As an organization dedicated to living musical creators and cultivating a community for their work to thrive in, ACF strives to be diverse, inclusive, and equitable like many in our shared ecosystem. To do so, however, we must acknowledge the historical exclusion of non-white artists in the musical world – particularly Western European-based classical music – and provide a platform to the very artists we seek to support. On Saturday, September 7, 2019 we invited artists, partners, colleagues, and leaders to join us in listening, learning, and discovering tangible ideas to activate more racially inclusive and equitable opportunities for creative musical artists today.
We wanted to continue the conversation and began hosting monthly book club meetings and when we decided to add different media we introduced our monthly Equity Study Groups. These gatherings are a space of learning no matter what your experience with equity and inclusion is. Please join us as we continue to expand our circle for music creators!
WAYS TO JOIN OUR CONVERSATION:
- Join our Monthly Study Group! We’ll meet on Zoom each month. Look for registration links in our calendar. Curious listeners looking to learn together, please.
- Sign up for our mailing list to learn about future programs and gatherings.
- Follow us on Social Media: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
WHAT WE ARE READING/LISTENING TO:
- 1619 Project from The New York Times (podcast in link) – October 7, 2019
- White Fragility by Robin Diangelo – November 4, 2019
- The Urgency of Intersectionality TED Talk by Kimberlé Crenshaw – December 2, 2019
- white supremacy culture by Tema Okun – January 6, 2020
- A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota edited by Sun Yung Shin – March 2, 2020
- RE-Tool: Racial Equity in the Panel Process (with Eleanor Savage, lead author and special guest) – April 6, 2020 & May 4, 2020
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison – June 1, 2020
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi – July 6, 2020
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi continued – August 5, 2020
- Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing – September 9, 2020
- Say it Louder by Tiffany Cross – October 8, 2020
- The Invention of the White Race by Theodore Allen
- Black Marxism: the Making of the Black Tradition by Cedric J. Robinson
- ….and we will keep adding more!
WHO IS THIS FOR?
- Representatives experiencing, working in, and/or seeking to participate in building diversity and greater representation of non-white artists in musical presentations (artists, artistic administrators, music/artistic directors, executive directors, producers)
- Artists and advocates seeking a forum for listening, learning, and connection about Racial Equity and Inclusion
- Community members who want to participate/engage in ACF’s efforts to assess and revise our programs
The Racial Equity and Inclusion Forum was generously supported by an investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Special thanks to the Twin Cities PBS for their support of this event.
January 2022 | The Long View: Whose responsibility is diversity? Read the article here.
December 2021 | Davu Seru on Dead King Mother (2018) and Archiving History. Visit Davu Seru’s website here.
October 2021 | Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian. Watch the TPT Preview here
September 2021 | Everyday Discrimination Scale. Watch Dr. Williams’ Ted Talk here. Watch 60 Minutes feature on Dr. Williams here.
July 2021 | Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool. Watch the Netflix documentary here.
June 2021 | Tish Jones. Watch Tish Jone’s Ted Talk, The Poet Talks of Freedom here.
May 2021 | Code Switching. Learn more about code switching: What Is Code-Switching? | Psychology Today & The Cost of Code Switching | Chandra Arthur
April 2021 | ICIYL Article, Imagining a Trans-Inclusive New Music World. Read article here.
March 2021 | Beyonce’s Homecoming. Read about the Study group co-host TRILLOQUY. Read about special guest and soloing member of Beyoncé K, Lady Jess.
February 2021 | Making Disabled Music and Creating Accessible Spaces. Read the article here.
January 2021 | Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates. Watch a video on the summary of the book here.