Abstract
Barriers to field entry and career advancement are often considered an indicator of a professionalizing field. However, these barriers are routinely weaponized against Black people seeking employment or career advancement. This chapter explores anti-Blackness and many ways this phenomenon permeates the arts administration leadership pipeline in the United States. Utilizing Wilensky’s (The professionalization of everyone? American Journal of Sociology, 70(2), 137–158, 1964) theory of professionalization, I demonstrate how the semi-professional status of the field has permitted long-standing inequities that prevent Black individuals from embarking upon and thriving in arts management careers. This chapter explores, calls out, discusses, and demonstrates the connections between those barriers in order to address the following question: What must change for the arts management field to better reflect the general population, specifically the Black population, in the United States?
The chapter concludes with a call to action developed by combining research from diversity management, sociology of the professions, and human resources to begin dismantling systemic anti-Blackness in the field of arts management.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams, K. F. (2012). The discursive construction of professionalism: An episteme of the 21st century. Ephemera, 12(3), 327–343.
Alfred, M. V. (2001). Expanding theories of career development: Adding the voices of African American women in the White academy. Adult Education Quarterly, 51(2), 108–127.
Allen, W. R., McLewis, C., Jones, C., & Harris, D. (2018). From Bakke to Fisher: African American students in U.S. higher education over forty years. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation. Journal of the Social Sciences, 4(6), 41–72.
Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE). (2014). Standards for arts administration graduate program curricula. file:///Users/breaheidelberg/Downloads/AAAEGradStandardsv11145f340098f1f02.pdf
Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE). (2018). Standards for arts administration undergraduate program curricula. file:///Users/breaheidelberg/Downloads/AAAEStandardsforUndergraduateCurriculadocx5f3400fb185bf.pdf
Banks, K. H., Kohn-Wood, L. P., & Spencer, M. (2006). An examination of African-American experience of everyday discrimination and symptoms of psychological distress. Community Mental Health Journal, 42(6), 555–570.
Bell, M. P., Berry, D., Leopold, J., & Nkomo, S. (2021). Making Black Lives Matter in academia: a black feminist call for collective action against anti-blackness in the academy. Gender, Work & Organization, 28(51), 39–57.
Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2003). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w9873/w9873.pdf
Bishara, H. (2019, June 20). The Association of Art Museum Directors calls on museums to provide paid internships. Hyperallergic. https://hyperallergic.com/506184/the-association-of-art-museum-directors-calls-on-museums-to-provide-paid-internships/
Booth, J. (2019). Capitalism, anti-blackness, and the law: A very short history. Harvard BlackLetter Law Journal, 35(5), 5–9.
Crawshaw, L. (2009). Workplace bullying? Mobbing? Harassment? Distraction by a thousand definitions. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 61(3), 263.
Cuyler, A. C. (2013a). From theory to practice in the ivory tower: How degree programs in arts management contribute to professional practice. American Journal of Arts Management, 1, 1–15.
Cuyler, A. C. (2013b). Affirmative action and diversity: Implications for arts management. Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 43(2), 98–105.
Cuyler, A. C. (2015). An exploratory student of demographic diversity in the arts management workforce. Grantmakers in the Arts Reader, 26(3), 16–19.
Cuyler, A. C. (2017a). U.S. executive arts managers: A descriptive analysis of their demographic diversity, salary & benefits, and job satisfaction. Cultural Management. Science and Education, 1(2), 79–86.
Cuyler, A. C. (2017b). A Survey of arts management educators’ teaching on diversity issue Journal of Arts Management. Law, and Society, 47(3), 192–202.
Cuyler, A. C., Durrer, V., & Nisbett, M. (2020). Steadfastly white, female, hetero and able-bodied: An international survey on motivations and experiences of arts management graduates. International Journal of Arts Management, 22(3), 5–16.
Dancy, T. E., Edwards, K. T., & Davis, J. E. (2018). Historically white universities and plantation politics: Anti-Blackness and higher education in the Black lives matter era. Urban Education, 53(2), 176–195.
David, E. J. R., Schroeder, T. M., & Fernandez, J. (2019). Internalized racism: A systematic review of the psychological literature on racism’s most insidious consequence. Journal of Social Issues, 75(4), 1057–1086.
Deitch, E. A., Barsky, A., Butz, R. M., Suzanne, C., Brief, A. P., & Bradley, J. C. (2003). Subtle yet significant: The existence and impact of everyday racial discrimination in the workplace. Human Relations, 56(11), 1299–1324.
DeVereaux, C. (2019). Arts and cultural management: Sense and sensibilities in the state of the field. Routledge.
Dumas, M. J. (2016). Against the dark: Antiblackness in education policy and discourse. Theory Into Practice, 55(1), 11–19.
Essed, P. (1991). Understanding everyday racism. Sage.
Floyd, Q. (2020, November 11). The failure of arts organizations to move toward racial equity. Hyperallergic. https://hyperallergic.com/600640/the-failure-of-arts-organizations-to-move-toward-racial-equity/
Frenette, A., & Dowd, T.J. (2020). Careers in the arts: Who stays and who leaves? Strategic National Arts Alumni Project. http://snaap.indiana.edu/pdf/SNAAP_Special%20Report_Spring2020.pdf
Frenette, A., Dumford, A. D., Miller, A. L., & Tepper, S. J. (2015). The intern divide: The promise and challenges of internships in the arts. Indiana University and Arizona State University, Strategic National Arts Alumni Project.
Friedlander, C. (2018). On microaggressions: Cumulative harm and individual responsibility. Hypatia, 33(1), 5–21.
Harper, S. R. (2013). Am I my brother’s teacher? Black undergraduates, racial socialization, and peer pedagogies in predominantly white postsecondary contexts. Review of Research in Education, 37(1), 183–211.
Heidelberg, B. (2019). The professionalization of arts management in the United States: Are we there yet? Cultural Management: Science & Education, 3(1), 53–66.
Heidelberg, B., & Cuyler, A. (2014). Integrating diversity into Arts Management education. American Journal of Arts Management, 2(1), 1–10.
Kubota, R. (2020). Confronting epistemological racism, decolonizing scholarly knowledge: Race and gender in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 41(5), 712–732.
Lang, K., & Kahn-Lang Spitzer, A. (2020). Race discrimination: An economic perspective. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34(2), 68–89.
Mankin, L. D., Perry, R. W., Jones, P., & Cayer, N. J. (2006). Executive directors of local arts agencies: Who are they? Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 36(2), 86–103.
Martin, D., & Rich, D. J. (1998). Assessing the role of formal education in arts administration training. Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 28(1), 4–9.
Mauldin, B., Kidd, S. L., Ruskin, J., & Agustin, M. (2016). Cultural equity and inclusive initiative: Literature review. Los Angeles County Arts Commission. https://www.lacountyarts.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ceii_litrev_final.pdf
Meeus, W. H., & Raaijmakers, Q. A. (1986). Administrative obedience: Carrying out orders to use psychological-administrative violence. European Journal of Social Psychology, 16(4), 311–324.
Newton, T., Goodman, J., Heidelberg, B., & Heidemann, K. (2015, April 17). Butts in our own seats: Advocacy and recruitment strategies for sustainability in arts administration education. Association of Arts Administration Educators Annual Conference, Portland, OR.
Nickels, A. E., & Leach, K. A. (2021). Toward a more just nonprofit sector: Leveraging a critical approach to disrupt and dismantle white masculine space. Public Integrity, 23, 1–17.
Ojuola, S. (2020). Black students, white schools, and racism: Exploring the experiences, challenges, and resilience of Black students at private K-12 predominantly white institutions (PWIs) through adult reflections. [Master’s thesis, University of San Francisco]. Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship.
O’Meara, K., Culpepper, D., & Templeton, L. L. (2020). Nudging toward diversity: Applying behavioral design to faculty hiring. Review of Educational Research, 90(3), 311–348.
Ostrower, F. (2005). Diversity on cultural boards: Implications for organizational value and impact. University of Texas at Austin. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Research-Art-Works-UTX-Austin.pdf
Rich, J. D., & Martin, D. (2010, June). Assessing the role of formal education in arts administration leadership development: Revisiting the condition 15 years later. In Presentation at the annual international meeting of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, Washington, DC.
Sidford, H. (2011). Fusing arts, culture, and social change. Helicon Collaborative.
Sidford, H. (2017). Not just money: Equity issues in cultural philanthropy. Helicon Collaborative.
Stein, T. S. (2019). Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Performing Arts Workforce. Routledge.
Stein, T. S. (2000). Creating opportunities for people of color in performing arts management. Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 29(4), 304–318.
Varela, X. (2013). Core consensus, strategic variations: Mapping arts management graduate education in the United States. Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 43(2), 74–87.
Voss, D. Z., & Voss, D. G. (2020). The Alchemy of High-Performing Arts Organizations. SMU Data Arts. https://culturaldata.org/media/2120/datadocwallace-report-live-20.pdf
Westermann, M., Sweeney, L., & Schonfeld, R.C. (2018). Art museum staff demographic survey 2018. https://sr.ithaka.org/publications/art-museum-staff-demographic-survey-2018/
Wiggins-Romesburg, C. A., & Githens, R. P. (2018). The psychology of diversity resistance and integration. Human Resource Development Review, 17(2), 179–198.
Williams, M. T. (2019). Microaggressions: Clarification, evidence, and impact. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15, 3–26.
Wingfield, A. H., & Chavez, K. (2020). Getting in, getting hired, getting sideways looks: Organizational hierarchy and perceptions of racial discrimination. American Sociological Review, 85(1), 31–57.
Wilensky, H. L. (1964). The professionalization of everyone? American Journal of Sociology, 70(2), 137–158.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Heidelberg, B.M. (2022). Theorizing Street Cred: Exploring the Impact of Barriers to Entry and Advancement of (Hopeful) Black Arts Administrators. In: Cuyler, A.C. (eds) Arts Management, Cultural Policy, & the African Diaspora. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85810-0_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85810-0_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-85809-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-85810-0
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)