Newsroom

ARTS FOR LA’S STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY AND LOS ANGELES FOCUSED RESOURCES.

Arts for LA stands in solidarity with protestors organizing and mobilizing in opposition to systemic and state-sanctioned violence by police against black people. We must all work to end institutional racism against communities of color and advance racial equity in this country.

We know that artists and arts institutions must be part of building a more just world – to give voice to what is possible, to what has been ignored, to what continues to be silenced. We pledge to listen to and amplify the voices that have gone unheard for so long and to do what we can to promote the diverse ideas and dreams of positive change.

While we need our creative communities now more than ever to help us make sense of this moment, we also cannot ignore our own contributions to the very problems we seek to redress. We know that to stand in true solidarity, we must engage in meaningful self-reflection and hold ourselves and creative institutions accountable to the values we seek to manifest. We stand ready to work alongside you to dismantle the systems that contribute to racial inequity and violence in our city, our sector, and our world at large.

RESOURCES FOR THE LOS ANGELES REGION

1. Donate to the BLMLA Action Fund
This fund will go toward bail, fees, and medical expenses for activists taking part in protests.

2. The People’s Budget LA
Information about the movement to prioritize funding for public services and end police violence against communities of color.

3. AWARE-LA Saturday Dialogue
Date & Time: Saturday, June 6th, 1:00-3:00pm (12:30 orientation for first timers)
Details: Come together with fellow white antiracist folks to talk about race and racism, whiteness and white privilege, openly and honestly with each other. (For more information about why we host spaces specifically for white folks, please check out this document).
Contact: send questions to awarela@gmail.com

READING & ANTI-RACIST RESOURCES

1. Racial Justice Art & Story Sessions
“Building true cross-racial understanding and a sense of shared destiny amongst and between immigrant and refugee communities requires unlearning the centuries of anti-Black racism in the United States that has been exported across the world through social norms, culture, media, and policy.”

2. The Center for Cultural Power
#NoGoingBack: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide for Artists and Activists to meet the moment.

3. Anti-Racism for Beginners
Anti-racist resources, readings, and other materials.

4. Racial Equity Curricula
From Racial Equity Tools, for educational contexts.

5. Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Curricula
Curricula that address racism, tolerance, and historical oppression.