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Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Two viruses are devastating our industry and our country. While a global pandemic is threatening our most basic human health needs and economic lives, the virus of racism, bigotry and xenophobia that our country was built on has also spiked, coming to the forefront as we all witness together the murders of innocent lives. We mourn the recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. We mourn so many more that have died needlessly, simply because they were Black; Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Walter Scott, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, say their names. We call on our local, state, and national leaders, but especially our leaders in the arts to join us in opposing all forms of hate and long standing white supremacist frameworks in our institutions and in our country.
BLACK LIVES MATTER! We call on our members to stand with our fellow Black artists, administrators, board members, funders, and supporters calling out for justice and an end to our country's practice of marginalizing, harming and disregarding lives of Black and Brown people. We grieve with the families of those lost, we mourn for our country and the pain we are witnessing and we hope you will do more than be an ally but a co-conspirator in dismantling what has harmed so many for so long.
Take action:
Learn more:
- Read the Movement for Black Lives policy platforms
- Read the MPD150 Report, Enough is Enough - a 150-year performance review of the Minneapolis Police Department
- If you're white, connect with your local Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) chapter; SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change
Donate:
Thank you. |
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