Families, Friends, Staff, and Supporters:

We stand with our Black community and join everyone of good conscience in anguish over the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade—just the most recent examples of police brutality and racial bias in a disturbing, systemic pattern that has taken too many lives. This ongoing injustice has, for some time now, gravely impacted the mental, emotional, and sometimes physical wellbeing of the vulnerable youth populations we serve, as well as their families. During this time of protest, Inner-City Arts unequivocally voices its strong support for civic action from local to federal levels to protect the Black community from harm at the hands of police and to effectively address criminal justice reform. We also support efforts by institutions and organizations to greatly elevate social services and anti-racist policies that can begin to create equity for Black people in the community we serve. Like many, we are listening, learning, and planning action.

At our core, Inner-City Arts believes that the arts and creativity are transformational. While our city and our nation unpack the systemic injustices perpetuated throughout our history and strategize a plan to promote healing toward equity for Black America, we are committed to using the arts and our people power as vehicles for transformation and healing for our young people and community.

To those who are weary and afraid during this wildly challenging time, we see you, we love you, and we stand with you. When hearts are broken, and emotions are unexplainable, art is instrumental in bringing voices together. When pain has laid dormant and erupts like a volcano, art is a catalyst for freedom. When inequality and divisiveness are magnified to a level of distortion, art brings clarity.

At Inner-City Arts, among the challenges of reaching our students during this pandemic, we are discussing with resolve how we can better meet this moment within our own policies and priorities. Let’s use our collective gifts to tell our stories louder than ever, and to create a much more just world.

#blacklivesmatter

INNER-CITY ARTS