I fell in love with the Royal B.C. Museum on my first visit with my school, when I was 12. Later, as a high-schooler, I visited the B.C. Archives to do study work for a project on early settlers and Indigenous people in the area.
These visits gave me a love for history, which has never wavered.
I was fortunate to have been able to work in British Columbia’s premier historical institution, surrounded by B.C.’s human and natural history, for the better part of 15 years.
After a 30-year career in the public service I retired in 2018, having held a multitude of executive positions at the Royal B.C. Museum and B.C. Archives.
I think of my time there with great fondness. For the people, for the work, for the opportunities to make connections with other museum and archives professionals.
I am extremely disappointed in the board and executive of 2020.
In July, one of the foremost Indigenous leaders in Canada, Lucy Bell, left her position at the Royal B.C. Museum and B.C. Archives amid allegations of systemic and personal racism.
I believe Bell 100 per cent. She is an incredible human being, with high integrity and wisdom. She has not only my respect, but the respect of scholars and Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders in B.C., across Canada and around the world.
The Royal B.C. Museum and B.C. Archives’ modern Indigenous Collections and Repatriation Program would not be in the state it is today without her leadership and guidance.
From ensuring that ancestral remains in the care of the museum were treated with respect and dignity, to the repatriation of sacred objects, to digitization of images, video and tapes via her colleagues in the B.C. Archives, to the development of a new Indigenous Collections Policy and the publication of the museum and archives’ first Repatriation Handbook, her leadership should be recognized and celebrated.
But instead, despite these accomplishments, she felt she had no choice but to resign because of the lack of action by the executive regarding her complaints of ongoing racism.
Since July, her story has only appeared in the Globe and Mail and the Times Colonist.
People fear upsetting those in power. People fear upsetting the “apple cart,” the status quo, causing pain to people by highlighting their shortcomings.
The media have been unable to get people to talk, because they fear for their jobs — they’ve been told not to say anything. An investigation is underway, and one must not say they were involved in the investigation for fear of invalidating the investigation.
What nonsense. Why should one fear telling their truth? Why should one fear saying that they participated in an investigation designed to uncover the truth? What is that investigation going to uncover? Will it show that racism didn’t happen? Of course it won’t. Because it did.
So let’s have at it. I wasn’t a perfect leader by any imagination. I have my faults. I recognize my white privilege.
I witnessed racism at the Royal B.C. Museum and B.C. Archives while I worked there. I dealt with several instances myself.
I was satisfied with the outcome. My failing, in hindsight, was failing to ensure that the people affected were also satisfied with the outcome.
That is the important part. Those who are affected should be involved in the conclusion to their satisfaction.
That’s where institutional systemic racism rears its ugly head. I should have known that my satisfaction did not necessarily mean another’s satisfaction. That was my white privilege at work, and I have learned better since then.
I shouldn’t have to corroborate, as a white woman with white privilege, Bell’s version of events. But yet here I am. She deserves to be believed without question or hesitation. The incidents she described happened. For some of them, I was there, and I was witness.
Yet her story has only appeared in print twice. Why is a venerable institution not being held accountable for its leadership behaviour?
Why are the staff being silenced? Silence does not beget change. Loud and forceful voices and advocates for change beget change.
I vehemently want to live in a world where everyone, no matter what walk of life they come from, has the same opportunities that I have had.
In desiring that, I have a role to play. That is to challenge the status quo.
To no longer be silent on the sidelines observing with a “tut tut, that shouldn’t happen” when I see obvious displays of racism, censuring, and/or complete disregard of my fellow citizens. I challenge you, dear reader, to do the same if you are not already doing so.
Every organization has its flaws that it needs to work on. But working on those flaws starts at the top of the organization — at the board and executive level. Change can be driven by the grassroots, and often is, but if fear is prevalent, and voices are suppressed, how is change supposed to be embraced and acted on?
So here is my message to the board and executive of Royal B.C. Museum and B.C. Archives: Please don’t continue to hide behind an investigation that has been underway since July.
The investigation will not absolve the institution of systemic racism. It may absolve individuals, but that’s not the point. The executive can move forward quickly, independently of an investigation, to acknowledge that systemic racism exists, that it will make every effort to address it, and list specific, concrete actions to make it so. What is taking so long?
The Royal B.C. Museum and B.C. Archives belongs to all citizens of British Columbia, Canada and the world.
It is a place of science, of knowledge, a house of treasures, a place of learning, and a place of grounding.
Without it we cannot tell British Columbia’s story or Canada’s story. This story includes people of all colours, of all nationalities, of all genders.
The future for the institution is bright — with new collections facilities on the horizon, and recognition of the fine work of its staff.
Change is inevitable, please — invite dialogue and put an end to systemic racism in the museum and archives. It is necessary, and required.
Board and executive of the Royal B.C. Museum and B.C. Archives: The time for action is now. Your silence is deafening.
Angela Williams is a retired deputy CEO, vice-president collections, knowledge and exhibitions, executive lead redevelopment, and chief operating officer at the Royal B.C. Museum and B.C. Archives. She is also a designated Canadian Professional in Human Resources and has a graduate certificate in public sector leadership from Royal Roads University.
