Weltmuseum Wien

As anthropologists in Austria, we stand in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and other ongoing social movements seeking social justice and equality. We consider it a core responsibility in our academic and institutional work to understand, expose, and reject any form of racism, discrimination, and structural violence against vulnerable and minority groups anywhere. As the most significant anti-racist social movement in recent history unfolds in the USA, we stand against structural and everyday racism and discrimination against BIPoC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour), Roma, migrants, LGBTIQ* communities, and religious minorities in Austria and across Europe.

As public institutions, we acknowledge our discipline’s historical and ongoing entanglements in white privilege and structural racism. While de-colonizing our epistemologies and publicly speaking out against right-wing populism and racism, we commit to the affirmative inclusion of disadvantaged communities. This includes not only more collaborative forms of research and teaching, but crucially also institutional recruitment practices and the management of archival and museum collections. We urge all of us to listen closely and support the call of BiPOC for social justice and equality in the shared hope that these already long-standing efforts will transform not only our discipline but also our societies.

As anthropologists in Austria, we participate in a larger disciplinary movement against racism and discrimination across Europe and the world, and join the statements published by EASA and AAA.

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna
Institute for Social Anthropology, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Weltmuseum Wien