Organizations are often uncertain where to begin the process of repair.
It doesn’t start with blame or shame, it starts with the truth. It starts where we are — the land we occupy, the organizations we operate, the systems we uphold, the terms we use to describe our work, and the privileges we enjoy. These are all entangled with ideologies that have deemed Black and Brown bodies less than human, less deserving, less evolved, less excellent, less worthy. Avoidance and denial of these truths prevent us from healing. For some reason, we align around positive stories of our nation but when it comes to racial injustice and the shared histories that brought us here, the collective we changes to “not me.” If each of us, and by extension our organizations, could begin a truth-telling process, openly and genuinely speaking to how we have benefited from, contributed to, or sustained racial inequality and terror, then we can begin to interrogate our role in a healing process.
Kudos to Caroline and Tony Grant for doing the long deep work of reflecting and acting that has led to this transformative moment with Sustainable Arts Foundation.
In community,
Lisa Funderburke
ACA President + CEO