June 1, 2020
“The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.”
– Lois McMaster Bujold
As a playwrights theatre existing to tell the stories of all in our community, if just one of us is without justice, none of us can have justice. Theatre is dialogue, and we are grateful that you have joined us for provocative conversations over divisive topics. This is not a divisive topic. This is civil rights. Civil rights must exist for all in our community, our state, our country.
Black lives matter.
As Anna Deavere Smith, the writer and performer of FIRES IN THE MIRROR, wrote: “We might not like what we see, but in order to change it, we have to see it clearly.” Systemic racism lives here in our communities, whether we choose to see it or not. We are a part of this broken system. A broken system that continues to brutalize Black members of our community.
Below are just a few resources we have found useful in our ongoing work to see clearly, to work to advance racial equity, to work to dismantle racism. It will take all of us working together to ensure justice and civil rights for all. Here at 16th Street, we have a long way to go. Read Ann Filmer’s Statement here.
https://www.dismantlingracism.org
https://blacklivesmatter.com/resources/
https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/
We look forward to sharing more dialogue with you, virtually for now, in person as soon as we may gather.
With love and hope for our future together.