MOSH opens award-winning exhibit on race

Posted on February 6, 2013 By Editor Neighborhood News

What better time and place to release the Jacksonville Community Council Inc.’s (JCCI) progress report on race relations in Jacksonville than at the Museum of Science & History (MOSH) the day before the award-winning traveling exhibit on the story of race opened to the public on Jan. 26.

The exhibit, RACE: Are We So Different?, is a 5,000-square-foot interactive exhibit developed in 2007 by the American Anthropological Association and highlights how race and race ideas, past and present, influence people and society. It will remain at the MOSH through Apr. 28.

Jacksonville is the first city in Florida to participate in a nationally recognized project studying the origin of race and race ideas, and their impact on American society. According to the JCCI’s 8th annual report, every year since 1985 it has asked residents if racism was a problem in Jacksonville. Twenty-seven years later, an almost equal number of blacks and whites said “Yes” although this has not always been the case. The gap has narrowed but over 50% overall think racism is a problem.

Ben Warner, JCCI President & CEO, Maria Hane, MOSH Executive Director

According to JCCI president and CEO Ben Warner, “Race is an issue that Jacksonville has wrestled with for a long time, but Jacksonville is not afraid to tackle it.”
The progress report on race relations summarizes trendlines that indicate the impact of race in six areas: employment, education, housing, health, justice and politics. To see the report online visit www.jcci.org/race-relations-progress-report.