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Black Lives Matter

Introduction

The murder of George Floyd by a police officer on May 25, 2020, marked a pivot point in the United States and around the world – creating a public outcry and igniting global actions highlighting Black Lives Matter. As the protests continued, discussions around societal systemic discrimination and colonial frameworks intensified – including within the Performing Arts and education communities.

Connecting THEN to NOW

When our community members began to ask the College for a public response around George Floyd’s murder and Black Lives Matter, we did not fully comprehend the enormity of what was occurring and how it affected our communities.  We reacted instead of responding – pledging support and solidarity to Black artists and Black communities with a letter from the Board that spoke to broad commitments concerning our curriculum and community. We convened Town Halls, hoping to support our students and discuss BLM in relation to RCPA, and share our commitment to changing the College for the better. We built an Action Plan, detailing the changes that we saw as important and necessary.

We now recognize that we moved too quickly, without enough context and enough counsel, and in our haste, we inadvertently caused collateral damage to those members of our communities who most needed care and support. Our desire to ‘fix’ and find solutions came through a privileged white lens and was not informed by the voices and experiences of those most affected - our IBPOC performers and artists. For this, we are profoundly sorry.

We did not sufficiently recognize the urgency and need to examine how RCPA as an Arts organization and educational institution both participates in and sustains systemic discrimination/colonial frameworks before suggesting changes and making promises. Only that kind of deep examination would allow us to be able to truly deconstruct and rebuild the various elements of the College that contribute to discrimination and inequity.

The lens of privilege we mention above is pervasive throughout the Performing Arts and affects everything from textbooks to styles of dance to instructional methodology. As the Musical Stage Company describes it, “Decisions about programming, casting and hiring are made through a white lens at a board and staff level. Feedback about quality, enjoyment and achievement is fed back to the company through a mostly white lens at an audience and critic level. We may hire a large number of BIPOC artists, serve BIPOC youth, partner with BIPOC organizations, and select productions with a strong social relevance, but ultimately white people have been the primary beneficiaries of leadership opportunities at our organization and the primary recipients of the work in the audience.” This is a fact.

Members of the IBPOC Performing Arts community, both within the College and without, have laboured hard to call attention to the many areas within our systems that are deeply problematic and damaging to Black artists, Indigenous artists and artists of colour. In particular, we recognize and appreciate the criticisms and conversation provided by our IBPOC students and alumni and their willingness to assist us in understanding and defining priorities as we move forward to dismantle and rebuild those areas.

Our IBPOC colleagues have courageously shared their experiences navigating a system designed by and for white people. They are talking among themselves, they are informing and educating the community, and they are sharing with the world at large – all at risk of further injuring themselves in the process. They are doing so as part of a call to action, the meat of allyship. Words without action will no longer serve – we have been told that loud and clear. RCPA has been told that loud and clear. Their examples and experiences are there and are undeniable, and Canadian art institutions, educators, and artists are being forced to recognize how our underlying biases and prejudices can cause damage. This recognition is what fuels our desire to manifest change in ways that are meaningful to those most immediately affected and harmed by the systems that currently exist.

To date: The Timeline

Early June 2020     

June 5, 2020    

June 6, 2020   

June 24, 2020     

July 1, 2020    

July 7, 2020 

July 10, 2020 

July 13, 2020    

July 15, 2020   

July 15, 2020    

July 29, 2020 

Sept. 28, 2020       

Oct 21, 2020   

Ongoing                     

We had our first Town Hall for students and faculty in June, intending to create a space where all parties could discuss BLM and discrimination. This Town Hall was much less effective than we hoped, in part due to a lack of an external moderator and a clear purpose/agenda. Even more importantly, IBPOC students did not feel safe bringing their concerns and issues to the larger group within this kind of format. To address this, the creation of student caucuses was suggested - allowing diverse groups to meet and share their concerns among themselves before bringing them directly to the senior team. The IBPOC student caucus shared several issues and concerns with the College, the Town Hall, and the Board’s letter - and dialogue began. 

Shortly thereafter, a second Town Hall took place – and from the frustrations born out of that meeting, RCPA IBPOC students and alumni connected to form a group where the alumni could support our students in clarifying their concerns and mentoring them in a variety of ways. These two bodies are united in a desire to see the College move from commitment into action, and to know that these actions are rooted in IBPOC-centric experience, understanding, and POV. Feedback from the second Town Hall was provided to the College, and the College wrote the Acknowledgement, Apology & Action Plan based on their response.

At this point, IBPOC students and alumni met to review and discuss the Plan and then reached out to arrange a meeting where they could share their concerns and insights. From an IBPOC POV, some major flaws would prevent it from truly addressing foundational discrimination. It was noted that the Plan spoke to Action, but that those actions were not rooted in a context that could truly establish conditions where the problematic areas would see sustainable change. Their feedback was largely grouped into two areas: WHO, and HOW.  These two concerns would need to be addressed before any of the WHAT (the action items) could proceed.

The WHO:

The group suggested that having the organization audit itself and then enact changes based on said audit would likely not manifest in any substantial or lasting change. Despite the best intentions of the existing leadership team, it would be challenging for them to truly and critically examine systems that they have developed themselves and/or benefit from, given existing power dynamics and perspectives. Curriculum content and delivery, hiring, retention, etc. – all would benefit greatly from an IBPOC POV and examination providing more objective feedback. This perspective and examination would need to be known and trusted by the IBPOC community for them to have confidence in the audit and any potential actions coming out of that analysis.

The HOW:

The IBPOC Student/Alumni Advisory Committee could be a resource for the College in the absence of a senior-level IBPOC representative on staff, suggesting and vetting outside Subject Matter Experts for individual elements of the Action Plan. This group would also suggest priorities within the Plan, in addition to seeking clarity and defining specifics (for example, organizations that RCPA chooses to work with, proposed workshops for students, training for faculty, methods for community engagement, etc.). This committee would be in regular dialogue with the larger RCPA communities to gather their perspective, feedback and concerns so that they may be shared with the College. The committee would provide a lens ensuring that IBPOC perspectives and voices are prioritized, seen, heard, and acted upon.

Communication with this group began informally, with an alum connecting directly with the College’s Executive Director to share the group’s perspectives and concerns. These priorities and perspectives were then shared with individual Board members and members of the Executive throughout the summer until the Board was able to gather in quorum in September and IBPOC concerns could formally be included as part of the agenda. These informal conversations resulted in the first Board letter and the RCPA Acknowledgment, Apology and Action Plan.

At a recent Board meeting, Clarence Ford was appointed Board liaison to the IBPOC Student/Alumni group to champion IBPOC /Diversity-related projects and concerns at the Board level. In addition to Clarence’s presence and support, the Board has committed to greater involvement and awareness moving forward and has created a standing agenda item focusing on IBPOC matters and their resolution.

The Advisory Committee formally met with our Executive Director on October 21 to establish parameters around how the two groups will interact and to confirm the Committee’s identified priorities. We will continue to meet regularly to seek their feedback as we move forward, and to keep them informed on areas of interest and importance.

The Advisory Committee has been clear on their priorities:

• IBPOC representation at the senior level (potentially a Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion), and representation within the Artistic Director’s office, and;

• Equity/Diversity/Inclusion training for faculty and staff, specifically centring anti-racism and anti-blackness.

Following the establishment of these two priorities, the work of examining our existing systems and structures, curriculum and pedagogy can begin (with the assistance of qualified outside expertise as required).

In September, our Artistic Director announced his departure out of a desire to create space within the upper levels of the College for more diverse voices and perspectives. This departure opens up a potential opportunity for an IBPOC Artistic Director. A shortlist of potential candidates is being developed with feedback provided by the Advisory Committee, and we expect to begin interviews for this position in early November with a hire made for December of this year.

In addition, RCPA is engaging facilitators for anti-racism/EDI training for faculty and staff, building a list of qualified workshop providers with the assistance of the Advisory Committee and will have this training completed in Q4 of this year.

Underway/confirmed:

• New Executive Director confirmed (O’neil Edwards)

• New Artistic Director confirmed (Janelle Cooper)

• Facilitators for anti-racism workshops

• New Director of Student Services confirmed (Laura East)

• Board liaison confirmed (Clarence Ford)

• Standing agenda item for the Board

• IBPOC Student/Alumni Advisory Committee formed, approved and has had its kickoff meeting (with a budget set to compensate for counsel/work done on the College’s behalf)

• IBPOC Student caucus to have a place at RCPA Assemblies (as desired)

Next steps…

• Diversity Officer for the College (2021)

• Mentorship program development (general, as well as IBPOC-specific)

• Curriculum re-model

• Faculty diversification (ongoing)

• Faculty/Student Handbook revision

• Examine how to better serve our IBPOC/diverse communities in the areas of access, equity, financial aid, resourcing, and support.

Conclusion:

The Performing Arts community in Canada has begun a process of self-examination and analysis, examining deeply embedded institutional systemic racism and colonialist practices with a determination to change and do better. RCPA is among them, and it’s clear we have a lot of work to do to better align our intentions with our actions. This statement is an update, an apology, an accounting and a commitment all at once. We will use this as a tool to keep us accountable for what we’ve done, are doing and what we’re starting to do. As part of that commitment, we will be posting more regular updates on our home page(s) and social media and will deliver another formal report reviewing our activities and actions in six months.

In the short term, we are excited to have the hiring process begin for a new Artistic Director, and to support our faculty with upcoming training – the two top priorities as identified by our IBPOC community. As these two items become reality, we will be better positioned to create an Action Plan better informed with lived experience and expertise – one that will realign what, who, and how we teach. That is our end goal in a nutshell – to serve our students and our community more respectfully, more inclusively, and more equitably.