Wellcome Collection in London shuts ‘racist, sexist and ableist’ medical history gallery

One of the key galleries at the museum in London is to be closed because it perpetuates a version of medical history that is based on racist, sexist and ableist theories and language.

Medicine Man is a free permanent display that includes objects relating to sex, birth and death, as well as models from the 17th century. More than a million items on the history of health and medicine were gathered by Sir Henry Wellcome.

The story the museum told was that of a man with enormous wealth, power and privilege.

The announcement was welcomed by a few people, but attacked by many others. One wrote that it was an act of cultural vandalization to close.

Does the rot go all the way to the top if no one is able to get rid of these cultural vandals? Is this the beginning of the end for museums because their collections are not woken enough?

The director of the collection was named in 2019. She promised to be brave in dealing with the most controversial items there. She said it felt like an impossible place to be worrying about this material without knowing what it is, what narratives there are to be understood, and how the material came to be in our collection.

There is a painting of a black african kneeling in front of a white missionary. She put "A Medical Missionary attending to a Sick African" in storage due to the fact that it could perpetuate racial stereotypes.

The Medicine Man display perpetuates a version of medical history that is based on racist, sexist and ableist theories and language, according to the latest announcement.

The aim was to acquire a lot of objects that would allow a better understanding of the art and science of healing throughout the ages.

A collection that told a global story of health and medicine in which disabled people, Black people, Indigenous peoples and people of colour were exoticised, marginalised and exploited was created. Medicine Man will be closing on November 27th.