Black Lives Matter

GPTC recognizes the reality of systemic inequities that lead to broad scale racial injustice in our community and across our nation. Such as, the life span of many of Black community members in majority Black neighborhoods is ten years less than the life span of many white community members in majority white neighborhoods. A legal system that arrests Black people at significantly higher rates than white people, especially when compared to the percentage of the general population represented by Black citizens. The fact that the medium income for Black households in Omaha is $11,000 less than for white households. These facts (and myriad others) and the stories that surround them need to be told and need to be heard for our community to change and evolve into a more equitable, just, and compassionate world.

The GPTC has a history of supporting the dissemination of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) stories, and the artists who make and share those stories. It has also been founded, and thrived, within a local and national arts community that, while working to improve equity, has tolerated damaging aspects of systemic racism. As we continue our journey during a time of profound national and global upheavals, we will work each day to fight systemic racism, both within our own organization, and within the communities that we serve.

Action

Three key action steps from our Cultural Equity statement:

  • The GPTC has over 60% BIPOC representation on the board and vows to grow our board diversity.
  • The GPTC has 50% white staff, with three full-time, two part-time, and three seasonal employees. We vow to increase our diversity until a standard of equity is achieved.
  • We vow to work with BIPOC and marginalized artists and community members to reflect our foundational commitment to diversity and equity.

Cultural Equity

To support a full creative life for all, the GPTC commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable nation.

 

DEFINITION OF CULTURAL EQUITY

Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of arts policy; the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible, thriving venues for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources. A standard of equity in an organization means that the racial diversity of the staff reflects the community served; that people of color hold management, executive, and board positions, rather than only entry-level roles; and that employees of all races have access to equal pay, benefits, and advancement opportunities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & AFFIRMATIONS

  • In the United States, there are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally such that inequity and injustice result, and that must be continuously addressed and changed.
  • Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector.
  • We must all hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.
  • Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
  • The prominent presence of diverse artists helps to challenge inequities and encourages alternative models.

ACTION

To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, we vow to work towards…

  • Ongoing progress towards board diversity.
  • Increased staff diversity until a standard of equity is achieved.
  • Collaboration with and support of BIPOC and systemically marginalized artists and community members to reflect our foundational commitment to diversity and equity.
  • Pursuit of cultural consciousness throughout our organization through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies.
  • Acknowledgement and dismantling of any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and assessment of organizational progress on an annual basis.

FIELD PROGRESS

To pursue needed systemic change related to equity, we vow to…

  • Advocate for pro-equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences.
  • Improve the cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the full breadth of American society.
  • Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes cultural equity.

This statement is built upon the cultural equity statement of Americans for the Arts.

Land Acknowledgement

The Great Plains Theatre Commons acknowledges that our organization, located on the banks of the Missouri River, is situated on land that is the homeland of the Ponca, Omaha, Pawnee and Otoe.  We pay respect to the Ponca, Omaha, Pawnee and Otoe peoples, elders, and their ancestors, past, present and future.

The Great Plains Theatre Commons pays respect to all Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land throughout the generations, and to their ongoing contributions, culturally, intellectually, artistically and spiritually.