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“Here we go again. It’s a year later and we’re back where we started,” said author and Founding Director of Women of Color in the Arts Kaisha Johnson. “It’s so disheartening, although not surprising, to see historically and predominantly white arts organizations and cultural institutions pulling out all the stops (and red flags) to acknowledge Juneteenth this year. After all the hollow statements of solidarity — which I expressed as extremely problematic in a Medium article last year, I find myself in the same space — giving a metaphorical and literal side eye to our sector.”

“In the course of a year, we’ve seemed to have normalized silence. We’ve seemed to have normalized empty promises, empty rhetoric, and the lack of accountability. So it’s not freedom when Black cultural workers have to walk into white spaces and deal with the ongoing shenanigans that stem from these institutions dedicating valuable time and resources — without full investment in the work — knowing that their institutions will ultimately make no real commitments, once again pushing Black and brown folks to shoulder the burden. This is also a form of racial violence.”

Read the full article here.

“The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice released new funds to develop, enhance or expand art programs for justice-involved youth. The purpose of Arts Programs for Justice-Involved Youth is to support collaborations between arts-based organizations and juvenile justice systems that focus on current and previous justice-involved youth, including Tribal and Indigenous youth, to reduce juvenile delinquency, recidivism, and/or other problem and high-risk behaviors.”

“Applications may include working with youth at any point in the juvenile justice system, alternatives to incarceration and diversion, secure detention and confinement, and strategies to support youth’s successful reentry into communities.”

Applications are due July 18, 2022.
All arts fields are eligible.
Open to Native American tribal governments, Native Tribal organizations, city and county governments and nonprofit organizations.
Awards are up to $66,500 with an 18-month program period.
There is no match requirement.

Read the full opportunity here.

“It has now been more than two years since George Floyd’s murder sparked the historic 2020 summer uprisings for racial justice. Since then, the debate about race in the US has remained center stage. Racial justice movement leaders and organizers continue to demand a reckoning with the nation’s history of racial exclusion and oppression. At the same time, a white nationalist, anti-democratic, and increasingly violent faction has gained prominence,” said Nonprofit Quarterly author Kyle Strickland. “A central question is how to advance racial and economic justice while US democracy continues to backslide. Significant challenges remain: public opinion on issues of race continues to waver amid weaponized racist backlash; Republican-led state legislatures are passing sweeping voter suppression measures; and a reactionary Supreme Court is rolling back civil rights and freedoms. Meanwhile, Democrats are divided over strategy, vision, and goals.”

“Today, a new generation of activists and organizers are part of a multiracial, intersectional movement. They are making the connections between intersecting challenges—economic and racial inequality exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and rising authoritarianism—and coalescing around an emergent worldview for racial justice—one that goes beyond symbolic representation and moves toward a redistribution of power and resources. They are demanding transformative change at every level—federal, state, and local—and are focused on policy, institutions, and grassroots power,” said Strickland. “Incremental policy approaches will not be enough to build genuine multiracial solidarity and dismantle systems of racial and economic oppression. The post-neoliberal vision of freedom and liberation requires more: repair and redress, and material equity.”

Read the full article here.

From Culture Track: “Untapped Opportunity: Older Americans & the Arts aims to shed light on older generations’ distinct preferences and behaviors to provide relevant insights for cultural engagement. Our findings are focused on the U.S. population aged 55 and over, who were surveyed as part of our Culture + Community in a Time of Transformation national survey, fielded from April 5 to April 30, 2021.”

“In an effort to celebrate Black experiences that have long been undervalued by our society, LaPlaca Cohen and Slover Linett embarked on a qualitative investigation of the role of creativity, joy, belonging, and connection in the lives of Black and African American adults around the nation. By placing Black experiences at the center of this examination, we aim to learn from Black communities, highlight their lived experiences, and illuminate the way forward with their perspectives.”

“The study drove the creation of two reports, the first of which was Slover Linett’s A Place to be Heard, A Space to Feel Held: Black Perspectives on Creativity, Trustworthiness, Welcome, and Well-Being, which provided an in-depth exploration of the research findings. In this second report, LaPlaca Cohen draws on and interprets key points from the first publication to outline ways that cultural practitioners can activate the findings in their work.”

Read the full report here.