Equity Statement
TSMAC affirms that
• Arts and culture promote dialogue, social transformation, and community strength. However, minorities, including immigrants and refugees, face significant barriers to publicly financed programs, including urban performing arts education.
• Every community deserves equal access to urban performing arts education.
• Every artist is entitled to have their work promoted, exhibited, and experienced.
• Racism in the past and present, including intentional and unconscious practices, has had a significant impact on urban performing arts education and support for artists of color. TSMAC promises to be accountable to those inside its organization as well as the varied community it serves in combating and changing this.
• Access to urban performing arts education for all people and support for all artists are critical.
• We understand that in order to correct historical imbalances, we must invest time, effort, and resources.
TSMAC believes that
• Previous recommendations that focused on diversity rather than structural imbalances did not result in good outcomes in terms of equitable inclusion, equal access to arts education, or support for artists of color.
• In order to achieve fairness for communities of color, it is important to address historical injustices.
• TSMAC's ability to develop and create enriching opportunities for all families and children will be enhanced by bringing together personnel and other partners with diverse backgrounds and life experiences. As a result, racial justice in arts instruction and organizational operations is a top priority for TSMAC. We've got devoted financial and human resources to structural racism training and are committed to building and sustaining.
The following steps will be used to test solutions that will irreversibly change systems:
• Educate ourselves and our communities on the existence and consequences of historic racism and devise new ways of thinking and acting to mitigate its effects.
• Develop and implement new policies and practices in our organizations to study, comprehend, and counteract the effects of racism.
• Collect and analyze data that appropriately reflects the demographics of the people served by and working at TSMAC.
• Seek out, consider, and hire representatives of diverse communities for the TSMAC board and staff.
• Choose and support board members who share your ideals, such as racial fairness.
• Require all board members and staff members to attend racial equity training.
• To develop and cultivate artists of color, administrators from different communities, and other organizations supporting communities of color, engage in programming and planning, including partnership with other local groups.
• Facilitate involvement in TSMAC's programs and events by artists, instructors, lecturers, the community, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with other local, regional, and national organizations striving to improve racial fairness in the arts.
• Create and connect programs and collaborations with other local groups to improve the number of individuals of color who participate in the arts and their success.