A decision to remove the Sackler family name from exhibition spaces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was announced last week. It comes amid growing concerns over the role the family may have played in the opioid crisis.

What to know:

• The Sacklers will no longer be affiliated with seven exhibition spaces in the museum, including the wing that houses the Temple of Dendur, currently named after three Sackler brothers who donated $3.5 million about 50 years ago.

• Their descendants, who made the announcement with the Met, are principal owners of Purdue Pharma.

• A settlement in which the Sacklers agreed to pay $4.5 billion and relinquish ownership of Purdue Pharma in return for immunity from future lawsuits was conditionally approved in September.

• Other museums, like the Guggenheim in New York City and the Louvre in Paris, have in recent years distanced themselves from the family amid concerns around their potential role in the opioid crisis.

• The family has donated millions to museums and educational institutions around the world, like the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the universities of Oxford and Yale.

This is a summary of the article “The Met will strip the Sackler family’s name from its exhibition spaces” published by NPR on December 9. The full article can be found on npr.org.

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