Show up with whatever you have
Ask ‘are you ok? Here’s what I have, what can I do right now?’
Ask leaders of color where you are needed more
Shut up and go there
What do I have to contribute?
What is most needed right now?
Who do I listen to right now?
How can I be uncomfortable and still lend my strengths- at the same time?
Shut up, show up and listen and know this is about endurance. Don’t just show up now. Show up in 30 days also.
Shared with permission by Leah Cooper, a theatre colleague who lives in Minneapolis, four blocks from where George Floyd was murdered.
Dear WAMily,
In this moment of pain and tragedy, all of us at WAM re-affirm our work in intersectional feminism. We know addressing one spoke of oppression means addressing them all.
We stand in solidarity with all our Black colleagues and with Black communities across the country as we mourn and honor those whose breath was taken from them: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, James Scurlock, and all those whose lives have been taken by anti-Blackness and police brutality.
We celebrate and bear witness to all the Black artists and community members who are in our WAMily. We know you are exhausted. We see you. We hear you. We are here for you. Your lives matter. Black Lives Matter. We will be sharing information in the coming weeks about how our WAMily can directly contribute to you and the organizations you value and support.
We see the pain and the injustice, and we recommit to our personal and professional work in doing what’s necessary towards dismantling the systems of oppression inherent in white supremacy culture and taking action towards a culture of empathy, equity and belonging.
In Solidarity,
The WAM Theatre Team and Board
We encourage you to read…
Lex Schroeder interviewed Kristen van Ginhoven, Gwendolyn VanSant, Lee Mikeska Gardner, and director Dawn Simmons about what it was like to make an intentional effort to prioritize cultural competence and equity for our PIPELINE cast and audience members alike.
Please join WAM in taking action now:
Further resources:
- NAACP- Berkshire Chapter
- BRIDGE and their New Pathways videos
- Black Lives Matter
- Medium’s list of 75 things White People Can Do
- A list of resources from President Obama’s Foundation