Race Related Statement:

The Black Lives Matter movement was founded in 2013 after the murder of Trayvon
Martin. The Black Lives Matter foundation has a mission “​to eradicate white supremacy
and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state
and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black
imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate
improvements in our lives.” BLM in itself is inclusive and asks anyone to join and help
the cause. They fight for queer and trans black lives as well as disabled lives.

Most recently, the President of the United States refused to condemn white supremacy
and told the Proud Boys to “Stand back and Stand by.” BLM issued a statement urging
people to vote by emphasizing that Black people “deserve to live in a world that
denounces white supremacy.”

BLM works to create and improve Black imagination and joy by combatting works of
violence against their community. It all started with a hashtag and now six years later,
protests and rallies are getting people attention. Building communities and telling their
stories help spark a fight in others to join their cause for equal rights and freedom.

As five artists who are not people of color, we realize that we do not possess the lived
experiences necessary to properly tell the stories of BIPoC. Because of this, we pledge to
hire diverse voices that are able to tell these stories in ways that we are not able to.

Effective immediately, as to actively engage our organization in anti-racist practices as

quickly as possible, the following revisions to our current policies are being made. While
this list is not fully comprehensive, it is considered living and will be amended as the
review of our organization progresses.

As a collaborative organization and space, ​Arts on the Cusp​, requires a group of diverse
voices to bring our productions to their fullest potential. It is, therefore, our goal to
remove as many barriers of entry as possible starting with the price of entry and
educational requirements.

One of our organization’s core beliefs is that theater should offer equitable access
because art is for everyone, which is why we offer free programs, an extensive
scholarship network, and pay-what-you-can performances. These offerings will be
supplemented by items brought up in “BIPOC Demands for White American Theater”
specifically prioritizing scholarship funds to BIPOC applicants, disallowing the advance
purchase of pay-what-you-can tickets, and re-evaluating how we ticket ‘exclusive’
events.
Since our group is almost entirely white it is important that we take an initiative to stand
aside at times and open a space for BIPOC artists and pieces to come forward. A
responsible way to go about this is call upon various mentors that represent that
community in theatre. Bringing in and hiring various BIPOC artists to help supervise and
create the pieces is an utter imperative for us. We also don’t want these mentors to be
constructed as the sort of token POC member but full and established members of the
company and process. We hope to achieve equal representation in this as well through the
next idea.

Arts on the Cusp has also come to understand some of the discriminatory elements that
exist within the role of our Production Mentors. These would be paid educators and
would change from production to production. These mentors are responsible for being the
knowledgeable body for the work and facilitating greater conversations surrounding the
piece. While we must maintain certain qualifications to ensure the well-being of many of
our youth performers, we acknowledge that knowledge comes from many sources and
educational accolades are not necessarily an indicator of someone’s educational capacity.
As such we will be removing educational requirements from our job listings.

When we set out to hire people, we will come into the interview with a set of qualities
that we want from the people we hire. We will leave all biases at the door, and come in
looking for members that will strengthen the Arts on the Cusp community. We want to
empower all our people, not just the people we want to educate, but also our new
members. This will make sure that they feel welcome even in the interview room. Some
of our board members have experience with outside theatre organizations and know the
necessity to make everyone feel welcome and heard. It is a priority to hear new voices
and make people feel that we are a safe environment.
Bibliography

BIPOC Demands for White American Theater . 2020,

static1.squarespace.com/static/5ede42fd6cb927448d9d0525/t/5f064e63f21dd43ad6ab316
2/1594248809279/Tier2.pdf.

“Home.” ​Black Lives Matter,​ 22 June 2020, blacklivesmatter.com/.

Webb, Maynard. “How To Alter Your Hiring Practices To Increase Diversity.” ​Forbes,​ Forbes
Magazine, 30 Oct. 2017,
www.forbes.com/sites/maynardwebb/2017/10/29/how-to-alter-your-hiring-practices-to-in
crease-diversity/.