Hi there!
I’ve recently made myself hip to the goings-on in regards to recently banned members. I see all the pain/hurt/confusion in my fellow, “makers-of-the-things,” and know my heart hurts for you all as well. I have been absent the last couple months (personal reasons) but I was super ready/excited to get back into the building and start again… until I saw a post on Wichita’s subreddit telling people to stay away from MakeICT as there was too much drama. sigh I know everyones main drive in this community is to make it a community where everyone feels safe to express themselves, grow and learn in whatever capacity they feel comfortable. When I learned one of the reasons for a recent dismisal was because of alleged racism, it got me thinking: I kinda noticed from the start, (the tour to orientation) that this community is well…lacking in people of color… like, I even leaned over to my mom and whispered, “I don’t see anyone here darker than manilla.” I mean, yea, we have a little diversity, which I witnessed at the spring sale, but honestly we could be better. So, after I read about the dismisal, I perused the forum, (of course I didn’t look at everything because there are a lot of things) and I really didnt see anything addressing this there, either.
Honestly, having to end someones membership as well as their leadership role because of this while having it be public knowledge looks kinda… like… really…clears throat … bad. Im curious if the new leaders have any plans to help address and diversify our community in the future?
Hey Sandra,
We have collected some demographic data just at the start of the year. One of the reasons we did that was for an ARPA grant that we have won! (Yay us!) The other reason is to try for some grants to improve our diversity. (We are not diverse. Boo.) I think we might actually be a little bit better than our survey reflects or maybe I just know all the diverse people at the space.
That is possible because many of them are in leadership positions or have been in leadership positions (Yay us!).
Do I think we can do better… heck yeah! Do I have all the answers… heck no!
Anyone want to start up a diversity recruitment group? (I am lead on too many projects right now to do it myself… but I can help out through the whole fundraising angle)
Diversity is a hard topic and one that we both need to have and should get more time devotion then just a forum thread, but it’s a good start.
It starts with perception, which is a beast to change even in ideal times. The only way to change it is through actions and making hard policy choices. Up until very recently this now decade old corporation didn’t have a discrimination and harassment policy. When the board did vote to accept it there was push back from various people for various reasons. From the outside looking in that probably didn’t look like a place where people of various backgrounds should try.
The board needs to keep in mind during our workings that our mission statement is to promote the corporation and to foster the creativity of all its members regardless of privilege or power equally. If we can do that consistently then over time the perception will change.
It’s not a long term or probably even a good answer but it might be a good first step or lead to that first good step, like this post. So thank you for starting it.
You’re welcome. Just a thought, maybe we could offer an artist in residence program? Invite a person of color to use the facilities for a month, then display their works in a gallery or at MakeICT on a first friday when they can talk about the space and how they utilized the facilities and explain their artistic vision?
I love this Idea and could help write something around it. We could even partner with Open Studios if they are interested. I think 3 months and some space to call their own in visual arts would be a great benefit to get artist in the door. I’m the Arts Council President and big changes are coming with the way the city grants money to artist. I can ask if artist could use that money to pay for membership and classes at MakeICT but that money will not be available until January of 2024, which really isn’t that far off.
I dont know if anyone here is familiar with the newsletter/'zine type paper that comes out monthly for Kansas City/Wichita called The Voice: https://www.communityvoiceks.com/,
but they always have awesome articles about what’s happening in the African American community for both areas. Last month I believe they had articles on local neighborhood farmers and how they have come together to suppliment areas like 17th and Grove where its considered a “food desert” so people can have healthy eating options. (I believe the only store in the area is Dollar General which does not provide vegetables/fruits.) Ive read articles about brewers. Art shows. Just a super neat perspective on whats happening in the community. Maybe advertising for a prospective artist through there would be an option?
Last fall I invited society of women engineers to come in. I made them some laser cut keychains with their logo and we had a little coloring night and a tour. I’d be happy to do that for other groups that might help us tie in and listen to diverse communities I’d even email them if anyone has ideas. Most people learn about MakeICT through friends and word of mouth and it can be a real challenge to reach past that.
Not necessarily for the reason that one might guess first. One might suspect that a difficulty is the risk of alienating majority/patriarchy/ageist (etc.) sense of privilege. I’m all for challenging them, which might even include myself, going by appearances. The challenge is necessary and desirable.
I’m thinking about the difficulties associated with asking people who are doing a thing to have any insight into why others are avoiding/unable/unwilling to do that thing. As an appalling example of a local official failing to recognize they were asking the wrong questions of the wrong person, a former Director of Wichita Transit commissioned a survey of bus riders to try to figure out what barriers existed to utilization of the bus system. There was one useful thing learned that resulted in rescinding the limit on number of bags a rider was allowed to bring onto a bus. (Imagine trying to use the bus for transportation from a grocery store with a limit of 2 bags of groceries). Zero information was gathered from people whose schedule is incompatible with the hours of operation. Or from people who couldn’t walk the distance to and from the nearest bus stop. Or from people who couldn’t afford bus fare.
I’ve directly experienced a blatantly sexist environment where I was in the minority gender, which very few of we who identify as male ever have to experience. But that’s gives only limited insight into what very many people experience every day every where. I don’t claim to be able to have the needed view of what that’s like except for being very good at empathy and listening. I’ve also experienced extreme poverty, but only really before I turned 19 years old, which was a long time ago and done while being Caucasian, so not having to experience how it feels combined with racism.
In my typical long winded way I’m saying that all of us who’ve experienced little or no discomfort due to lack of diversity, equity and inclusion need to listen and learn and try to be supportive of positive changes and with the starting point being an acknowledgement of our ignorance.
As Showroom, Gallery lead I support this.
Conversations about this are necessary, and the Showroom should be the area to present these conversations.
This can be a difficult conversation, a meeting in the maker space is needed to start this conversation. While the next Maker Monday is short notice it is a starting point.
I don’t understand bigotry of any sort. I’ve had people explain it to me in some fucked up ways.
I approve this line if inquiry. Especially if it leads to delicious ethnic foods at the makerspace.
There are some neat ethnic groups in the area. I know a community of Sri Lankan families. We have a strong Indian community (can’t turn down naan) and a strong Vietnamese community too.
We could see if they would be willing to do classes in their traditional foods (read naan), clothes (like make your own Djellaba class) and religious beliefs. Let’s celebrate Holi with them.
As Showroom, Gallery lead I support this.
Conversations about this are necessary, and the Showroom should be the area to present these conversations.
This can be a difficult conversation, a meeting in the maker space is needed to start this conversation. While the next Maker Monday is short notice it is a starting point.
At one point we’d talked about doing a fundraiser because tools are always on their wish list. Refugee families come to Wichita with nothing, remember when you got your first apartment and you didn’t have a screwdriver, hammer to hang up pictures, hex wrenches. If we want to work with IRC they’d appreciate it but they’d want to know what we can give and I don’t think that’s what this thread is about.
They do have an intergration program to help refugee get familiar with Wichita and what’s available that’s what I was referring to. We could have classes that would bring them into the makerspace and offer them an outlet to introduce their culture to the community. I talked to someone about that prior to the pandemic but I don’t believe that they are there anymore.
I know this thread has been primarily about race, but I would like to piggyback off this topic about diversity to talk about a pretty hot topic right now. As I recall there have been some members who have expressed some less than excellent attitudes towards trans individuals in the past. If we are going to work towards diversity, I hope we can also create a space that is safe for our queer community as well.
If this were as simple as helping IRC and local immigrants, Britain wouldn’t be in the process of returning items of cultural importance to other nations. Britain thought it was saving/improving the world by claiming other nations. Charity is worthy and has its place, but it distracts us from the actual work of figuring out what we’ve done wrong, and easily crosses into white saviorism.
If this were as simple as POC not knowing about us, outreach would be the answer. But we’ve had POC, and they had bad experiences, and we know for a fact it’s not limited to one person’s interactions.
We did make efforts to fix at least one systemic issue for trans members, in clarifying that name badges are not required to be legal names. I doubt that is the only issue.
There is more we need to know. Revisit @mikeb’s post. We need to take time to work on the organization and ourselves before we rush out to chase more relationships.
Last fall I reached out and received a first proposal from a qualified trainer - an LGBTQ, POC Air Force veteran - for diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging training and shared it with the board.
Another idea is a book/discussion club to explore issues - one aimed at white people, doing the work of figuring out the complexities and depths of systemc racism and how to talk about race. I think I still have 3 extra copies of White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White Poeple to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.
We need to know what problems POC, trans people, and others are having. It’s very hard to get people to talk about the real issues. You’ve seen the blowback that happens, so it shouldn’t be surprising.
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