Racism does not belong in 2026

When you’re dealing with a membership that pulls folks in from the public at large, you deal with a lot of personalities.

Some personalities bring people to the space with their charisma and charm.

Some personalities push people away with their world charm.

When you have personalities that don’t match either the current persona of the space, or the type of space you want to be, you run into issues and need to take swift action.

On Saturday, I had my first case of outward racism at the space that I needed to deal with.

I had gotten there around 9:00 in the morning to help with tours and to do a new member orientation class. Tours went rather well, as I was fortunate to get two different small groups – a group of two where the kid had more experience with 3d printers than I do, and a group of four who I struggled with because of the communication barrier, but we were ultimately able to make it work between us.

By the time tours and our orientation class had ended, it was almost 3 and I hadn’t had lunch. I started on a small project of taking measurements of the space and identifying where all power outlets are and the breakers that they are associated with – part of a larger building management system – and then found a class with an instructor that I was interested in. I ran and grabbed lunch, then came back and started taking her class. Once the class was over, I walked past a conversation where someone said, “…[my name] is here, he can help with this.”

Well, during this, I discovered that another member had made some really derogatory remarks to a group of people that included guests – folks who were not part of the makerspace itself. No matter how tired I was, I was hell-bent on making sure that I had this wrapped up before I left the space for the evening.

While my position does not have the ability to permanently ban an individual from the space, I do have the ability to temporarily ban someone from the space: the last thing that I want is the place getting even more toxic than it already is.

Keep your members safe, no matter how tired or burnt out you might be.