The Lindemann family’s collection of Khmer artifacts is worth $40 million USD or more. It includes one of the most important statues from all of Koh Ker (Cambodia’s former capital), depicting the Hindu deity Vishnu, as well as a sandstone statue of Dhrishtadyumna, a celebrated warrior, whose pedestal remains (empty) in the Cambodian national museum. Rather than Cambodian temples and museums, these statues, among many others, are being used to furnish the Lindemann’s mansion (or, as described by the Architectural Digest, “the most beautiful house in America”). Unsurprisingly, as ongoing investigations show, the Lindemanns’ antiquities were acquired through the theft and looting of Cambodia’s sacred sites.

These statues hold an unspeakable amount of historic, cultural and spiritual significance to Khmer people. In the words of Sopheap Meas, “we believe that each of these holds the souls of our ancestors.” Yet thousands remain displaced from their national origins, and from the people for whom they most matter, to decorate the homes of America’s most wealthy. And while some places have begun the necessary processes of repatriation, the Lindemanns are insistent in their refusal to return their stolen art. Instead, the billionaire family has chosen, consistently and deliberately, to perpetuate the harm caused by Western imperialism and neocolonialism. 

Now, despite the family’s actions, Brown plans to name the new Performing Arts Center after the Lindemann family. We, at the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE), Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM,) and Cambodian Society of Rhode Island (CSRI,)  firmly oppose this decision. The choice to reify the Lindrmanns, who’ve not only caused but continue to cause ongoing harm, is a striking display of Brown’s apathy toward our Southeast Asian communities. We see this as blatantly misaligned with Brown’s professed commitment to supporting the Providence community, especially given the ways they’ve historically and negatively impacted our Southeast Asians communities in Rhode Island. 

As organizations founded and led by Cambodian refugees, we are both disappointed and hurt by Brown’s naming decision, especially in light of Brown’s recent claim that they want to build stronger connections with the Providence community.

We call on the university to reflect on who they choose to provide a platform, recognizing that these buildings, as physical and permanent sites on Brown’s campus, are powerful messages about who is valued and who is not. As the university chooses to intertwine their own history with that of the Lindemanns’, we ask them to think deeply about what sort of legacy they’re creating. Change the name.

Signed,

• Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE)
• Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM)
• Cambodian Society of Rhode Island (CSRI)
• SISTA Fire 
• A Sweet Creation Youth Org.
• A Leadership Journey (ALJ) 
• Young Voices (YV)
• Parent Leading for Educational Equity (PLEE)
• Rhode Island Urban Debate League (RIUDL)
• STEAM Box 
• Equity Institute
• Direct Action For Rights And Equality (DARE)
• Center for Justice (CFJ)
• Center for Youth & Community Leadership in Education (CYCLE)
• Latino Policy Institute
• Providence Student Union (PSU)
• Youth in Action (YiA)
• Diversity Talks
• Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance (AMOR)
• Uprise RI