The board and staff of Chicago Dancemakers Forum are deeply saddened and angered by the murderous hate crimes that took place in Atlanta last week. We recognize that this is not a “surge” but just one example of deeply entrenched and systemic anti-Asian racism and misogyny.

Our hearts go out to the Asian and Asian American artists within our community who suffer from the trauma of this remorseless assault and the white supremacist culture at its core. We support the humanity of these artists, their art, and their artistry, and stand with them and all in our community in the fight against injustice and hatred.

我們Chicago Dancemakers Forum的各位董事和員工都對上週在亞特蘭大發生的仇恨犯罪深感遺憾及憤慨。我們明白這起事件並非一時的風波， 而是一件深根於系統性種族及性別歧視理念的反亞裔案例。我們的心與我們社區內各位受這起無情的事件及白人優越主義所影響的亞裔藝術家們同在。我們支持著這些藝術家們以及他們作品中的人性。我們會與他們，以及社區內的各位，一同對抗仇恨和不公正。

シカゴ・ダンスメーカーズ・フォーラムの委員会とスタッフは、先週アトランタで起こったヘイトクライム殺人事件に関して、深く悲しみと憤りを感じています。これは社会情勢の急変ではなく、今まで深く染み付いていた構造的なアジア人差別や、アジア人に対する嫌悪の一つの例に過ぎないのだというのが、私たちの認識です。私たちは、この残酷な暴力と、その中核にある白人至上主義の文化によって、精神的な傷を負うことになった我がコミュニティ内のアジア人アーティストたち、アジア系アメリカ人のアーティストたちに、思いを馳せています。彼らの人間としての尊厳、芸術活動、芸術的感性をサポートし、コミュニティ全体で一丸となって、私たちはこの不義と憎悪に対する戦いに共に立ち向かいます。

지난주 애틀랜타에서 일어난 살인적인 혐오 범죄에대해 우리 시카고 댄스 메이커 포럼의 이사회와 직원들은 몹씨 슬퍼하고 분노했습니다. 우리는 이것이 갑자기 생겨난 파도가 아니라 깊이 뿌리내린 체계적인 아시안 상대 인종주의 여성 혐오의 한 예일뿐임을 알고 있습니다. 우리의 마음은 이 무자비한 폭행과 그 중심에있는 백인 우월주의 문화의 트라우마 외상으로 고통 받는 우리 공동체의 아시안 예술가들과 함께 아파합니다. 우리 모두는 이 예술가들의 인간성, 그들의 예술 및 예술성을 지원하고, 불의와 증오에 맞서 싸우는 우리 공동체의 모든 사람들을 지지합니다.

Ang lupon at mga tauhan ng Chicago Dancemakers Forum ay labis na nalulungkot at nagagalit sa nangyaring pamamaslang sa Atlanta noong nakaraang linggo. Kinikilala namin na hindi ito isang “pagdagsa” ng krimen ngunit isang resulta ng nakabaong sistema ng racism at misogyny. Buong puso kaming nakikiramay sa mga artistang Asyana at Asyanong Amerikano sa aming komunidad na nagdurusa sa trauma ng walang-katarungang pag-atake at sa kalagitnaan ng kultura ng white supremacist. Sinusuportahan namin ang buong komunidad ng mga artista, kanilang sining, at sa buong mamamayan sa nangyaring kapahamakan.

पिछले हफ्ते अटलांटा में हुए घृणित घृणा अपराधों से Chicago Dancemakers Forum के बोर्ड और कर्मचारी गहरे दुखी और नाराज हैं। हम मानते हैं कि यह एक “वृद्धि” नहीं है, बल्कि गहराई से घुसे हुए और प्रणालीगत एशियाई नस्लवाद और मिथ्याचार का केवल एक परिणाम है। हमारे दिल हमारे समुदाय के भीतर एशियाई और एशियाई अमेरिकी कलाकारों के लिए निकलते हैं, जो इस पश्चाताप हमले और उसके मूल में सफेद वर्चस्ववादी संस्कृति के आघात से पीड़ित हैं। हम इन कलाकारों की मानवता, उनकी कला और उनकी कलात्मकता का समर्थन करते हैं, और अन्याय और घृणा के खिलाफ लड़ाई में उनके और हमारे समुदाय में उनके साथ खड़े हैं।

 

Chicago Dancemakers Forum Board, Staff, and Interns

Angel Ysaguirre, Baronica Roberson, Bob Faust, Catherine Eng, Liam “L” Fleming, Christopher Barrett Politan, Ginger Farley, Reina Huguley, JL Simonson, Kim D. Ricardo, La Mar Brown, Mabel Lujan, Peter Taub, Shawn Lent, Shweta Ukidave

 

In remembrance of:

Daoyou Feng 馮道友

Delaina Ashley Yaun

Hyun Jung Grant [김]현정

Paul Andre Michels

Soon Chung Park 박순정

Sun Cha Kim 김선 차

Yong Ae Yue 유용애

Xiaojie (Emily) Tan 谭小洁

 

Resources for Action

Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) Chicago – Bystander Intervention Training

AAAJ Atlanta – Donations to Georgia’s Asian American Community

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)

Asian Human Services | Chicago

NAPAWF (National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum) Chicago

 

Heartfelt thank you to Dee Alaba, JeeYeun Lee, Kanami Kusajima, and Timothy Tsang for providing translations.

Image: Evie S. for Unsplash

Black Lives Matter.

In this time of great turmoil and righteous uprising, Chicago Dancemakers Forum joins our arts colleagues across the nation to speak out against White supremacy. George Floyd and generations of Black people have been violently robbed of their lives through cowardly and heartless acts of White supremacy.  We are all injured by the evils of racism and we are united in declaring unequivocally that Black Lives Matter. We feel grief and rage in the living, breathing human bodies which we are blessed to inhabit. We also feel love and determination. We stand together in demanding the safety, wholeness, and wellness of Black people and for dismantling White supremacy and all systems of subordination.

Dancers have a unique understanding of the body as the core of all human experience. Within our community there are artists who express their humanity through dance despite paralyzing trauma resulting from the long history–and the present moment–of anti-Black racism. Chicago Dancemakers Forum is committed to funding the work of Black artists alongside White artists, Indigenous artists, and other artists of color; we honor the cultural origins and expressions of BIPOC dancemakers in Chicago. We pledge to strengthening relationships between artists and organizations across the deep divides in our city. We believe that dance and dance artists can be a meaningful part of making change in our society.

As an organization, Chicago Dancemakers Forum recognizes that we have a lot of work to do to combat White supremacy and we know that de-centering Whiteness requires our constant attention, effort, and action over time. It took us a while to issue this statement; we wanted consensus and some concrete actions to share with it. Here are the changes that we are making right now:

1. Investments: Chicago Dancemakers Forum will transfer its reserved funds to investment products at a Black-owned financial institution and build relationships there to support and encourage artists and other organizations to bank and invest there also.

2. Grants: Get money into the hands of artists who suffer disproportionately in this time of crisis. In addition to delivering our core Lab Artists program, Chicago Dancemakers Forum will leverage our cash reserve and fundraising platform to provide past BIPOC awardees and finalists with new one-time unrestricted cash grants in 2020.

3. Structures and Practices: Identify and enact strategies to de-center Whiteness at all levels of our organization and to compensate all contractors and employees with equitable pay. Chicago Dancemakers Forum will conduct detailed analysis and change our structures and practices so that BIPOC leaders and artists will want to, and are able to, participate in our organization.

Chicago Dancemakers Forum Staff, Board, and Consortium members.

Angel Ysaguirre, Baronica Roberson, Bob Faust, Christopher Barrett Politan, Elise Butterfield, Ginger Farley, Kaylan Knutson, Kim D. Ricardo, La Mar Brown, Lucy Jaffar, Peter Taub, Shawn Lent.

The work of Chicago Dancemakers Forum is supported by a committed Consortium of Chicago dance stakeholding organizations: The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, High Concept Labs, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Arts Chicago, Pivot Arts, Rebuild Foundation, Ruth Page Center for the Arts.

 

Photo: George Floyd protests in Uptown Charlotte, 5/30/2020 (IG: @clay.banks), via Unspash