June 4, 2020
Black lives matter.
We as community arts education institutions have a responsibility to address white supremacy —because it kills and traumatizes people in our communities, because our institutions themselves are capable of perpetuating racism and inequity, and because our organizations are made up of people who are impacted by this violence in various ways. We applaud the organizations in our field that have aligned themselves with the movement against anti-Black violence.
The National Guild for Community Arts Education’s mission is to ensure that everyone can achieve their creative potential. This mission is not possible as long as communities across the United States are terrorized by white supremacy and institutional violence.
While an extraordinary amount of funding goes towards policing, arts and cultural organizations—especially those led by people of color—struggle for funding. We stand with the Divest/Invest initiatives of Funders for Justice and Movement for Black Lives. These initiatives call for resources to be divested from policing and incarceration, and invested in things that communities need in order to thrive like housing, food, healthcare, education, and the arts.
We welcome the beginning of Pride month, which itself began as an anti-police uprising led by trans women of color (Trans Queer Pueblo created a beautiful video about this: watch it here). We honor the long legacy of those who have fought to get us to this point, and we stand in solidarity with those who are continuing the fight today.
Staff and board at the Guild are committed to the ongoing, transformative process of becoming an anti-racist organization. We recognize that this process is never-ending and worthwhile. If you’re interested to learn more about the racial equity work that we’re doing internally, you can contact us.
Here are just a few of the many organizations doing great work on the ground that we encourage you to support (and ask your constituents to support):
Black Lives Matter
The official #BlackLivesMatter Global Network builds power to bring justice, healing, and freedom to Black people across the globe.
Black Mental Wellness
Black Mental Wellness provides resources about mental health and behavioral health topics from a Black perspective, to highlight and increase the diversity of mental health professionals, and to decrease the mental health stigma in the Black community.
BYP 100
Founded in 2013, BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100) is a member-based organization of Black youth activists creating justice and freedom for all Black people, through a black, queer, feminist lens.
Million Artist Movement
Million Artist Movement is a global movement and vision that focuses on the role of art in the campaign to dismantle oppressive racist systems against Black, Brown, Indigenous, and disenfranchised peoples.
Movement for Black Lives
The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) seeks to reach millions, mobilize hundreds of thousands, and organize tens of thousands, so that Black political power is a force able to influence national and local agendas in the direction of our shared Vision for Black Lives.
National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network
The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) is a healing justice organization committed to transforming mental health for queer and trans people of color.
Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative
The Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative is working to build a black trans futurist framework for practical abolition as the way to liberation.
Soul Fire Farm
Soul Fire Farm is a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) centered community farm committed to ending racism and injustice in the food system.
Bail funds to support protesters:
Split a donation between 40 community bail funds (ActBlue)
Directory of community bail funds (National Bail Fund Network)
LGBTQ Fund
The Bail Project
We thank the artists who are using their art to make space for grief, healing, anger, and action.
We believe that a just future is possible, and that artists have a powerful role in bringing this future to life.
In the spirit of healing and justice,
The National Guild Team
Published: June 04, 2020