The Sackler family’s billions were accumuated over the dead bodies of 841,000 Americans who overdosed on the Oxycontin opioids pushed by their pharmaceutical company. The Sacklers shared some of their loot – and their name – with cultural institutions, hospitals, and universities, which are now beginning to wake up and smell the Narcan. The Sackler name and blood money have been recognized as poison.
Following the lead of the Louvre, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Arts has removed the Sackler name from its buildings. Other museums scrubbing the Sacklers include: the National Portrait Gallery, the Serpentine Gallery, the South London Gallery, and the Tate Modern in London; and the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
Medical institutions are understandably sensitive to the drug-taint issue. Tufts University School of Medicine and NYU Langone Graduate Biomedical Institute successfully excised the Sackler name from their buildings, and other health nonprofits are exploring such surgery.
The Smithsonian Institution won’t rename the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, since Arthur was the Sackler brother who died a decade before before OxyContin was developed. Harvard isn’t renaming its Arthur M. Sackler Museum, either. The Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art seems to be fairly immune from the name controversy.
More:
“The Met removes Sackler name from its galleries,” Peggy McGlone, Washington Post
“After Years of Activism, Sackler Name Will Be Removed From Met Museum,” Jasmine Liu, Hyperallergic
“Don’t strip the Sackler name from museums. It’s a visceral reminder of human greed,” Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian
Related:
“Stop blaming my late husband, Arthur Sackler, for the opioid crisis,” Jillian Sackler, Washington Post
Update:
“Judge rejects opioid settlement over legal protections for Sackler family,” The Guardian
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