Uproar as Brooklyn Museum Hires White Curator for African Art

Selection of Kristen Windmuller-Luna has upset many in the New York black community.

Exterior view of the Brooklyn Museum in New York City.  (Photo by Desiree Navarro/WireImage)
Exterior view of the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. (Photo by Desiree Navarro/WireImage)

It’s not a pretty picture: The New York Post is reporting that there’s been enormous backlash to the hiring of a white woman, Kristen Windmuller-Luna, to curate the African art collection at the Brooklyn Museum.

The 31-year-old Windmuller-Luna brings a qualified resume. She has a Ph.D. in African art history from Princeton University, lectures at Columbia University, and previously worked as educator at the African galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

But the reaction on social media, especially among black journalists, has been less than enthused.

“People from the African Diaspora are frustrated w/ white people being gatekeepers of our narrative,” tweeted Kimberly Selden.

The museum told The Post that the institution was “committed to equity” but would not discuss the hiring process publicly.

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