In January 2021, President Biden issued the Executive Order (EO) on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government, requiring US federal agencies to produce agency-level equity action plans to “assess whether, and to what extent, programs and policies perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and underserved groups.” 

As federal agencies that fund Latino cultural institutions and museums, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have action plans which prioritize efforts to deepen engagement with populations that have historically been underrepresented in and underserved by museum and cultural programming and funding opportunities. Efforts include bolstering data collection, strengthening agencies’ technical assistance capacity, and streamlining grant and procurement processes. Several equity commitments are underway, including evaluations of grantmaking programs and the launch of an American Latino Museum Internship and Fellowship Initiative.

To further operationalize equity commitments, IMLS in particular could consider forming an agency equity team and an internal Latino Museum Working Group to assess and inform American Latino-focused initiatives in the broader museum and education fields.