The volunteer board of a police museum is speaking out against the Cincinnati Museum Center for rejecting their request to be included because it would conflict with their focus on “social justice.”
The museum center said in a letter to the police museum that they also objected to the possible presence of guns in the exhibits. The police museum opened in 2006, and the operators are looking for a permanent building ahead of the lease expiring at their current location.
‘I was offended by the words. Law enforcement is not against children or social justice, as the email seemed to imply.’
WXIX-TV obtained the letter explaining the reasoning behind the denial: “After careful consideration, we have determined that our museum spaces and missions are not aligned in a way that would make a full relocation feasible at this time,” wrote Jill Berkemeier of the Cincinnati Museum Center National Railroad Freedom Center.
The museum center houses several different institutions at the historic Union Terminal.
“Our facilities with Union Terminal housing the Children’s Museum and the Holocaust & Humanities Center and Freedom Center focused on the stories of the Underground Railroad and social justice,” Berkemeier continued, and are meant to “serve audiences that include young children and sensitive exhibits, and the presence of firearms or certain artifacts associated with law enforcement would not align with the environment and experiences we are committed to providing.”
Steven Kramer, the CEO and president of the Cincinnati Historical Police Society, said he was unhappy with the decision but not surprised.
“We’ve been down this road four times now. We’ve been trying for over a decade to relocate there, before the sales tax levy, before the Holocaust museum was allowed in,” he told WXIX.
“We were just hoping that with the new administration, we might have a better shot at it. We are not happy that that’s their attitude,” he added. “We try to show the positive side of Cincinnati, and we understand that we have to look elsewhere. I was offended by the words. Law enforcement is not against children or social justice, as the email seemed to imply.”
He went on to say that the police museum displays were appropriate for all ages and do not show any violence.
The museum center released another statement trying to clarify its position and claiming it didn’t have the “capacity” to include other initiatives.
“Cincinnati Museum Center respects and appreciates the service and sacrifice of our law enforcement officers, including those we work with every day to keep our facility safe and secure,” the statement reads. “We are confident the Greater Cincinnati Police Museum will find a suitable location to continue to share their history and stories.”
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