Accountability, Equity, and Justice
As a social justice theatre company, equity is and always has been at the center of Red Ladder’s work. We understand that our society has been built upon centuries of injustice and we strive, every day, to recognize, call out and dismantle racism and discrimination in all systems and institutions, including our own.
We know that art is powerful – it gives people a voice, and allows them to examine and express their truths. We also understand the ways in which oppression and subjugation has prevented equal participation in creative self-expression. We will continue to use the tools at our disposal to amplify the voices of those in our community who have been silenced and marginalized, and to support them in telling their stories. We dedicate our resources to prioritizing cultural competency, equity and inclusion; we acknowledge and strive to address implicit bias in ourselves and in our society; and we stand with our artists and community members engaged in the struggle for justice.
We believe that Black Lives Matter. And that Art Saves Lives.
We are grateful, at this time, for the powerful testimonials in the Living Document of BIPOC Experiences in Bay Area Theatre Companies and the We See You White American Theatre movement, and we hold ourselves accountable to their combined lists of demands. We appreciate the emotional and intellectual labor required in creating and maintaining these platforms, and we strive to do our best to rise and answer with our actions. Despite our founding as a social justice theatre company, our mentorship of BIPOC artists, and our centering of the stories and experiences of our BIPOC community members, we acknowledge that theatre exists within a tradition and a framework that is inherently inequitable, having been built on racist structures and a capitalistic economy, and that we have been complicit in maintaining those systems. Some of the actions we are undertaking toward dismantling these systems include:
The ongoing work toward creating and maintaining an anti-racist space for artists and staff, acknowledging the emotional labor and trauma experienced by the Black, Indigenous and People of Color on our team.
Embarking upon a strategic planning process that centers anti-racism and anti-bias and considers all of our business and artistic practices through an equity and justice lens.
Developing a comprehensive code of conduct for all artists, staff and Board members that includes an anti-racism policy and provides clear communication channels for pursuing grievances.
Providing regularly scheduled training in anti-racism, anti-oppression, and implicit bias.
Codifying our existing practice of ensuring that BIPOC representation among our artists, staff and board is representative of the (primarily BIPOC) communities we serve.
Acknowledging that all of the spaces in which we work and provide programming exist on the stolen lands of Indigenous peoples, and providing both labor and financial support toward efforts to protect and rematriate those stolen lands.
Maintaining fair treatment, fair pay and transparency in our business dealings.
We understand that accountability, equity and justice are not a destination at which we arrive, but a commitment to do the work, every day, of dismantling the racist and oppressive systems and patterns of behavior that have been imbedded in our field for far too long. We commit to working alongside our colleagues in the industry, especially in the region (through the Bay Area Accountability Workgroup and other like-minded cohorts) to hold ourselves accountable as we strive to know better and to do better.
