by the previous partnership.
"It is with great disappointment, pain, and sadness we share that, due to circumstances out of our control, the Confronting Hate Together (CHT) Exhibit will not be presented jointly to the community in a public venue by the Black Heritage Society (BHS), Washington State Jewish Historical Society (WSJHS) and the Wing Luke Museum (WLM)," the group said in its statement.
While the event showcasing the exhibit has yet to be announced, a digital version of it has been posted online.
The Black Heritage Society of Washington State issued its own statement, signed by its president, Stephanie Johnson-Toliver.
"BHS joined CHT to support open dialogue, advocate for active listening, and encourage a call to action against hate and harm. In a world where multiple truths do exist based on our experiences, learning, and cultural differences we are all challenged to self- evaluate and find empathy for one another even though we may disagree on a singular path to an understanding for what we hold in common.
At BHS we are following our path and purpose. We have been good and tolerant partners in CHT. The pop- up exhibition that is a series of panels will not open at The Wing Luke Museum but will go on the road for a temporary installation at a venue that will be determined and monitored by WSJHS. BHS is proud of what we have contributed to both the pop-up and online exhibit that hosts a four-part series of podcasts. There is a link below to the digital exhibit. All is meant to generate conversations and encourage action to challenge and heal harm, a lesson in understanding for all of us."
Read the full statement from the Black Heritage Society at its website.
8/20/24: This post has been updated to include the statement from the Black Heritage Society.
