How Banks Artwash the Funds that Enable Police Brutality

The art scene is directly linked to and financially benefits from one of the most violent, heinous components of racist oppression in the US: police brutality against communities of color.

National Museum of African American History and Culture (2017) (image by Mobilus In Mobili via Flickr)

The very banks that collect large fees for packaging and selling municipal debt for police brutality settlements whitewash their images by lavishly sponsoring museums, performance venues, and community arts programs.

On September 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on the National Mall in Washington, DC, to wide acclaim, with every timed-entrance ticket for the rest of the year already claimed. Founding member Bank of America soaked up the accolades. Few people knew that Bank of America, at the same time, was profiting from fees for packaging and issuing municipal bonds to investors to pay for cities’ police brutality settlements. …read more…

This article first appeared on Hyperallergic on July 15, 2020.