It’s been an inartful few months for the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council which, due to Trump administration threats to pull funding, opted in February to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion materials. That was followed by the departure of its board chairperson, a barrage of community criticism and the just-announced resignation of its executive director.
Meanwhile, funds for various local arts and culture programs JAHC is affiliated with have been recently revoked, and the organization continues to be a potential target in Trump’s crosshairs.
So what is JAHC’s plan going forward?
“(We’re) trying to respond to other concerns in the community and learning from this,” James Bibb, interim chair of JAHC’s board of trustees, said in an interview Wednesday. “The most important thing is there’s a lot of hindsight in how we took action. I think the action was meant to work this through, understanding that it was kind of in real-time, and we are certainly taking the information we’ve learned over the last few weeks with input and we’re trying to do our best to make any next steps be the right ones.”
JAHC celebrated its 50 anniversary two years ago, shortly after Phil Huebschen became the executive director of the nonprofit organization that is involved with a multitude of community events, including some hosted at its own facility and next door as the operator of Centennial Hall.
However, Huebschen’s resignation was announced Monday and the director told KTOO in an interview published Wednesday “I found myself unable to authentically engage in implementing the decision of the board” to eliminate DEI content.
Deleted from the organization’s website following the board’s decision were “JAHC Statement on Racial Equity” and “Mission & Strategy” pages, which are still missing as of Thursday. Also still missing are three paragraphs from JAHC’s homepage that included a Lingít land acknowledgment and statement about collaborating with Indigenous communities.
Bibb said Huebschen “wasn’t specific on why he was stepping back” in the resignation to the board, which is effective May 14.
“With that (KTOO) interview he was a little more open about that,” Bibb said. “None of those statements were in front of the board at any time when he first made a notice to us.”
“I will say I really wish Phil would stay with us,” he added. “I think he did an excellent job. And from my standpoint if that was his concern I think continuing to make that fight and working through this process with it with the board would have been my preference. I think he would have been the best person for that.”
Also departing JAHC earlier this year was Carin Silkaitis, the board’s president at the February meeting, who stepped down at an April 16 board meeting for reasons not specified. Silkaitis is also coping with a recent DEI ban as the interim provost of the University of Alaska Southeast after the Board of Regents voted Feb. 21 to impose similar restrictions on content.
JAHC, in the wake of Huebschen’s resignation, issued a statement on Wednesday “addressing our ongoing commitment to cultural safety and inclusion in the face of recent challenges.” It notes the board — after being told by “a federal funder” to remove DEI content to protect future funding — opted to “designate a committee to reconfigure this language in more effective, strategic, and culturally responsive ways,” while temporarily removing existing language from its website.
“An attack on inclusive practices is happening real-time in America,” the statement asserts. “This, in practice, is an attack on small arts & culture organizations like the JAHC. Threatening this funding threatens the JAHC’s existence and strategic direction. The board felt vulnerable with both potential outcomes of this decision: comply with federal pressure, or lose the funding we need to enact equitable concepts through our programs.”
“The very purpose of these directives from a federal level is to create lateral conflict. We understand experiencing anger surrounding these decisions, but do not want this to pit the JAHC against the communities we serve. It is vital to work together in our next steps. The JAHC board aims to listen deeply, learn more, and use this experience as a catalyst for further conversations.”
Bibb said the timeline for further updates to JAHC’s website and the content under scrutiny is still being determined. However he — echoing previous comments by Huebschen and Silkaitis — said no programs or activities are being cancelled because they have what could be perceived as DEI content.
Numerous local entities such as the Juneau Symphony and Perseverance Theatre received notices during the past week that grants from the National Endowment for the Arts were being cancelled. Also cancelled recently were funds for public library services and a proposed Capital Civic Center — which is intended to replace the JACC and Centennial Hall — but Bibb said JAHC has not received any notices during the past week of funding being revoked.
However, JAHC is keeping a wary eye on both its funding and that of affiliated entities as President Donald Trump continues his efforts at widespread cutbacks, including eliminating the NEA and National Endowment for the Humanities in next year’s budget.
“One of the first responses of a board is fiscal responsibility,” Bibb said. “And I do say the board weighs that heavily when they make decisions. But I think this is much more complicated than any of the other decisions we’ve had to make.”
Bibb said the intense criticism from artists and others in the community in recent months is being heard.
“I think we learn a lot from that and I think they’re very important messages for us to move forward on,” he said. “We’re going to regroup with this message that got out, and we’re going to try to improve upon how we make decisions and learn from this.”
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
