Dear Dance Place Community,
Tomorrow is Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. Historically, Juneteenth was established when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved peoples that the Civil War had ended, 2 1/2 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
As part of Dance Place’s observation of this important moment in history, we want to continue to hold ourselves accountable to commitments made in summer 2020 by publicly sharing the work we have undertaken to ensure a more equitable and anti-racist organization.
In June of 2020, we expressed our solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement and committed to several anti-racism action steps. These next steps included, and have evolved further, as follows:
- Dance Place’s staff compiling an action list of specific, anti-racist, justice-oriented changes to our programming, office culture, and institutional structure. This list of changes became the starting point for our undoing racism working group, made up of staff and board members. This group meets monthly to discuss and enact with urgency and care modes of accountability, justice, and healing around issues of racism and white supremacy at Dance Place. We recognize that implementing working group recommendations will take time to be seen and appreciated by our stakeholders. We will continue to do the work.
- Engaging in an Undoing Racism training with People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond for the Dance Place staff and Board of Directors. In January and February of 2021, Dance Place staff, board, and teaching artists attended a five-day Undoing Racism workshop. The workshop satisfied the needed space for all participants to have a week of dedicated time to fully engage in the training, and it allowed for continued discussion and interrogation surrounding racism within Dance Place. We recognize that these workshops are not a milestone or achievement, but part of a life-long process of learning. We will continue to do the work.
- Increases to staff salaries and teacher pay. In 2020-2021 we invested $70,000 in additional staff pay and will invest an additional $50,000 in raises in September 2021; this total of $120,000 represents a more than 10% increase in staff salaries from the end of August 2020 through this upcoming September. The largest percentage of raises were offered to part-time staff members and those currently receiving the lowest salaries. Additionally, these raises were done equitably to help bridge the gap between Dance Place’s current salaries and industry-standard salaries/cost of living in the metro DC area. We recognize that these raises do not bridge that gap, nor do these raises adequately support our part-time staff members, many of whom are people of color. We will continue to do the work.
- Dance Place has enacted a self-managed medical and mental health leave company policy that allows staff members to take as much leave as needed to attend to their health. We recognize that resting and healing outside of work is part of ongoing care, and putting a cap on this time does not allow our staff to fully engage in the care they need; taking care of ourselves helps us to do the work.
- We signed the 10/20/30 pledge through the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) to commit to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion for the performing arts. By signing the pledge, we commit to a 10-year commitment to empower, represent, and engage the work of artists within our organization who identify as and whose primary focus is from Black, Native/Indigenous, People of Color, women, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ persons. The commitment includes pledging that a certain percentage of our programs will be in support of those persons. Dance Place has long met and frequently exceeds the commitments outlined in APAP’s pledge. We recognize 10 years will not undo the centuries of injustice, therefore we challenge ourselves to continue supporting even further beyond the percentage and 10-year breakdown outlined in this pledge.
The Dance Place Board of Directors and staff acknowledge that anti-racism is an ongoing practice. We engage in this work with our eyes wide open to the challenges and depth of the work that must be done by our institution, our geographic community, our country, and the world. We engage in this work knowing we will continue to make mistakes, but we commit to remaining transparent and accountable to the communities we serve.
On this Juneteenth, Dance Place celebrates the Black LGBTQIA+ artists engaged in Gaze: A Queer research and performance gathering, in dialogue with Pride Month. We celebrate the opportunity to uplift intersectional identities through this programming. This weekend and beyond, we invite you to join us as we engage, reflect, find joy, and stay accountable across our ongoing artistic and civic work.
As we all take this day to reflect upon the significance of this moment in history and the difficult but essential work ahead for all of us to achieve the promise inherent in Juneteenth, we hope you will take time to do so as well.
—
Janice Marks & Adam Weers
Board Co-Chairs
Christopher K. Morgan
Executive Artistic Director