Ever since John O'Neal took the stage at the very first TCG National Conference in 1976 to champion the theatre of Black liberation two things in our field have been clear: one, the work of BITOC (Black, Indigenous & Theatres of Color) is vibrant and vital; and two, the underfunding of that work is a great injustice. Twenty years later, when August Wilson delivered his seminal remarks,
The Ground on Which I Stand, at the 1996 Conference, that injustice had not been meaningfully addressed. In our conversations with BITOC, spanning the 2003 White Oak Retreat to our
2020 Theatres of Color Virtual Event,
we've witnessed and supported powerful calls from BIPOC organizers and network to change this inequitable funding landscape.
So it is deeply meaningful for all of us to read the announcement
Sixteen Major Donors and Foundations Commit Unprecedented $156 Million to Support Black, Latinx, Asian and Indigenous Arts Organizations. The initiative, called "America’s Cultural Treasures.” will support:
Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Apollo Theater, Arab American National Museum, Ballet Hispánico, Charles H. Wright Museum, Dance Theater of Harlem, East West Players, El Museo del Barrio, Japanese American National Museum, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Museum of Chinese in America, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, National Museum of Mexican Art, Penumbra Theatre, Project Row Houses, Studio Museum in Harlem, Urban Bush Women, and Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.
Of course, there are so many more BITOC and arts organizations of theatre owed equitable funding, but this news is a powerful move in the right direction.
I'll close by sharing the
Legacy Leaders of Color Video Project videos of one of the recipients, Penumbra Theatre: