San Diego Museum of Man announces name change
'Words have power. Names are no different.'
After operating for more than 40 years, San Diego's Museum of Man announced Sunday that it has officially changed its name to the Museum of Us.
The process to shift its longstanding name and logo, which took place over two-plus years, was meant to better represent its "new public commitment to inclusiveness and being a force for positive social change," museum officials said.
For a one-year transitional period, the Museum of Us will use a "multi-part logo system" as it prepares for a full name change. The graphic shows the name change by crossing out the word "man" and writing the word "us" in front.
"Changing our name corrects the exclusion of all who do not identify with the word Man, and welcomes folks to a place that’s about 'All of Us' - which also happens to be our new tagline," Museum of Us trustee Nora Taylor Jaffe said.
HOW TO MOVE BEYOND DIVERSITY TO INCLUSION AND BELONGING
The multiyear process included stakeholder meetings and surveys as well as an interactive name change exhibit that was temporarily installed in the museum’s rotunda. The final decision was "driven from a gender-based equity perspective," the museum said.
'INTO THE WILD' BUS LIKELY LANDS A HOME AT ALASKA MUSEUM
The more than 100-year-old institution, located in Balboa Park, has long been working to "inspire human connections by exploring the human experience.” Its goal is to give a voice to those who have "long been silenced of overlooked" and to have its guests leave "with new perspectives on the world, so they can become agents for positive change," the museum said.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The museum first considered a name change in 1991. Nearly three decades later, by 2017, the board of trustees revisited the topic as the museum’s mission and program strategy had "significantly shifted," officials said.
"We are extremely excited to have a name that reflects our commitment to being a place that truth-tells and challenges, but does so from a place of love," the museum's CEO, Micah Parzen, said in a statement.