We Stand In Solidarity With the Black Community

We Stand in Solidarity with the Black Community

Child’s Play NY stands in solidarity with the Black communities of Minneapolis, New York and around the country. We stand with our Black families and teachers now and always. Black Lives Matter. Black Our nation’s history of systemic racism and trauma is undeniable. Oppression is baked into our nation’s institutions, including – and especially -our education systems and the performing arts.

We look on with anguish at the circumstances that led to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. So many others – Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia – who have died at the hands of police brutality, propped up by white supremacist legacies and institutional racism. Below is a graphic from NPR with an incomplete list of names.

As seen on NPR’s Codeswitch:
“This is a non-comprehensive list of deaths at the hands of police in the U.S. since Eric Garner’s death in July 2014.”

We recognize our insidious complicity in systems that prop up inequities. At Child’s Play NY, we condemn the devastating virus of racism.

Moreover, we acknowledge our role in creating culture. We vow to do the challenging and imperfect work of unpacking unearned privileges. It is our job and obligation to dismantle systems of oppression. We take it on with eyes wide open.

This is our responsibility to our students, our families, the communities we serve, the audiences we reach. The work will be done in our studios, our schools, and in our theaters. We will work to examine our own biases in our writing and our art and our parenting and in doing so affect change. Our mindfulness extends into the awareness of insidious and entrenched racism. We vow to join the non-violent fight for justice, equity and peace.

Finally, because words matter, but actions matter more….

Here’s where we are with the work

Organizations We Value

The following are some truly extraordinary non-profits. We value the work, support them in donation-based programming and hope that you also check out their missions.

Partnerships

Secondly, we are uniting in partnership with ExpandED Schools to establish a scholarship fund for Child’s Play NY programming. Our scholarship fund is now also available for donations for summer camp programming.

Furthermore, we have engaged our team in Anti-Racist Training with

The commitment to communicate and look deep inside, to reckon with our racial blind spots starts now.

We are working to support Black-owned businesses in our community – eating lunch from Crabby Shack, doing yoga from HealHaus and ordering swimsuits from Iris Lingerie!

Learning

Finally, we are looking for ways to find solidarity with our Black teachers and families. This starts with communication and continues with action. We are learning more about the kinds of classes and content that our Black teachers want to offer and our families want to see. It is an imperfect process but we look forward to bringing more programming to the world of arts education that is reflective of our diversity, inclusive and anti-racist. Please connect with suggestions or thoughts any time.

Offered below is a compilation of a growing list of resources that support the effort toward racial justice, equity and anti-racism. We will continue to update this on an on-going basis.

Families, if you feel we are falling short, or have suggestions on how we can do better, we want to hear from you. If you have resources to add to the document, please connect. Our goal is to empower all artists, all families and all young people through the performing arts. Here begins the journey.

In solidarity and with love,

Jocelyn Greene and the Child’s Play NY Team

Anti-Racism Resources for Parents and Educators

Importantly, thank you to our colleagues at Mindshift, Playwrights Horizons, the Arts and Letters Equity Team and Seedlings Group for spearheading the conversations we’ve been listening to and suggesting the resources below.

Teaching Black History and Resources for Teachers

50 Resources for Black History Month – KQED Education

Black History Month: Teaching Beyond Slavery – Learning for Justice

Black History Month Lessons and Resources – National Education Association

History Explorer: Black History Month – Smithsonian Learning Lab

Black Lives Matter at Schools

Teaching and Learning Unit – National Museum of African American History and Culture

Lesson Plans & Read Alouds – #teachresistance

Resources for Parents for Black History Month and Beyond

Bookshop: Books to Celebrate Diversity and Help Raise Anti-Racist Kids

PBS: Celebrate Black History

Brain Pop: Black Lives Matter Protests

Teaching Your Child About Black History

More Resources for Parents

The Conscious Kid: Critical Conversations

Anti-Racist Resources for White People/Parents

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Aha Parenting

Anti-Racist Resources for Educators

Teaching Tolerance

Equity and Inclusion reads (from shea martin)

Anti-Racist Book List (NYT, Ibram X. Kendi)

Racial Justice in Education (NEA EdJustice)

Racial Equity Tools

IG Accounts that we Follow

@cleowade; @elainewelteroth; @hereweeread; @moemotivate; @nedratawwab; @privtoprog; @shiftingtheculture; ; @thegreatunlearn; @themompsychologist; @wejointhefrontline; @learningforjustice; @diversebookfinder; @colorfulpagesorg; @blmatschool; @seedandsow; @leeandlow;@themomtrotter;