Broadway Says Black Lives Matter
As the country confronted its long-upheld systems rooted in white supremacy in the wake of the losses of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many other Black lives, the theatre industry faced a reckoning of its own, challenging members to question the systemically racist practices in place. Black artists and theatre workersâincluding performer-director Schele Williams, stage manager Cody Renard Richard, and composer Griffin Matthewsâshared their own accounts of experiences of racism in the theatre. Complicit artistic leaders were called out in pursuit of accountability, and change was demanded. The anonymous collective We See You White American Theater, on behalf of BIPOC theatremakers, released a 31-page document outlining the necessary redistribution of power and funding in the industry. Additional groups were founded and/or mobilizedâsuch as the previously formed Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Broadway Black or the newly established Black Theatre United and Broadway for Racial Justiceâto provide resources for BIPOC artists, to celebrate Black excellence, ensure their voices were heard in a predominantly white space, and to pave the way for a more equitable and anti-racist future.