The award-winning Take It Down! Organizing Against Racism exhibit has been moved from the RMSC Museum & Science Center to FIGHT Village, located at 186 Ward St., Rochester, NY 14605. This seasonal traveling exhibit is free and open to the public in the FIGHT Village Community Room on weekdays (except Wednesdays) from 9am–4pm now through July 31.
In 2016, a panel featuring racist artwork was removed from the Dentzel Carousel at
Ontario Beach Park in Rochester, NY, after being on display for 111 years. The artwork
generated controversy in our community. The Take It Down Planning Committee, in
partnership with the RMSC and the City of Rochester, created this exhibit to show that
pickaninny art perpetuates ongoing individual, institutional, and structural racism by denying the humanity of black children. In 2019, the Museum Association of New York
(MANY) awarded the Take it Down Planning Committee and the RMSC partnership the
Engaging Communities Award for their work on the Take It Down: Organizing Against
Racism exhibit and related programs. This award is a part of MANY’s Awards of Merit
series and recognizes outstanding and innovative programs, staff, and volunteers who have
enriched New York State museums with new and remarkable projects.
The Take It Down Planning Committee/Faith Community Alliance Coalition, in partnership with the RMSC, invites the public to participate in a FREE antiracist educational program about the Dentzel Menagerie Carousel panel exhibit, Take It Down! Organizing Against Racism, from 12–3pm on Saturday, July 29 at the FIGHT Village Community Room. This community-wide program for all ages will include an opportunity to view the exhibit, discuss racism today, and engage in dialogue about the actions we can take in Rochester to work toward justice for all. This program is the continuation of an ongoing educational process in the Rochester community to create a meaningful and sustained dialogue regarding effective anti-racist action.
For more information, visit the Take It Down! Organizing Against Racism webpage, hosted by the
RMSC at rmsc.org/carousel, for more information.
Take It Down antiracist educational programs have been funded in part through support from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation from 2021 through 2023.