The popular diorama was covered up for the first time in 120 years on June 29, 2020, in the wake of demonstrations related to systemic racism and the police killings of Black people. At the time, Stephen Tonsor, the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin interim director of the museum, explained that some people of color were disturbed by it. ”Their traumatic experience with racialized violence leads them to see this diorama primarily through that lens. And they’ve told us it’s disturbing to them to see a person of color be violently attacked, especially when it’s displayed in such a prominent place in the museum where you cannot avoid it,” Tonsor said.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 09, 2021 15:22 UTC