#blacklivesmatter
We join the campaign to speak out and condemn the terrible murders of George Floyd and others. At Curious Monkey, a Theatre Company of Sanctuary we are committed to anti-racism and to exposing structural and systemic inequalities. We’re feeling the anger and we know we can’t bring back lives or stop police brutality, we also recognise we are a collection of mostly (but not entirely) white people. We know this isn’t new. We know that we are in a privileged position. We know this isn’t about us – but it’s about the world we live in and people we love. We want to learn, to get better, be an active ally. We know we need to use our position to amplify the voices of those with experience. We don’t want to add too much noise – and consider carefully how we can show support and solidarity. We want to make some pledges about what we can do to amplify black voices in our community and our sector.
‘Black people do not need allies. We need people to stand up and take on the problems borne of oppression as their own, without remove or distance. We need people to do this even if they cannot fully understand what it’s like to be oppressed for their race or ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, class, religion, or other marker of identity. We need people to use common sense to figure out how to participate in social justice.’ – Roxane Gay (author of Bad Feminist)
We’ve been talking a lot – It’s not easy and we are learning. We’ve made some initial pledges about things we are going to do:
To do more research and personal development to further our understanding of our privilege and of black history
Listen
Have open conversations and educate our own children and young people we work with
Continue to support people seeking sanctuary in this country
Continue to make work that tells black stories
Make a commitment to employ more black artists/ staff
Develop our board of trustees further to be more representative
Learn how to be a more effective/ active ally
Amplify voices, speak names loudly
Work with other cultural organisations to look at how we address the serious lack of black artists in our region.
Be brave – call out racism whenever/ wherever we hear/ see it – even if it feels hard in the moment.