SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Salem Athenaeum and Peabody Essex Museum have cancelled multiple presentations after concerns were raised about a program on African American history that was set to be presented by an all-white panel.
The program, called 'New Perspectives on Salem's African American History,' planned for Feb. 11 did not feature any black speakers and has since been cancelled.
“I think they should probably have a more diverse selection of voices that accurately represent what they’re talking about,” said Jack, a Salem resident.
Some people on social media, including multiple Reddit users, spoke out against the Salem museum. While some defended the scheduled speakers' qualifications, saying they are authors and scholars on Salem’s history, others found the oversight insensitive.
“Maybe it was rushed in the first place? Or nobody said, ‘Hey, wait a second, we need to think about at least the optics of this before we proceed,’” said Adam, another Salem resident. “Probably a good idea to rethink it.”
“Our planned PEM Reads event featuring Salem Centuries as a Salem400+ offering was intended to focus on the history of Gallows Hill and was developed independently and is unaffiliated with the Athenaeum panel," the museum told WBZ NewsRadio in a statement. "Given the concerns raised and the broader public conversation, we have decided to pause our PEM Reads series at this time to allow our team space to reflect and assess next steps. Updated PEM Reads opportunities will be available at pem.org/events.”
WBZ NewsRadio’s Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.