STATEMENT FROM ASHLAND PRODUCTIONS: JUNE 19, 2020

Today, on Juneteenth, we honor the history of our Black community. To our Black students and their families, our teaching artists, audience members, and community – we at Ashland hear you, see you, and pledge our support as allies in rejecting racism, injustice, and hate. We are heartbroken and we are outraged by the unjust killings of Black citizens and the racism and intolerance behind them. We believe that Black Lives Matter, that justice matters, and that the fight for meaningful change involves us all.

Now, and in the days, months, and years to come, we affirm Ashland’s commitment to empowering the voices of our youth, working every day to create a safe space where artists feel seen, heard, and valued for who they are. While our stage is dark and we explore new ways to share our work, we realize that this is a time to look forward and be better. We have taken some time to listen to your call to action, understand how we can better promote equality in our programming and in our organization, and develop a list of initial steps we will take in our ongoing commitment to end systemic racism. Specifically, we will:

  1. Provide staff and board anti-racism training and education opportunities and resources, which will become an ongoing part of our work.

  2. Work to engage more Black and BIPOC individuals at all levels, including board, staff, and community.

  3. Identify and minimize barriers to participation and engagement by BIPOC members of our community.

  4. Make anti-racism a recurring agenda item for ongoing discussion and assessment at board and staff meetings.

  5. Revise our Participation Policy, Behavior Standards and all artistic and staff contracts and job descriptions to specifically address racism. This will include zero-tolerance policies on discrimination, harassment, and oppression.

  6. Find more ways to embrace BIPOC artistry and stories in our programming.

  7. Our Ashland Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Committee, comprised of members of our board, staff, alumni, and greater community, will evolve and grow this list as we continue to listen and learn. 

On a final note, we ask our Ashland family and our entire community to join us in an ongoing commitment to rejecting hate, racism and intolerance. Pledge to do more. Check in with and take care of each other. Stay safe. And remember, we are all in this together.