0:00:01.614,0:00:03.516 Representation matters. 0:00:04.683,0:00:07.917 Authentic representations of women matter. 0:00:09.404,0:00:13.222 I think that too often,[br]our public representations of women 0:00:13.246,0:00:15.627 are enveloped in the language[br]of the extraordinary. 0:00:17.441,0:00:20.301 The first American woman[br]to become a self-made millionaire: 0:00:20.325,0:00:21.570 Madam C. J. Walker ... 0:00:22.794,0:00:25.476 The dresses of the first ladies[br]of the United States ... 0:00:27.086,0:00:30.030 Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to seek 0:00:30.054,0:00:32.520 the US Democratic party's[br]presidential nomination -- 0:00:32.544,0:00:34.463 (Applause) 0:00:35.701,0:00:36.852 As a museum curator, 0:00:36.876,0:00:39.292 I understand why these stories[br]are so seductive. 0:00:40.179,0:00:43.411 Exceptional women[br]are inspiring and aspirational. 0:00:45.166,0:00:46.704 But those stories are limiting. 0:00:47.365,0:00:50.578 By definition, being extraordinary[br]is nonrepresentative. 0:00:51.110,0:00:52.260 It's atypical. 0:00:53.133,0:00:56.773 Those stories do not create a broad base[br]for incorporating women's history, 0:00:56.797,0:00:58.857 and they don't reflect[br]our daily realities. 0:01:00.276,0:01:03.720 If we can collectively apply[br]that radical notion 0:01:03.744,0:01:05.607 that women are people, 0:01:05.631,0:01:07.981 it becomes easier to show[br]women as people are: 0:01:09.025,0:01:13.217 familiar, diverse, present. 0:01:13.241,0:01:15.852 In everyone's everyday throughout history, 0:01:16.923,0:01:19.962 women exist positively -- 0:01:19.986,0:01:22.905 not as a matter of interpretation,[br]but as a matter of fact. 0:01:23.721,0:01:27.620 And beyond a more accurate[br]representation of human life, 0:01:27.644,0:01:30.426 including women considers[br]the quotidian experiences 0:01:30.450,0:01:34.545 of the almost 3.8 billion people[br]identified as female on this planet. 0:01:36.827,0:01:40.763 In this now notorious museum scene[br]from the "Black Panther" movie, 0:01:40.787,0:01:44.067 a white curator erroneously[br]explains an artifact 0:01:44.091,0:01:46.225 to Michael B. Jordan's[br]character seen here, 0:01:46.249,0:01:47.911 an artifact from his own culture. 0:01:49.042,0:01:52.797 This fictional scene caused[br]real debates in our museum communities 0:01:52.821,0:01:57.344 about who is shaping the narratives[br]and the bias that those narratives hold. 0:01:59.461,0:02:00.742 Museums are actually rated 0:02:00.766,0:02:04.854 one of the most trustworthy sources[br]of information in the United States, 0:02:04.878,0:02:08.269 and with hundreds of millions of visitors[br]from all over the world, 0:02:08.293,0:02:10.845 we should tell accurate histories, 0:02:10.869,0:02:12.020 but we don't. 0:02:13.479,0:02:16.251 There is a movement[br]from within museums themselves 0:02:16.275,0:02:17.855 to help combat this bias. 0:02:18.472,0:02:22.176 The simple acknowledgment[br]that museums are not neutral. 0:02:23.440,0:02:24.816 Museums are didactic. 0:02:25.146,0:02:27.535 Through the display of art and artifacts, 0:02:27.559,0:02:30.843 we can incite creativity[br]and foster inclusion, 0:02:30.867,0:02:33.705 but we are guilty[br]of historical misrepresentation. 0:02:34.418,0:02:38.443 Our male-centered histories[br]have left our herstories hidden. 0:02:40.359,0:02:45.153 And there are hard truths[br]about being a woman, 0:02:45.177,0:02:47.461 especially a woman of color[br]in this industry, 0:02:47.485,0:02:51.260 that prevents us from centering[br]inclusive examples of women's lives. 0:02:52.572,0:02:54.446 Museum leadership: 0:02:54.470,0:02:56.786 predominantly white and male, 0:02:56.810,0:03:00.899 despite women comprising[br]some 60 percent of museum staffs. 0:03:01.472,0:03:03.694 Pipelines to leadership[br]for women are bleak -- 0:03:03.718,0:03:05.712 bleakest for women of color. 0:03:06.721,0:03:09.752 And the presence of women[br]does not in and of itself guarantee 0:03:09.776,0:03:12.019 an increase in women's[br]public representation. 0:03:12.905,0:03:14.873 Not all women are gender equity allies. 0:03:16.151,0:03:18.503 In the words of feminist[br]theorist bell hooks, 0:03:18.527,0:03:20.216 "Patriarchy has no gender." 0:03:20.968,0:03:23.212 Women can support the system of patriarchy 0:03:23.236,0:03:25.943 just as men can support[br]the fight for gender equity. 0:03:27.284,0:03:30.360 And we often downplay[br]the importance of intersectionality. 0:03:31.694,0:03:36.852 Marian Anderson was one of the most[br]celebrated voices of the 20th century, 0:03:36.876,0:03:39.576 and the Smithsonian[br]collected her 1939 outfit. 0:03:40.186,0:03:43.472 After the white Daughters of[br]the American Revolution denied her access 0:03:43.496,0:03:45.971 to sing in Constitution Hall,[br]because she was black, 0:03:46.966,0:03:50.267 she famously sang instead[br]on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, 0:03:50.291,0:03:53.013 to a crowd of over 75,000 people. 0:03:55.531,0:03:58.421 And in libraries all over,[br]including museums, 0:03:58.445,0:04:02.470 you can still find the groundbreaking[br]1982 anthology, entitled 0:04:02.494,0:04:04.579 "All the Women Are White, 0:04:04.603,0:04:06.592 All the Blacks Are Men, 0:04:06.616,0:04:08.327 But Some of Us Are Brave." 0:04:10.210,0:04:12.545 Demands for the increase[br]of women's representation 0:04:12.569,0:04:16.398 does not automatically include[br]Afro-Latinas like me ... 0:04:16.422,0:04:19.944 or immigrant women,[br]or Asian women, or Native women, 0:04:19.968,0:04:22.189 or trans women, or undocumented women, 0:04:22.213,0:04:24.612 or women over 65, or girls -- 0:04:24.636,0:04:26.975 the list can go on and on and on. 0:04:28.090,0:04:29.367 So what do we do? 0:04:31.307,0:04:34.340 Targeted initiatives[br]have helped incorporate perspectives 0:04:34.364,0:04:36.189 that should have always been included. 0:04:36.547,0:04:40.202 I arrived at the Smithsonian[br]through a Latino curatorial initiative 0:04:40.226,0:04:42.135 whose hiring of Latinx curators, 0:04:42.159,0:04:44.344 mostly women, by the way, 0:04:44.368,0:04:48.378 has raised the profile for Latinx[br]narratives across our institution. 0:04:49.234,0:04:50.440 And it served as a model 0:04:50.464,0:04:54.727 for our much larger Smithsonian[br]American Women's History Initiative, 0:04:54.751,0:04:58.139 which seeks to amplify diverse[br]representations of women 0:04:58.163,0:05:00.473 in every possible way, 0:05:00.497,0:05:01.739 so that women show up, 0:05:01.763,0:05:04.903 not only in the imagery[br]of our contemporary realities, 0:05:04.927,0:05:07.328 but in our historical representations, 0:05:07.352,0:05:09.096 because we've always been here. 0:05:10.690,0:05:15.465 Right now though, in 2018,[br]I can still walk into professional spaces 0:05:15.489,0:05:17.310 and be the only -- 0:05:17.334,0:05:19.609 the only person under 40,[br]the only black person, 0:05:19.633,0:05:21.443 the only black woman, the only Latina, 0:05:21.467,0:05:22.706 sometimes, the only woman. 0:05:23.669,0:05:27.308 My mother is African-American[br]and my father is Afro-Panamanian. 0:05:28.023,0:05:30.542 I am so proudly and inextricably both. 0:05:31.346,0:05:33.407 As an Afro-Latina, I'm one of millions. 0:05:34.704,0:05:38.249 As an Afro-Latina curator,[br]I'm one of very few. 0:05:39.344,0:05:41.980 And bringing my whole self[br]into the professional realm 0:05:42.004,0:05:44.488 can feel like an act of bravery, 0:05:44.512,0:05:47.609 and I'll admit to you that I was[br]not always up for that challenge, 0:05:47.633,0:05:50.829 whether from fear of rejection[br]or self-preservation. 0:05:52.615,0:05:54.259 In meetings, I would only speak up 0:05:54.283,0:05:56.873 when I had a fully developed[br]comment to share. 0:05:57.197,0:05:59.950 No audible brainstorming[br]or riffing off of colleagues. 0:06:00.906,0:06:02.057 For a long time, 0:06:02.081,0:06:05.853 I denied myself the joy of wearing[br]my beloved hoop earrings 0:06:05.877,0:06:07.387 or nameplate necklace to work, 0:06:07.411,0:06:11.072 thinking that they were too loud[br]or unscholarly or unprofessional. 0:06:11.675,0:06:13.197 (Laughter) 0:06:13.221,0:06:16.542 I wondered how people[br]would react to my natural hair, 0:06:16.566,0:06:21.398 or if they viewed me as more acceptable[br]or less authentic when I straightened it. 0:06:22.008,0:06:24.911 And anyone who has felt outside[br]of mainstream representations 0:06:24.935,0:06:29.058 understands that there are basic elements[br]just of our everyday being 0:06:29.082,0:06:31.063 that can make other people uncomfortable. 0:06:32.692,0:06:34.382 But because I am passionate 0:06:34.406,0:06:37.874 about the everyday representation[br]of women as we are, 0:06:37.898,0:06:42.787 I stopped presenting an inauthentic[br]representation of myself or my work. 0:06:43.694,0:06:45.078 And I have been tested. 0:06:45.822,0:06:48.358 This is me pointing[br]at my hoop earring in my office -- 0:06:48.382,0:06:49.477 (Laughter) 0:06:49.501,0:06:52.921 Just last month, I was invited to keynote[br]a Latino Heritage Month event. 0:06:53.675,0:06:57.161 The week of the presentation,[br]the organization expressed concerns. 0:06:58.069,0:07:00.472 They called my slides "activist," 0:07:00.496,0:07:02.075 and they meant that negatively. 0:07:02.559,0:07:05.779 (Laughter) 0:07:05.803,0:07:10.485 (Applause) 0:07:10.509,0:07:12.123 Two days before the presentation, 0:07:12.147,0:07:16.807 they requested that I not show[br]a two-minute video affirming natural hair, 0:07:16.831,0:07:19.594 because "it may create a barrier[br]to the learning process 0:07:19.618,0:07:21.418 for some of the participants." 0:07:21.759,0:07:22.857 (Laughter) 0:07:22.881,0:07:27.667 That poem, "Hair," was written[br]and performed by Elizabeth Acevedo, 0:07:27.691,0:07:31.388 a Dominican-American[br]2018 National Book Award winner, 0:07:31.412,0:07:34.755 and it appeared in an award-winning[br]Smithsonian exhibit that I curated. 0:07:35.601,0:07:36.943 I canceled the talk, 0:07:36.967,0:07:42.086 explaining to them that their censorship[br]of me and my work made me uncomfortable. 0:07:42.110,0:07:49.110 (Applause and cheers) 0:07:51.660,0:07:55.339 Respectability politics[br]and idealized femininity 0:07:55.363,0:07:57.264 influence how we display women 0:07:57.288,0:07:59.380 and which women we choose to display. 0:08:00.090,0:08:03.916 And that display has skewed[br]toward successful and extraordinary 0:08:03.940,0:08:06.640 and reputable and desirable, 0:08:06.664,0:08:08.878 which maintains the systemic exclusion 0:08:08.902,0:08:13.403 and marginalization of the everyday,[br]the regular, the underrepresented 0:08:13.427,0:08:14.918 and usually, the nonwhite. 0:08:15.590,0:08:18.739 As a museum curator, I am empowered[br]to change that narrative. 0:08:19.632,0:08:23.155 I research, collect and interpret[br]objects and images of significance. 0:08:24.114,0:08:26.000 Celia Cruz, the queen of Salsa -- 0:08:26.024,0:08:27.025 (Cheers) 0:08:27.049,0:08:28.875 yes -- is significant. 0:08:28.899,0:08:30.519 And an Afro-Latina. 0:08:30.857,0:08:34.560 The Smithsonian has collected[br]her costumes, her shoes, 0:08:34.584,0:08:37.321 her portrait, her postage stamp 0:08:37.345,0:08:38.670 and this reimagining ... 0:08:39.926,0:08:41.615 by artist Tony Peralta. 0:08:42.023,0:08:44.244 When I collected and displayed this work, 0:08:44.268,0:08:46.745 it was a victory[br]for symbolic contradictions. 0:08:47.590,0:08:50.160 Pride in displaying a dark-skinned Latina, 0:08:50.184,0:08:51.691 a black woman, 0:08:51.715,0:08:54.431 whose hair is in large rollers[br]which straighten your hair, 0:08:54.455,0:08:56.621 perhaps a nod to white beauty standards. 0:08:56.645,0:09:00.541 A refined, glamorous woman[br]in oversized, chunky gold jewelry. 0:09:01.728,0:09:03.022 When this work was on view, 0:09:03.046,0:09:05.047 it was one of our most[br]Instagrammed pieces, 0:09:05.071,0:09:08.075 and visitors told me they connected[br]with the everyday elements 0:09:08.099,0:09:10.927 of her brown skin or her rollers[br]or her jewelry. 0:09:12.227,0:09:14.258 Our collections include Celia Cruz 0:09:15.280,0:09:17.772 and a rare portrait[br]of a young Harriet Tubman ... 0:09:19.981,0:09:22.690 iconic clothing from[br]the incomparable Oprah Winfrey. 0:09:24.654,0:09:26.372 But museums can literally change 0:09:26.396,0:09:29.449 how hundreds of millions[br]of people see women 0:09:29.473,0:09:30.804 and which women they see. 0:09:31.454,0:09:35.094 So rather than always[br]the first or the famous, 0:09:35.118,0:09:39.407 it's also our responsibility to show[br]a regular Saturday at the beauty salon, 0:09:40.575,0:09:42.559 the art of door-knocker earrings ... 0:09:42.583,0:09:44.014 (Laughter) 0:09:44.038,0:09:45.695 fashionable sisterhood ... 0:09:45.719,0:09:46.720 (Laughter) 0:09:46.744,0:09:48.714 and cultural pride at all ages. 0:09:49.196,0:09:50.905 Stories of everyday women 0:09:50.929,0:09:54.836 whose stories have been knowingly omitted[br]from our national and global histories. 0:09:55.200,0:09:58.663 And oftentimes in museums,[br]you see women represented by clothing 0:09:58.687,0:10:00.786 or portraits or photography ... 0:10:02.940,0:10:06.028 but impactful, life-changing stories[br]from everyday women 0:10:06.052,0:10:08.427 can also look like[br]this Esmeraldan boat seat. 0:10:09.764,0:10:12.187 Esmeraldas, Ecuador[br]was a maroon community. 0:10:12.523,0:10:16.226 Its dense rainforest protected[br]indigenous and African populations 0:10:16.250,0:10:17.783 from Spanish colonizers. 0:10:18.282,0:10:19.432 There are roads now, 0:10:19.456,0:10:22.957 but there are some parts inland[br]that are still only accessible by canoe. 0:10:23.400,0:10:27.131 Débora Nazareno frequently traveled[br]those Ecuadorian waterways by canoe, 0:10:27.155,0:10:28.695 so she had her own boat seat. 0:10:29.279,0:10:32.372 Hers personalized[br]with a spiderweb and a spider, 0:10:32.396,0:10:35.437 representing Anansi,[br]a character in West African folklore. 0:10:36.874,0:10:40.906 Débora also sat on this seat at home,[br]telling stories to her grandson, Juan. 0:10:41.972,0:10:44.140 And this intangible ritual of love 0:10:44.164,0:10:46.568 in the form of[br]intergenerational storytelling 0:10:46.592,0:10:49.499 is common in communities[br]across the African diaspora. 0:10:50.378,0:10:54.303 And this everyday act sparked in Juan[br]the desire to collect and preserve 0:10:54.327,0:10:58.182 over 50,000 documents related[br]to Afro-Indian culture. 0:10:59.566,0:11:03.495 In 2005, Juan García Salazar,[br]Débora's grandson, 0:11:03.519,0:11:07.009 and by now a world-renowned[br]Afro-Ecuadorian scholar, 0:11:07.033,0:11:08.719 traveled to Washington, D.C. 0:11:09.621,0:11:12.907 He met with Lonnie Bunch,[br]the director of the museum where I work, 0:11:12.931,0:11:15.038 and toward the end of their conversation, 0:11:15.062,0:11:18.872 Juan reached into his bag and said,[br]"I'd like to give you a present." 0:11:20.558,0:11:24.247 On that day, Débora Nazareno's[br]humble wooden boat seat 0:11:24.271,0:11:26.465 became the very first object donated 0:11:26.489,0:11:30.037 to the Smithsonian National Museum[br]of African-American History and Culture. 0:11:30.865,0:11:36.084 It is encased, displayed and has been seen[br]by almost five million visitors 0:11:36.108,0:11:37.518 from all over the world. 0:11:38.900,0:11:41.832 I will continue to collect[br]from extraordinary historymakers. 0:11:42.224,0:11:43.747 Their stories are important. 0:11:44.607,0:11:48.539 But what drives me to show up[br]today and every day 0:11:48.563,0:11:52.192 is the simple passion to write[br]our names in history, 0:11:52.216,0:11:55.332 display them publicly for millions to see 0:11:55.356,0:11:58.406 and walk in the ever-present[br]light that is woman. 0:11:58.961,0:12:00.112 Thank you. 0:12:00.136,0:12:06.325 (Applause and cheers)