Noguchi Museum Fires Three Workers for Wearing Kaffiyehs

TheNoguchi Museumin Queens, New York, terminated three staff members on September 4 after the trio violated its recently instated ban on wearing kaffiyehs to work, according to multiple sources, includingArtnews, theNew York Times, andHyperallergic, which broke the story. The scarf is considered a symbol of Palestinian culture.

Museum leadership in mid-August had updated the institution’s dress code to forbid employees from wearing clothing or accessories bearing “political messages, slogans or symbols” while on the job after asking an employee to remove their kaffiyeh or face disciplinary action. Management in a statement expressed concern that such garments might “unintentionally alienate segments of our diverse visitorship.”

A majority of the staff responded with a petition calling for the modified policy to be retracted and for those protesting the ban or wearing kaffiyehs not to be subject to punishment. Museum director Amy Hau sent employees an email affirming that the ban would remain in place, spurring a number of staffers tostage a walkout. Those protesting the ban called it “particularly worrisome” in light of the personal history of the museum’sfounder, Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, who himself was inspired to become a political activist after experiencing racism in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The recent terminations sparked a September 8 protest outside the institution, in which cultural workers and supporters participated, calling for Hau to be fired,Artnewsreports.

“Arbitrarily deciding whose culture is political is a terrible precedent for a culture institution to set,” Trasonia Abbott, one of the three employees terminated for wearing a kaffiyeh, told the platform.

A museum spokeswoman confirmed to theTimesthat the three firings had been in response to dress code violations. She additionally confirmed that the museum had earlier fired its director of visitor services, giving no reason except to say that it was not for wearing a kaffiyeh.