“Black Creativity” celebrated at the Jewish-founded/Jewish-funded Griffin Museum of Science and Industry

The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry was founded by a Jew, Julius Rosenwald:

Funding for a major expansion was provided by a Jewish family led by Henry Crown (“Henry Krinsky”):

(Ken Griffin provided the latest slug of funding for the museum, shortly before coronapanic and the peaceful BLM riots led him to relocate to Miami and Griffin is not, to my knowledge, Jewish.)

Does the Museum celebrate Jewish achievements in scientice, engineering, and industry? No! Since 1970, the museum has been specifically focused on a celebration of “Black Creativity”:

As with other nonprofit organizations’ race- and gender-related programs, I can’t figure out how this is legal. The museum is partly supported by tax dollars, e.g., the taxes that Ken Griffin didn’t have to pay because he gave $125 million (in pre-Biden dollars) to the museum. The museum also gets some state and federal grants. They wouldn’t be allowed to have a “white cisgender heterosexual male creativity” exhibit, right? ChatGPT:

Why don’t they run up against the 14th Amendment as Harvard did in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard? Because they don’t discriminate in who can pay $26 to come in and see a discriminatory exhibit? It’s $15 for kids, but note that the price could also be $0 times 8 if you present your EBT card:

Black creativity seems only loosely related to today’s visitors. ChatGPT says that the Black population of Chicago is declining even faster than the city’s overall population decline while the percentage of Chicago residents who are Asian or Hispanic is growing (but it isn’t fair to characterize this as a “replacement”). Our Venezuelan Uber driver from O’Hare enthused over the fact that Spanish is now spoken everywhere in the city, a huge change in his experience from when he arrived in 2019. As we were driving in from Oshkosh we passed mosques and women in burkas. Here’s the map of mosques on the north side of the city:

What do the Muslim, Indian (“Asian”), and Hispanic taxpayers who visit the museum see? A bronze relief showing Black Creativity in various domains:

(There are no relief sculptures celebrating Muslim, Indian, or Hispanic creativity.)

I asked ChatGPT “Explain to me how the depicted items are examples of Black creativity”. Excerpts:

Pyramids (top center) – These almost certainly refer to ancient Egypt. Some museums emphasizing Black history present ancient Egypt as part of Africa’s cultural heritage. Historians agree Egypt was an African civilization geographically

Flasks and laboratory glassware (center left) – … They likely honor African American scientists, engineers, inventors, and physicians.

Wheel/gear (bottom center) – This suggests engineering, industry, machinery, and technological innovation.

Of course, I followed up with “Were the people who designed and built the pyramids Black?”

Most Egyptologists would not simply describe the pyramid builders as “Black” in the modern American sense. Some Afrocentric scholars argue that ancient Egyptians should be regarded as Black Africans.

“How about the microscope? Was that invented or improved by a Black person?”

Looking closely at the relief, I think those are laboratory flasks (Erlenmeyer or Florence flasks) rather than a microscope. [there is clearly a microscope in the relief! AI is not as smart as we think?] If the artist had intended a microscope, it would not be accurate to associate its invention primarily with Black inventors. The microscope was developed in Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. There are, however, many notable Black scientists and inventors associated with scientific instruments and laboratory research more broadly.

“I see an airplane there. Was aviation a Black invention?”

I think it is intended as a symbol of a field of achievement rather than a claim that the airplane itself was invented by Black people. However, Black Americans have made important contributions to aviation … the Tuskegee Airmen … Guion Bluford became the first African American in space. … Mae Jemison was the first African American woman in space.

“How is it an example of “Black creativity” to operate a machine designed and built by non-Black people?”

the airplane represents aviation as a discipline, and “Black creativity” includes designing aircraft components, advancing aerospace engineering, pioneering aviation, piloting, maintenance, research, or other creative work within that field.

“I drive a Honda Odyssey, but didn’t design or build it. Does that make me creative?”

Simply using a product that someone else designed and built does not ordinarily make you creative with respect to that product. If you drive a Honda Odyssey from point A to point B, most people would not say that is an example of your creativity.

“why is operating an airplane an example of “Black creativity” if I don’t get credit for operating the Odyssey?”

Black creativity” includes contributions such as advancing aviation through research or leadership,

“What fundamental innovations in aviation are Blacks responsible for?”

There have been many important Black contributors to aviation, but if you mean fundamental innovations that changed aviation as a whole, the list is relatively short. … the Tuskegee Airmen demonstrated the effectiveness of Black military aviators

“It was “creative” for the Tuskegee airmen to fly airplanes designed by non-Blacks and previously flown millions of hours by non-Blacks?”

The Tuskegee Airmen … demonstrated exceptional flying and leadership under combat conditions. They disproved racist assumptions that Black Americans were incapable of serving as military pilots.

““exceptional flying and leadership”? So they were better pilots and leaders than all previous WWII pilots?”

The Tuskegee Airmen included many highly competent military pilots who served successfully in combat. Their historical significance comes from several factors: They were the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Forces. … They flew hundreds of combat missions in Europe.

“What was “exceptional” about their flying and leadership compared to non-Black mediocrities such as Bob Hoover, Richard Bong, and David McCampbell?”

The Tuskegee Airmen are primarily notable because they successfully completed combat missions despite institutional discrimination. When I used the word “exceptional,” I was referring to the fact that they met demanding combat standards under adverse circumstances—not that they were uniquely superior to all other WWII aviators.

“How were they “exceptional” if they weren’t better at flying and leadership than other wwii pilots?”

“Exceptional” can mean either: (1) Better than almost everyone else, or, (2) Worthy of special recognition because of unusual circumstances or historical significance. I was using it in the second sense, but I can see why that was unclear.

If we’re evaluating pure flying skill or combat leadership, historians generally do not rank the Tuskegee Airmen as uniquely superior to the best fighter groups of WWII. There were many outstanding fighter units and aces in the U.S., British, German, Soviet, Japanese, and other air forces.

So if someone told me that I shouldn’t be able to drive a minivan and then I drove one to Publix anyway, that would make me an “exceptional driver” like Max Verstappen?

If someone wrongly told you that you were incapable of driving a minivan because of your race, and you then drove one to Publix safely, that would disprove their stereotype. It would not make you comparable to Max Verstappen as a driver.

(I tried some of the above with Grok and its answers were consistent with ChatGPT. It cited the Tuskegee Airmen as examples of “creativity” in aviation and praised them for “exceptional skill”. At the same time, it said that they were no more skilled than the average USAAF pilots of the day, but that they’d overcome prejudice described in a 1925 memo. Pressed a little, it said that despite decades of intensive efforts to recruit Black pilots (“deliberate outreach, scholarships aimed at underrepresented groups, mentoring programs, recruiting at HBCUs, and periodic adjustments intended to increase Black representation”), 2% of current military pilots are Black (vs. 14% of the population) and that the reason for this is that Blacks score 1 standard deviation lower on Test of Basic Aviation Skills and Air Force Officer Qualifying Test. These tests are highly correlated with the ability to complete pilot training, says Grok, and that actually if the U.S. military operated in a race-neutral manner the percentage of Black pilots would be around 1%. At the same time, though, Grok says that any statement that Blacks on average aren’t as suited to being military pilots must be considered irrational prejudice.)

Oh well, despite this lengthy exchange I still can’t figure out why an Arab, Indian, Chinese, or Venezuealan taxpayer wants his/her/zir/their tax dollars to be spent on promoting a single racial group’s creativity going back to the pyramids.

Exit through the gift shop and pick up some Black Creativity fridge magnets: