QPORIT

2021-05-27 (THU MAY 27, 2021)

XR - EQUALITY, THEATER

THE PUBLIC THEATER

• has a new plan for diversity, inclusion, equality and "cultural transformation"
• Here's the plan:
• https://publictheater.org/news-items/anti-racism--cultural-transformation-plan/anti-racism--cultural-transformation-plan
• As a possible model for other institutions it has a lot to be recommended.
• Nevertheless, I have a few thoughts about some items in the plan, and some not in the plan, that I believe should be taken into account.
• Conspicuous in the plan is this phrase:
• "In order to create a more humane and inclusive workplace, we have pledged to have all staff of The Public make a standardized living wage (based on New York’s cost of living) by 2023".
• No! Except for volunteers, ALL staff should have a living wage NOW.
• The plan seems to emphasize diversity and equality with "BIPOC" ("BIPOC" is an acronym for Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color.) and language diversity with English and Spanish.
• The long history of American oppression of the BIPOC ecosystem and peoples, requires a special effort both for a redress of the past history and for prevention of new offences (for example, police violence, and new attempts at voter suppression).
• The best solutions need to avoid echoes of “separate but equal” and should embrace support for diversity and equality for all.
• There are many factors that contribute to diversity:
• One is gender.
• One is age. There are more people than ever active over the age of (pick any number greater than 60). And there are more ideas than ever from young people in High School and younger. (How many 5th grade classes depend upon a student rather than staff for helping with computers and new technology?  Teens are getting big audiences on Social Media sites. They should have exposure to theater, and could have much to contribute.)
• One is $$$. People without money need more than a lottery or a long line for free access to summer theater --- for example, an opportunity to create culturally. People with money also have a lot to contribute beside money. 
• One is language. There are more languages spoken in New York than English and Spanish. The "plan" is presented in English and Spanish. The top three languages in New York are: English, Spanish, and Chinese Mandarin, with smaller numbers speaking Russian, Italian, French, Korean, and some speaking Yiddish, Hindi, and various Arabic, Asian, and African languages.
• In the spirit of an oxymoron, English is, of course, the lingua franca of the US. A unifying language is  important. And... it is the heritage of the Shakespearean background of the Public.
• One is nationality. At a time when we are emerging from several years of xenophobia, with particular recent attacks on Chinese residents and people, and with stress on the system of immigration, The Public could well be a beacon for casting a light on the whole world. New York is a city with a substantial BIPOC, international, and immigrant population.
• The plan seems to be largely about restructuring the staff to be more centrally BIPOC. The mission statement is more general:
• ...we in the theater also have our own specific challenges. As the tellers of stories and the makers of images, we must strive to center those our country has marginalized, to tell truths our culture has suppressed, and to create the narratives that allow us to imagine a more just and inclusive nation. We know that art always reflects the conditions under which it was made, so we must also look inward and ensure that our own structure, processes, and behaviors reflect the world we are striving to bring into being.
• The Public Theater has, since its inception, been a place to bring great theater, both historical and new creations, to the New York public. 
• There is a long history in the US of saying one thing, but doing another: in the Declaration of Independence we have the stirring words:
• We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 
• Note: Written by Thomas Jefferson, we have to remember that when he said "men", he did not mean women. In fact, he also did not mean all men - just people of property or professions, and not slaves. (Jefferson was a slave owner, as was George Washington. And what the Declaration said about Indigenous People is horrifying.) We need to do NOT WHAT THEY DID, BUT WHAT THEY SAID, what the words TRUTH, EQUALITY, LIFE, and LIBERTY mean today.
• I hope that in the plan for restructuring, The Public will look to the spirit of the Declaration (as we read it today) and to the spirit of The Public's heritage: To create and present, to all NY, great theater that upholds and defends the principle that ALL people are EQUAL, with a RIGHT to LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS.
• In taking the broad view of diversity, inclusion, equality and "cultural transformation" in its mission and operations, The Public can best support the New York public, and the goals of the BIPOC community in particular.