Executive Director Statement:
From Melody Capote
Executive Director/CCCADI
What we have witnessed in this past year has no words. The loss of loved ones, housing and employment. Our children, facing the obstacles of remote and hybrid learning in perilous school settings that are proving unsuccessful. Artists are not working, and cultural organizations are closed and at a standstill, as we continue to work within systems that are broken and unjust.
Amidst the nightmare of the former administration, we were once again hit with the realization of the American truths of racism, homophobia, misogyny and xenophobia, to name just a few. With that agenda filled with hate highlighting all of the “isms” - it remains open season on communities of color, for whom attacks for living while Black is still the constant target.
Enter #BLM and the spotlight on the murder of George Floyd last May. The death of Floyd, seemed to awaken a sleeping giant that triggered an awakening in this country that mobilized the masses. With the blatant murders of African people throughout our history, I continue to ask myself, “What is it about Floyd’s murder that woke folks up? How was his killing any different from those of Eric Gardner, Eleanor Bumpurs, Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin and Breonna Taylor?” Yet it was this particular incident, George’s killing, that brought millions across this country to a unified chorus of “no more . . . not one more senseless murder for living while Black.” This could be any time in our history - 20, 50, 100, 200 years ago. What I do know is the realization of what my own ancestors questioned time and again, -- that until we do the work to solve the problem of racism in this country, “Will I see the change we need to see in America in my lifetime?”
The combination of the previous corrupt and lawless administration, partnered with the pandemics of Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, forced us into the space of living sheltered in place, distanced from one another and receiving an overload of information, some useful and other, not so much. This pause on the world has catapulted CCCADI to use its social media platforms to communicate with our constituency and artistic community providing programs, education, resources, cultural and creative activities filled with hope and accurate information. We immediately migrated all of our programming to the digital space. We allocated funding to support our artists through our Digital Evolution Artists Retention (DEAR) training program, provided them with employment opportunities, and hosted a series of dialogues and performances highlighting and lifting conversations about the crisis of Covid-19 and #BLM, and their impact on our communities.
We commissioned the exhibition, On Protest and Mourning to continue the conversation. A conversation that has gone quiet following the uproar of the past summer. The narratives in the exhibition are intended to acknowledge that we must tell our own stories, we must acknowledge our losses, we mourn as a collective, that we speak truth to power and most importantly, we must come together as an expression of our resilience.
In the past 12 months, I have testified at various city and state forums, to address the importance of arts and culture as tools for survival and recovery. The following is an excerpt of one of my testimonies presented before the New York City Council in October 2020. It expresses the need for creating a plan that is a call for an equitable and just approach for supporting cultural institutions, particularly those grounded in the communities we serve, and not just a chosen few:
I appeared before you in June and told you I can’t breathe and to my great embarrassment, nothing was done.
Well, I still can’t breathe because, after George Floyd’s murder, more of my relatives have been dealt the ultimate punishment for simply Living While Black. I ask you this: If Breonna Taylor were your daughter, would you be able to breathe?
I still can’t breathe because I still have to have “the talk” with my Black son warning of death by law enforcement, each time he walks out our front door.
I still can’t breathe when the City Council and the administration speak about the special role of arts and culture in healing a community whose culture has been stolen from them only to find that the stolen culture is on display somewhere on 5th Avenue. This is the very definition of systemic, inequitable funding that favors European culture brokers as opposed to authentic representatives of the African Diaspora who are forced to fight for nickels and dimes while the folding money is passed out downtown.
I still can’t breathe when the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) grantees get the lion’s share of arts & culture funding and then call me on the side for tips on how they can address Black Lives Matter in a way that will avoid a protest but not upset the apple cart.
When Black Lives Matter made their legitimate demands on the arts and culture community to return the culture misappropriated from Black and Brown communities, what did these “major” institutions do? Nothing! Oh, that’s not fair, some published solidarity statements in the form of a web page letter which said how much they supported the movement but, in between the lines, was saying “please don’t picket our building.”
So, I challenge you to step up to the plate and create a Black Lives Matter Culture Initiative described below. Doing nothing is unacceptable. Gathering testimony that gathers dust is worse than nothing. It is an insult.
To honor George Floyd and the other martyrs in our community, I ask that:
The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) establish a special capacity building fund for organizations of color with a budget of under $5 million who will be required to use their capacity expansion grant to address racial and social injustice;
DCLA establish two artists incubators which will train artists of color to provide arts & culture services using the new digital platforms and assist artists to develop entrepreneurial ventures through culturally competent technical assistance;
DCLA fund, on a pilot basis, the Institute for Racial and Social Justice for Arts and Culture in anticipation of a competitive RFP after completion and evaluation of the pilot;
Mr. Chairman and Committee Members, our community needs you, not just to recognize the power of arts and culture to heal and unify our community, but more importantly, to put your money where your words are. I close with a new phrase worthy of consideration: collaborative reimagining. If you want to do this work, don’t ask us to testify, ask us to the table as equal partners.
Thank you for your time. And yes, Black Lives DO Matter. (Click here to read the full testimony.)
Now, I say to you, use your voice. Use your platform. My testimony, the bodies of work by the talented artists featured in this exhibition, and the ongoing work CCCADI does to advance cultural and racial equity, all showcase the ways in which we can use our individual voices, talents and platforms to continue this important conversation and mobilize change. Protest and activism come in all forms. I invite you to explore yours.