In Solidarity with the Black Community, for Justice and Liberation

From California Arts Council Chair Nashormeh Lindo and Executive Director Anne Bown-Crawford

We write today to acknowledge and condemn the recent and historic violence against Black people, to address this present moment in our communities, and to share our hope for a liberated future for all.

Black lives matter. In California and around the world, the Black community is in pain. The families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery are in pain.

The pervasive threats to Black lives, Black health, and Black joy come in many forms and harm not just bodies, but souls. Routine acts of injustice, brutality, and murder cannot continue.

We’ve spent the past several years examining the history of our nation and the government’s role in creating and maintaining systems of oppression that have been destructive to the overall well-being of Black people. This is compounded by the tragic reminders that inequality and prejudice still shape much of American life. Racism is a threat to us all.

“If they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night”
- James Baldwin to Dr. Angela Davis on November 19, 1970

We acknowledge the duty and platform we have as a California state agency and we accept responsibility for dismantling racist systems together, prioritizing community voices. Our strategic framework and racial equity statement guide us in actively changing the structures that shape our programs, policies, workforce, and practices. We stand with the Black community, uplifting all members including Black transgender and queer lives, and reaffirm this commitment through our present and future actions.

We believe the arts are a tool for liberation that lives within us all. And through the arts, we can all collaborate and build a better future together.

Artists are rightfully looked to as second responders in times of crisis. They support mental and physical health outcomes and community resilience and rebuilding. They help us to escape and dream, to cope and mourn, to believe and heal, to imagine and create.

Artists help us to find our way and have historically been at the forefront of challenging cultural and social hierarchies to effect positive change. Our young people, especially, are sharing their voices in response to what they see and feel.

Out of the suffering that we are witnessing and feeling right now, while in the midst of a deadly pandemic, we imagine a new, better future with all of you. Thank you to our arts community who continue to lead the way towards a more just future. To those looking to learn, understand, and grow — we all must meaningfully center racial equity in our lives and work. Together we makeup California’s remarkable arts ecosystem, and only working together can we nurture and sustain it.

Authenticity is at the core of all we do as artists and cultural workers, and today this means stating who we are and committing to what we believe. We believe that Black lives matter. We believe in a liberated future for all. And we believe in you.

The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts. www.arts.ca.gov

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