Report: New York’s Tenement Museum sees rise in negative comments about immigrants
Published November 22, 2016
(JTA) — The Tenement Museum in New York has seen an “unprecedented number” of negative comments by visitors about immigrants.
The museum, which holds tours for small groups with the stated mission of enhancing the public’s appreciation for the role immigration plays in shaping American identity, is giving its guides new training to help them deal with the increase in hostile remarks, the Thompson Reuters Foundation reported.
The museum is located in the heart of the historic Jewish Lower East City of Manhattan. One of its key exhibits is the restored 1878 home of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family. A new exhibit on more recent waves of migrants from China and Puerto Rico is set to open in July 2017.
Museum officials told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the previously infrequent incidents of hostile remarks now occur every day. The museum’s management put in place the new compulsory training program in September. Since then, guides have begun meeting informally to address challenging remarks that have come up during tours.
