Trasformando il dolore in azione. Turning grief to action.

Dear Trinacria family,

Over the past week, our company members have been taking time to listen, digest, and respond as individuals to the recent events that have traumatized the USA, the world, and most notably the Black community. As an organization, we are preparing now to come together with action. Trinacria’s mission focuses on underprivileged communities both locally and globally. This means recognizing privilege, calling it out, learning, listening, and acting in a way that promotes equality, justice, compassion, and understanding. 

As an international organization, we recognize that our job is to work with nuance and understanding in a variety of contexts. In order to change where we’re going, we must recognize where we have come from. Our organization is based in Boston, which has a challenging and controversial relationship with race, as this Boston Globe Spotlight Series illustrates. Italy, where we conduct a majority of our work, has a different, but equally difficult history, marked by xenophobia and anti-immigrant attitudes. And as a company that works between Italy and America, it is important to recognize the complicated history and complicity of the Italian-American community with racial violence in America, as laid out in this New York Times article.  

We will not shy away from addressing these issues. They are, in fact, central to The Hades & Persephone Project. To ensure we are achieving our goals, we have assembled an Anti-Racism Task Force team made up of people in and out of our organization. This team will be addressing important questions. What will we do for our artists to respond or protect against incidents of racism? How can we provide more opportunities to underrepresented artists? How can we ensure that the diversity of our artists and audiences is reflected in our leadership? How will we use our platform to promote understanding, equality, inclusivity, compassion, and justice? 

We are not working towards tolerance. Tolerating diversity is not enough. Focusing on police violence is also not enough—for every George Floyd, there are countless Amy Coopers. This past week, like many of you, we have been having conversations with friends and loved ones about the million different actions that hurt the Black community. Carelessness. Profiling. Stereotyping. Silencing voices. Remaining silent. This is not about tolerating but embracing, valuing, celebrating inclusivity. This work will be ongoing, ever-changing, complicated. It will often mean stepping back, listening, learning, making space, checking our privilege. We are committed. 

We plan to return with updates soon. In the meanwhile, there are countless resources to read, petitions to sign, organizations to donate to, protests to attend, lessons to be learned, ways to grow. Below are some resources we have pulled together. Now we invite you, our Trinacria family, to act as we work together towards fostering a more inclusive, equal, and just society. 

Most importantly, together we mourn and honor the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Kendra James,  Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Tanisha Anderson, Atatiana Jefferson, Antwon Rose Jr., Freddie Gray, Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till, and countless other lives lost unjustly. 

Con solidarietà e forza,  

Trinacria Theatre Company

LEARN

Are you new to the journey of recognizing systematic racism and white privilege in this country?

  • The Blue/Brown Eye Experiment (45 minutes on YouTube) may be a place to begin a pathway of learning.

  • The Netflix documentary 13th offers sharp insight into the intersection of race, justice, policing, and incarceration in the USA.

Wanting to grow in deeper understanding?

  • Take an open Yale course on African American History: From Emancipation to the Present. 

  • Read from this curated list of films & books that tackle and teach Anti-Racism (link leads to Twitter).

  • While you’re at it, purchase your reading list from an independent Black-owned bookstore in your state or one that ships nationally.

Looking for guidance on how to take action?

Ready to bring this teaching to young people?

Wishing to enrich your world through beautiful, inclusionary, intersectional art?

  • Codify Art is multidisciplinary collective of Queer & Trans Artists of Color based in NYC. Follow them on Instagram for more.

Excited to support more local businesses owned by Black entrepreneurs?

  • The Afro Biz World directory is a place to discover and support Black-owned businesses in the US, Europe, and the world.

DONATE

We are spotlighting just a few national organizations here, but there are thousands of other worthy causes. We particularly encourage you to research small local organizations where your donation may have a bigger impact. A company member has curated a list for Boston and we are researching Italian and Sicilian organizations. Please reach out to info@trinacriatheatre.com if you would like help digging deeper.

  • Campaign Zero Dedicated to ending policy violence by focusing on policy solutions. The organization’s work specifically urges policy makers to take deliberate action to limit police intervention, improve community interactions, and ensure accountability at every level of government.

  • NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund The United States’ first and largest grassroots-based civil rights organization is dedicated to creating change through legal action to ensure the health and well-being of all people.

     

  • ACLU This nonprofit, nonpartisan organization upholds the United States Constitution for all by fighting government abuse and defending individual freedoms. The ACLU’s vital work focuses on change through legal action.

     

  • Equal Justice Initiative Led by Bryan Stevenson, author of “Just Mercy,” this organization is committed to ending mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality in the U.S. with a focus on change through legal action.

     

  • National Movement for Black Lives Matter This coalition of groups across the United States represents the interests of Black communities, seeking to mobilize, organize, and strategize to protect Black lives. Founded on the idea that we can achieve more together, this movement is geared towards change through policy.

FINALLY

Register to vote. Real change stems from policy amendments. Make sure your voice can be heard on election day.

 
Mariagrazia LaFauci