On August 14, Crowded Fire Artistic Director Mina Morita facilitated a discussion focused on the specific ways anti-Blackness presents in different communities of color followed by breakout sessions designed for deeper discussion. She was joined by guest speakers: Regina Victor (Sideshow Theatre), L. Duarte (Latinx Mafia), Andrea Assaf (Art2Action), and Yalini Dream (Vision Change Win).
A full recording of the event (excluding the breakout sessions) will be available shortly. In the meantime, you can watch previous Direct Address conversations on our YouTube Channel.
Leading up to the event, participants were asked to read a number of articles to prepare for the discussion and breakout sessions. Below we’ve included those readings, as well as a number of resources and organizations mentioned during the conversation. As many of our guest speakers referenced historical events, we’ve also included a few links to provide background on those discussion points.
Pre-Event Readings:
The Matrix of Domination and the Four Domains of Power by Patricia Hill Collins – a framework for small group breakout sessions
Four Levels of Solidarity by DRUM (Desis Rising Up and Moving)
Implicit Bias Test – test your own implicit bias with a test from Project Implict
Non-Black People Need to Start a Conversation about Anti-Blackness in our Community by Sharon Park
Resources/Organizations Mentioned During the Conversation:
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust – an urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people. To support their work, you can pay the Shuumi Land Tax—a voluntary annual contribution that non-Indigenous people living on traditional Lisjan Ohlone territory make to support the critical work of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.
Alternate ROOTS – a regional arts service organization that supports the creation and presentation of original art that is rooted in community, place, tradition or spirit. They are a group of artists and cultural organizers based in the South creating a better world together.
Equality Labs – an Ambedkarite South Asian power-building organization that uses community research, political base-building, culture-shifting art, and digital security to end the oppression of caste apartheid, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and religious intolerance. Through these methods, they provide practical tools for communities to make new interventions in longstanding systems of oppression and advocate for themselves.
MENA Theater Maker Alliance – MENA Theater Makers Alliance amplifies the voices of Middle Eastern and North African theater makers and expands how stories from and about MENA communities are told on U.S. stages.
The Living Document – a document of anonymous testimonials from Bay Area BIPOC artists & creatives and an equity action plan for Bay Area theater companies.
Call It What It Is: Ant-Blackness – a New York Times piece that includes the quote from Dr. kihana miraya ross mentioned by speaker Regina Victor.
Why Understanding Colorism Within the Latino Community Is So Important – an article from Courageous Conversation that includes a quote by Dr. Irene Lopez mentioned by speaker L. Duarte.
Historical Background and Further Readings:
Background on Tamil Communities in Sri Lanka – from minorityrights.org
Understanding India’s Caste System – from a 2019 BBC article
History of Sri Lanka – from britannica.com
18th-century socio-racial classification system used in the Spanish American colonies – from the Native Heritage Project
Understanding Intersectionality – from the National Conference for Community and Justice
Are Arabs and Iranians White? – from a 2020 LA Times article
Our next Direct Address conversation on allyship and anti-racism will take place on Sept 4. Learn More.
