Getty Faces Discrimination Lawsuit over Multicultural Internship Program

A discrimination lawsuit filed by Samantha Niemann against the Getty Foundation alleges she was denied an undergraduate internship with the institution because she is white. In the lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court,  Niemann accused Getty of violating her civil rights, racial discrimination and harassment as well as retaliation. She seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Hyperallergic has an interesting take on this lawsuit.

A survey conducted by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2015 found that 72% of the staff at American art museums are non-Hispanic whites. That number goes beyond the general American population, which is 62% non-Hispanic white. A closer look reveals that 84% of non-Hispanic whites dominate positions that contribute to the “intellectual and educational mission of museums,” such as directors, curators, conservators, etc. This means that, of the people in underrepresented groups — mostly communities of color — who work at museums, nearly half of them do so within departments that oversee security, facilities, and finance.

More here.