Attending "Communicating with Community in Mind: Thinking Through Inclusive Language" @NEMAnet Been following @ZrAlexKapitan for a while and it's so exciting to finally get the chance to see them speak.

"Language not only describes but creates reality," says @ZrAlexKapitan and invites us to use language to work together to create a world without violence.

"Striving for 'neutrality' simply means communicating invisible, unquestioned cultural norms," says @ZrAlexKapitan No such thing as neutral language, no such thing as a neutral museum. #MuseumsAreNotNeutral

As a Latin nerd, I especially appreciate @ZrAlexKapitan bringing up the Latin root of the word curator: "curare" meaning to care. Often we in the museum field assume that care must be for art objects, but it could also be for people.

Favorite top tip from @ZrAlexKapitan: "Follow leaders on the margins" - instead of deferring to the AP or similar for your style guide, seek out the people with marginalized identities in your field, follow them and HIRE them.

Interesting provocation about museum labels: what is your MOTIVATION when you write a label? Is it about justifying the value of an object to funders? Impressing your peers? or creating a conversation between a visitor and the object?

Active voice is essential for good writing- why are we allergic to it in museums? In the newspaper it's "man dies in officer-related shooting" instead of "Officer Smith kills unarmed teen" in the museum it's "he was a slave" instead of "Mr. Smith enslaved him."

Language and style guide resources:
https://radicalcopyeditor.com/ 
https://consciousstyleguide.com/ 
https://www.diversitystyleguide.com/ 
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language

So what should we do when we mess up? (eg. slip up on language, neglect to consult community, etc.) @ZrAlexKapitan says apologize and make amends. Say: here's what we got wrong, here's who we're talking to and what steps we're taking toward repair.

When you are in relationship and community, you can mirror language so you're much less likely use harmful language. @ZrAlexKapitan

Great discussion about land acknowledgements- these can often be performative. What is our motivation? How can a museum's land acknowledgement be specific to the museum? Can we place the museum building and founding within the context of the acknowledgement? @ZrAlexKapitan