EDI Resources

We in theatre love what we do because we are passionate about promoting the arts in a way that also serves the greater good. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are key components of this. We do our best work, and better our communities, when we help ensure that every member of our community can be safe, belong, and access equal opportunity. The road to fully realized equity, diversity, and inclusion is constant, and requires both collaboration and introspection. If your theatre is committed to embedding these efforts in your work, we’ve pulled together some resources to help get you started. Our thanks to Dorinda Toner,  Producing Artistic Director of Twilight Theater Company in Portland, Oregon, for her guidance.

Websites:

• Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/  
• Harvard University's Project Implicit: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
• We See You, White American Theater: https://www.weseeyouwat.com

Articles:

• Atlantic Magazine, "The Case for Reparations": https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/
• Variety: "Listen: How to Make Anti-Racist Theater": https://variety.com/2020/legit/news/listen-how-to-make-anti-racist-theater-1234629085/

Books:

• How to be an Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi
• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander
• Emergent Strategy, by Adrienne Maree Brown
• Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Podcasts/videos:

• Emmanuel Acho's "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man": https://uncomfortableconvos.com/watch
• Nikole Hannah-Jones' "1619" podcast from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/podcasts/1619-podcast.html
• Ibram X. Kendi's "Unlocking Us" New York Times series : https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/podcasts/1619-podcast.html
• Brené Brown on Shame and Accountability: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-on-shame-and-accountability/
• Pancho Savery's Feeling Bookish: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/african-american-literature-in-george-floyd-moment/id1438983607?i=1000479006242
• Ava DuVernay's 13th, a documentary on how the country's history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8  

Online Trainings:

• The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond: https://www.pisab.org/programs/
• Off the Mat, Into the Word: https://otmtraining.offthematintotheworld.org/p/dismantling-racism-cr
• Michelle C. Johnson's "Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World ": https://www.michellecjohnson.com/skill-in-action-book
• Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance program provides free resources to educators: https://www.splcenter.org/teaching-tolerance
• Corinne Shutack's recently updated "64 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice": https://medium.com/@cshutack/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234
• Rachel Cargle's course, designed to be an eye-opener and a call to action for those who seek to be allies to Black women.: https://mailchi.mp/rachelcargle/dothework-course-all-30days

>> Do you have a resource to share with others?  Contact AACT Executive Director Quiana Clark-Roland at quiana@aact.org