I’m not sure how the writer came to the conclusion: “Further, both what is seen as significant, and the collectors that shape the narratives around the objects in “Collected” smack a bit of dated class privilege (a nod to W.E.B. Du Bois, whose writings are included in the exhibition), which unfortunately goes unaddressed.”

To this I say, Collected is about the collectors and yes, why and how they came to collect their respective objects. Their narratives are important no matter what their “class privilege” and by the way, the writer is terribly misinformed on this count. Surely, Dr. Jack Kimbrough face discrimination as a child in Alameda California—and his mother told him to discover what that was about for himself by giving him a copy of Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery—“read it,” she said. Melvin Holmes and Dr. Mayme Clayton, two government workers, collected their objects at great financial sacrifice to their families because of their larger goal of preserving aspects of black history and art.

Must everything be interpreted for you? Can you see something and if interested make it your personal responsibility to read further. I’m reminded of Dr. William L. Dawson, acclaimed African American composer of Negro spirituals or folk songs as he called them. When he was asked a question that he felt could be answered by further research on the part of the person asking the question, like Dr. Kimbrough’s mother, Dr. Dawson would exclaim, “read it”. Yes, self-discovery is the greatest discovery of all.

I could go on–Charles White’s drawing, The Open Gate (1948) is a total misinterpretation by the writer—something that happens all too often when writers overlay their uninformed baggage onto artwork.

Finally, MoAD is not a collecting museum and it must rely on the kindness and generosity of collectors. I value my connections with collectors whatever their social or financial situation. MoAD’s very existence depends on them.