The items listed here were recommended at the DANC Community Response Meetings on July 6th and 13th, 2020, by DANC members in order to declare solidarity with them. Below are the movements, organizations, legislation and open letters that DANC members voted in approval with an overwhelming majority.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but a starting point to clarify where DANC stands in solidarity with other movements that intersect with our membership and mission.
Healthcare-NOW!
Healthcare-NOW is fighting to win a national single-payer healthcare system because access to healthcare is basic to human dignity. To win, we must build a powerful social movement through education and action, so our work focuses on raising up the voices of patients who feel isolated in their struggles with the healthcare system, educating activists to gain the knowledge and skills they need to become leaders, and mobilizing our movement through collective action.
#MeToo
In 2006, the “me too.” Movement was founded by survivor and activist Tarana Burke. In those early years, we developed our vision to bring resources, support, and pathways to healing where none existed before. And we got to work building a community of advocates determined to interrupt sexual violence wherever it happens.
In 2017, the #metoo hashtag went viral and woke up the world to the magnitude of the problem of sexual violence. What had begun as local grassroots work had now become a global movement — seemingly overnight. Within a six-month span, our message reached a global community of survivors. Suddenly there were millions of people from all walks of life saying “me too”. And they needed our help.
Today, our work continues to focus on assisting a growing spectrum of survivors — young people, queer, trans, the disabled, Black women and girls, and all communities of color. We’re here to help each individual find the right point of entry for their unique healing journey. But we’re also galvanizing a broad base of survivors, and working to disrupt the systems that allow sexual violence to proliferate in our world. This includes insisting upon accountability on the part of perpetrators, along with the implementation of strategies to sustain long term, systemic change. So that one day, nobody ever has to say “me too” again.
Be An Arts Hero
Be an #ArtsHero is an intersectional grass roots campaign comprised of Arts & Culture workers, Unions, and institutions in the United States pushing the Senate to allocate proportionate relief to the Arts & Culture sector of the American economy (in response to Covid-19).
American Descendants of Slaves
#ADOS was started by the brain trust of Howard graduate and host of the Breaking Brown political show, Yvette Carnell, and UCLA alumnus and attorney, Antonio Moore who hosts the weekly radio show Tonetalks. ADOS—which stands for American Descendants of Slavery—seeks to reclaim/restore the critical national character of the African American identity and experience, one grounded in our group’s unique lineage, and which is central to our continuing struggle for social and economic justice in the United States.
For the Culture 2020
An open letter to New York City’s Cultural Institutions
We, the people, representing current and former black and brown employees, as well as other POC and non-POC allies, as a coalition from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Opera, The Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum, and other cultural institutions (listed below) present a united front on the following institutional misconduct:
We write to you to express our outrage and discontent of consistent exploitation and unfair treatment of Black/Brown people at these cultural institutions.
We write to inform you that your covert and overt white supremacy that has benefited the institution, through the unrecognized dedication and hard labor of Black/Brown employees, with the expectation that we remain complacent with the status quo, is over.
We write to inform you that we will no longer tolerate your blatant disrespect and egregious acts of white violence toward Black/Brown employees that reflect the oppressive tactics to keep Black/Brown employees maintained and subordinated.
We write to inform you that we will no longer conform to your forced silencing when we complain about the lack of commitment to the well-being of Black/Brown employees and patronizing, yet dismissive responses we are provided when we report bullying/work-place hostility, unfair practices, unequal pay, lack of growth…etc.
Therefore, we are demanding the dismantling of the systemic oppression that the aforementioned institutions readily participate in while demanding the back-breaking work product of Black/Brown employees… [continue reading here.]
We See You White American Theatre
We stand on this ground as BIPOC theatremakers, multi-generational, at varied stages in our careers, but fiercely in love with the Theatre. Too much to continue it under abuse. We will wrap the least privileged among us in protection, and fearlessly share our many truths.
About theatres, executive leaders, critics, casting directors, agents, unions, com- mercial producers, universities and training programs. You are all a part of this house of cards built on white fragility and supremacy. And this is a house that will not stand. This ends TODAY.
Arts Go Black
We are calling on the Arts and Culture field to take real action to end racism and be held accountable for their actions.
“By checking this box, you are confirming that your institution pledges to join the #ArtsGoBlack Campaign. With this pledge, your organization will embark on a one-month introspective period to take concrete steps that create change within the institution’s internal structures to address racial and social injustice. You also give CCCADI permission to share that your organization is ready to end racism in the arts and cultural field.”
Black Artists for Freedom
The Black Artists for Freedom is a collective of black workers in the culture industries.
Fair Housing Justice Center
The mission of the FAIR HOUSING JUSTICE CENTER (FHJC), is to eliminate housing discrimination; promote polices that foster open, accessible, and inclusive communities; and strengthen enforcement of fair housing laws.
National Domestic Workers Alliance
The National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States.
Founded in 2007, NDWA works for respect, recognition, and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color.
NDWA is powered by over 60 affiliate organizations and local chapters and by thousands of members. Domestic workers in all 50 states can join NDWA and gain access to member benefits, connection with other workers, and opportunities to get involved in the domestic worker movement.
Black Lives Matter
#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.
We are expansive. We are a collective of liberators who believe in an inclusive and spacious movement. We also believe that in order to win and bring as many people with us along the way, we must move beyond the narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities. We must ensure we are building a movement that brings all of us to the front.
We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.
We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise.
We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.
The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation.
Whistle While You Work
Whistle While You Work is a platform co-directed by Frances Chiaverini (dancer/choreographer) and Robyn Doty (writer/dramaturg) that promotes conversation around harassment, discrimination, and violence towards women and marginalized groups particularly while at work in the arts, especially in professional dance and performance.
Artists of Color Emergency Fund
As we maneuver to address COVID-19, there has and will be a huge economic impact on the arts community, especially individual and teaching artists of color. If you are a BIPOC artists or administrators in financial need, please access this application form to understand how we plan to distribute funds and apply for any available money that is generated.
Arts Administrators of Color Network has set up the Arts Leaders of Color Emergency Fund which folks can donate directly to in support of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists AND administrators (consultants, facilitators, box office staff, seasonal/temporary employees, etc.) who have been financially impacted due to COVID-19. Creatives practicing and teaching their art as well as the administrators who are supporting that art will without a doubt need our financial support to weather this unexpected and uncertain storm.
All money raised will be distributed to BIPOC individual artists/teaching artists who have meet the requirements as stated in the application form. At this time, the emergency fund is only for arts leaders of color based in the United States.
Broadway for Racial Justice
Fighting for racial justice and equity by providing immediate resources, assistance, and amplification for BIPOC in the Broadway and Theatrical community at-large. In doing so, we help to create safe spaces throughout the theatre community for creativity and artistry to thrive.
The Bail Project
The Bail Project, Inc. is a non-profit organization designed to combat mass incarceration by disrupting the money bail system ‒ one person at a time.
We believe that paying bail for someone in need is an act of resistance against a system that criminalizes race and poverty and an act of solidarity with local communities and movements for decarceration. Over the next five years, The Bail Project will open dozens of sites in high-need jurisdictions with the goal of paying bail for tens of thousands of low-income Americans, all while collecting stories and data that prove money bail is not necessary to ensure people return to court. We won’t stop until meaningful change is achieved and the presumption of innocence is no longer for sale.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 80 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments. LDF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Freelance Isn’t Free Act
On May 15, 2017, Local Law 140 of 2016 took effect. The law establishes and enhances protections for freelance workers, specifically the right to:
- A written contract
- Timely and full payment
- Protection from retaliation
The law establishes penalties for violations of these rights, including statutory damages, double damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees. Individual causes of action will be adjudicated in state court.
Where there is evidence of a pattern or practice of violations, the Corporation Counsel may bring civil action to recover a civil penalty of not more than $25,000.
This law also requires OLPS to receive complaints, create a court navigation program, and gather data and report on the effectiveness of the law.
Creating New Futures
Working Guidelines for Ethics & Equity in Presenting Dance & Performance. “Because our systems were never working, and we all knew it. They are unsustainable, and we know it. They are inequitable, and we know it. They rely on a scarcity mentality and on the precarious labor of freelance artists working with no safety net. It is time for radical change.”