We at Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) must express our grief at the loss of 18 innocent lives and injuring 10 others in the shootings at Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay this January. It is especially devastating as Lunar New Year celebrations are a time for joy and family, culture and community.

This violence against the Asian American community – which has been a strategic practice from before the Chinese Exclusion Act and which has seen a horrific rise throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – is a literal example of the reason that GIA advocates for racial justice in arts funding – to support the expression and full humanity of Asian people who have been dehumanized, in ways both subtle and direct, by our public and private institutions throughout our country’s history, and still to this day.

“No race or ethnic group has a monopoly on violence. No group is immune to our society’s obsession and love affair with guns. No group is exempt from mental health challenges or despair,” said Naomi Ishisaka for the Seattle Times. “We are struggling with this complexity in the Tyre Nichols killing as well, with some having trouble understanding how Black cops could beat another Black man so brutally.”

Creativity and cultural expression by Black and Indigenous people, and people of color, has long explored different ways of truth-telling and valuing each other, our environment, our health, our safety, and our humanity, whether it is Mel Chin’s bringing attention to how corporate industries poison the water and soil in low-income communities of color, Guadalupe Maravilla’s organizing of mutual aid for low-income residents during the coronavirus pandemic. Artists and activists alike who center cultural and narrative shift create opportunity for us all to envision another, perhaps just, future and the steps we must all take to build it.

Eddie Torres, GIA president & CEO, reminded us of a time when he asked an activist where they felt it most important for advocacy and activism to take place. In response to his question, she said, “The place where you are.” Supporting the creativity and cultural expression of Black people and African, Latine, Arab, Asian, Native American communities is only one of many elements – but an essential element – of racial equity toward the goal of racial justice in our nation.

It is for these reasons that we also stand against any government censorship of school curricula or training in anti-racism, critical race theory, or the transparent sharing of the history of our nation. GIA embraces history, anti-racism, and critical race theory in our work.

Our commitment to action and advocacy is clear. We stand beside Asian and Black communities as they demand justice and action. As this movement grows, we call upon our community and the grantmaking sector to invest in movements led by these communities, and community-identified/-led solutions that will support healing, restitution, and a just future.

We call upon the wisdom of Dr. Maya Angelou today as a guide for directing our actions in response to our emotions, “So, use that anger. You write it. You paint it. You dance it. You march it. You vote it. You do everything about it. You talk it. Never stop talking it.”

A sense of community and belonging is a right, not a privilege. To our membership, our peers, our field – we stand by you as we continue the fight against racism, violence, state-supported police brutality, and cultural-suppression in our country.

From the California Black Freedom Fund: “We, the undersigned, lead philanthropic institutions throughout California that came together to seed and establish the California Black Freedom Fund. Established just two and a half years ago following the brutal murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and countless others, the California Black Freedom Fund was created to mobilize the resources necessary to build Black power and eradicate systemic and institutional racism.”

“Now, just days into 2023, we are grappling with similar situations. On January 3, in Los Angeles, Keenan Anderson was killed by a taser an officer deployed while Keenan was lying face-down on his stomach – one of three police killings in LA in one week. Takar Smith and Oscar Sanchez also lost their lives to police violence. On January 7, in Memphis, Tennessee, Tyre Nichols was brutally beaten and killed by five officers during a traffic stop. Nationally, police killed at least 1,176 people in 2022 – about 100 a month – making last year the deadliest year on record for police violence since killings began being tracked.”

“While the nation is grieving, some are making statements telling Black people how to express their outrage. That’s not the focus of our letter. Our letter is a call to action for everyone concerned with the brutalization of Black people and Black communities. Our letter is a call to action for those who might dare to dream of a world where police violence is a mere figment of our past – a distant object in the rearview mirror of our nation’s history. Our letter is a call to action for those who desire to transform moments of despair at injustice into a sustained movement to dismantle systemic racism and racial inequities.”

“Historically, philanthropy has responded to flashpoints of police violence and mass mobilizations with an uptick in temporary funding directed toward Black communities, and more broadly, communities of color. These surges in funding often are short-term, tactical or narrowly focused. Then, when the urgency of the moment recedes, new momentum to build lasting, organized power in Black communities is lost, and resources to build multiracial coalitions disappear.”

“This time, we must keep the momentum. We call on private, corporate and community foundations to invest in Black-led movement organizations pushing back against systemic barriers and expanding access to opportunity. In addition, we need a groundswell of investments from everyday people, high-net worth donors, and companies.”

Read the full letter and learn how to support here.

“Like you, I’ve been thinking about the police brutally murdering Tyre Nichols in Memphis, the latest in the countless murders of Black people by the police,” said Vu Le for Nonprofit AF. “I’m thinking of Tyre Nichols, who loved skateboarding and photography and who had a son a little younger than my six-year-old, and I’m thinking of his family, whom he was just trying to get home to. I cannot imagine their pain.”

“This murder came while so many of us are still grieving the mass shooting deaths of people in Monterey Park, Half Moon Bay, and other places too numerous for many of us to keep track of anymore (about 40 over the past four weeks). This is where we are at for this new year. Endless death and injustice, not just sanctioned but sponsored by our government. And those of us in nonprofit and philanthropy, for all the good we do, often feel powerless.”

“But our sector’s job is to address inequity and injustice, so we need to focus. The statements we’ll be making condemning police violence and anti-Blackness have been a start, but they are not enough, and in fact, they can often lull us into a sense of complacency, kind of like a long-form of “thoughts and prayers.” We need to, as an entire united sector, work together to end white supremacy and its many manifestations, and we need to do it differently and more effectively.”

“To be successful in pushing back against injustice like the above, the progressive-leaning wing of our sector must stop wasting time with meaningless and distracting priorities and start working together to implement equally wide-reaching and creative strategies. We can call it collective impact or whatever, but we need to do more of it, and at scales that would match the conservative movement’s investment in furthering its values. Here are a few things to consider:”

We need a common agenda uniting every issue we’re trying to address
Progressive-leaning foundations need to fund completely differently
Nonprofits need to stop being so nice and get a lot angrier

“I want us to get angrier. Not just at the various forms of relentless injustice we have been tasked with doing something about, but also at the fact that we are expected to do it with 10% of the resources we need, resources that come with endless conditions and restrictions. We’ve been conditioned to be calm and level-headed and grateful, and over time, our imagination has been dimmed, our common vision narrower and narrower. It’s been affecting our ability to work together collectively to advance a just and equitable world. We need to restore both our righteous anger and our imagination.”

Read the full article here.

“What if I told you that we all possess the power to heal and transform how trauma manifests in our bodies? Further, music, art, and creative expressions are portals through which we can activate our power to heal,” said Nineequa Blanding for Nonprofit Quarterly. “According to Dr. Sará King— neuroscientist, medical anthropologist, and founder of Mind Heart Consulting—’we actually have been imbued with superpowers’ that enable healing. In her opening comments during a session entitled ‘Art, Music, and Science as Catalysts for Healing & Transformation,’ she expressed her interest in exploring the ways our bodies have been designed to support our capacity to heal.”

“The embodied awareness Dr. King speaks of is a state of being fully present and feeling alive. It is a way for us to connect to the present moment by using sensory experiences such as our breath to ground ourselves. Embodied awareness also enables us to understand our interconnectedness and the energy we carry into our relationships. During the panel discussion, Dr. King further elucidates the concept of embodied awareness and its usefulness as a tool to spark healing.”

“What are our intentions for the kinds of energy that we are bringing to our relationships? What are we bringing to the spaces we are in? Are we aware of our intentions and energy?”

“How we are carrying our bodies through time and space is a constant communication of whether we are beings who are offering up a state of belonging to those who are around us or whether we are offering up the energy of rejection and othering.”

“Many studies—including Dr. King’s research—demonstrate the physiological benefits of mindfulness and art therapy. Several studies demonstrate that art-based therapy can improve mood, reduce stress levels, and decrease perception of pain. To make these findings—along with the healing power of art—accessible, Dr. King detailed her work with partners such as the Museum of Modern Art, the United Nations (UN), and the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop public programs. For example, she joined forces with MOMA, where she developed, in partnership with MOMA educator Jackie Armstrong and composer Orlando Villarraga, a 90-minute ‘immersive exploration of the relationship between individual and collective awareness and the capacity we all have for transformation and healing.’ She has also developed a guided meditation based on the work of artist Betye Saar—a 1969 piece entitled ‘Black Girl’s Window’—that can be accessed through MOMA’s website.”

Read the full article here.

From Hyperallergic: “Last week, the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture opened applications for its new grant program Creative Recovery LA. The regional initiative will distribute $26 million to nonprofit arts organizations hardest hit by the pandemic — the “largest investment we’ve ever received at the County level for the arts,” according to Anji Gaspar-Milanovic, director of grants and professional development for LA County Arts and Culture.”

“The program is broken down into five separate grant categories with different amounts for each: $14.2 million for general economic relief; $1.7 million to reinvigorate and promote cultural tourism; $4.7 million for artist-led programs, residencies, commissions, and public projects; $3 million for organizations that teach and train young people in creative fields; and $2.8 million for programs that support youth involved with the juvenile justice system through the arts. Organizations can apply for multiple grants with one streamlined application, open now through February 15.”

“Creative Recovery LA has also been structured with equity in mind, so that priority will be given to organizations in areas most affected by the pandemic based on the County’s COVID-19 Vulnerability and Recovery Index. At least 75% of funds in each grant category must go to organizations in Priority Zone 1, deemed those with the highest need. These include large swaths of central and south Los Angeles, portions of the Eastside like Boyle Heights, El Monte, and Pomona further East, as well as pockets of the San Fernando Valley in the North.”

“Although blue-chip galleries and private museums may be making headlines touting the cultural ascent of Los Angeles, for Sakoda, the region’s strength lies in the network of community-based cultural organizations. ‘Don’t sleep on the public sector and local arts agencies,’ she said, ‘and the role we play in sustaining the arts in America.’”

Read the full article here.