In response to accusations from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) board, the City of Montgomery denied any wrongdoing by Mayor Steven Reed and his office while making false statements about 1819 News' coverage of the controversy that brought the conflict to light.
The City of Montgomery responded on Thursday afternoon with a statement bearing no name, only the city's communication department. The city's came after the MMFA boards released a joint statement accusing Reed's office of attempting to impose unilateral control over MMFA operations. In its statement, the city lied by claiming collusion between unnamed MMFA board members and 1819 News, a demonstrably false claim.
The issue was revealed after a series of controversial billboards bearing the MMFA name appeared in the city.
On January 28, 1819 News reported that billboards with the "Make America Great Again" slogan had been spotted in the area. The slogan was over a famous picture of Alabama state troopers confronting civil rights marchers during the Selma to Montgomery march.
On January 29, 1819 News learned of a special called board meeting and attempted to attend but was denied entry due to the board allegedly discussing personnel matters. Later that day, the city's Cultural Affairs Director Jennifer Dobbs announced that the billboard "was made without the approval of Museum leadership or the Joint Boards." Dobbs also announced that she had been selected as the museum's new interim director.
The next day, Friday, January 30, Reed released a statement, claiming he requested the billboards be removed after learning the MMFA had purchased them.
However, on Tuesday, the MMFA "joint boards" released a statement, using the billboard debacle to bring attention to "a conflict between them and the Mayor's Office over the administration of the Museum that has existed for two years now."
Governance of the MMFA by Craig Monger on Scribd
"In February 2023, City officials placed the Director of the Museum on administrative leave, without consulting the boards," the statement read. "Since then, the Mayor's Office has effectively exerted control over the operation of Museum without meaningful board consultation. Both boards have expressed their opposition to the unilateral assumption of control by the Mayor's Office, but in an effort to achieve a harmonious resolution, they have refrained from publicly acknowledging this conflict while discussions have continued."
The statement goes on to accuse the overreach of Reed's office of the "boards" has prevented them from being able to "exercise their proper governance responsibilities."
The City of Montgomery responded with its statement on Thursday. In it, the city denied the MMFA boards' claims and made false statements about 1819 News' role in covering the billboard debacle.
Firstly, the city denies the existence of a "joint board," despite the city's cultural affairs director using that exact term when the city released a response to the billboards.
The MMFA is governed by two boards of trustees: one is appointed by the city council, and the other is made of those appointed and elected by the MMFA Association. The board of Trustees' President, Bill Ford, sits on both.
"The City Museum Board of Montgomery and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association are two distinct entities," the city's statement read. "The [City] Museum Board, created by law, is the governing authority responsible for the museum's management, while the Association is a private nonprofit organization that provides support and fundraising. The Association does not have legal oversight of museum operations."
The city also attached an attorney general's opinion enumerating the city board's legal responsibility. However, that same opinion states that, since 1961, "MMFA has been governed by both the Museum Board and the Association.
MMFA AG Opinion. by Craig Monger on Scribd
Notably, in the AG's opinion, no authority is given to the mayor or his administration; that falls to the city council. In its initial accusation, the MMFA boards did not claim tension between the boards and city council. In fact, the MMFA statement was released by both boards: city and association. Instead, the MMFA boards placed the blame on Reed and his office. Equally notable is the fact that no one's name is attached to the city's response, much less any city council member or MMFA city board member.
Also, the claim that the association board only provides "support and fundraising" is misleading, since the same AG's opinion released by the city states that the MMFA Association owns the art collection within the museum itself.
"Because an Association board member contacted media before notifying museum leadership and the full Association and City Museum boards, the contacted media stoked the flame and caused the matter to go viral, causing ire and especially impacting those donors and supporters it chose to name," the city's statement continued, clearly referencing 1819 News's report since no other media company covered the story until days later. No other media attempted to access the Friday board meeting.
This statement by the city is false. 1819 News was informed about billboards from residents and witnessed them in the city. The 1819 News reporter who attempted to attend the January 29 meeting was not informed of the meeting by a board member. No member of the MMFA board spoke to 1819 News before the Friday meeting, where the board chose to remove the billboards. Therefore, it would be impossible for an MMFA board member to contact the "media before notifying museum leadership and the full Association and City Museum boards," since the board held a meeting on the billboards before ever making a public statement, much less contacting 1819 News or other media outlets.
The city's statement went on to claim that MMFA Association board members began "targeting the administration," after Reed "corrected" alleged "misconduct" by MMFA Association board members when he took office.
"After Mayor Steven L. Reed took office, it was discovered that the Association Board had been signing off on contracts without proper oversight, bypassing the legal department, mayor's office and city approval," the statement went on.
"When the mayor corrected this misconduct and enforced the law, the Association Board began targeting the administration."
"Now, the Association Board is demanding control over the museum, despite clear legal statutes that place governance authority with the [City] Museum Board."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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