Haverford College

Distinguished Visitors Talk by Patricia A. Banks, Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Mount Holyoke College

Talk on Wednesday, April 3 at 4:30pm in Lutnick 200 (tea at 4:15pm)

“Diversity Capital and Corporate Cultural Patronage” 

Abstract:  Using insights from Black Culture Inc: How Ethnic Community Support Pays for Corporate America (Stanford University Press 2022), this talk examines how businesses rely on philanthropy and sponsorships related to ethnoracial minorities as a form of diversity capital. Investigating the case of giving to Smithsonian museums and drawing on content analysis of public relations and advertising texts on corporate support, I show how gifts to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) provide distinct image benefits for firms. More specifically, I elaborate how companies mobilize gifts to NMAAHC to project an image that they are inclusive and equitable. In a sharp departure from NMAAHC, gifts to “mainstream” Smithsonian museums are used to make claims about non-racial aspects of corporate identity. I conclude by discussing how this case advances the scholarship on race and cultural capital as well as the literature on race and organizations. 

Sponsored by the Department of Sociology and the Distinguished Visitors Program.