Dear Patrons,
I am a black man.
I am tired.
When I took over at The Pear in January, a lot of what is now more visible than ever was already a fundamental part of my life. I keep a wide berth from folx when I walk at night so that people aren’t as afraid of me, I make sure my wallet is always visible when I drive so that I don’t have to reach if I get pulled over, I consider every detail of the words I say before I speak so that I don’t get labelled an “angry black man” for being passionate about what I say and how I say it. This is a part of the black experience in America. A very small part of the near infinite adjustments I and other black people have to consider as we go about trying to survive.
George Floyd was not the first. When people get angry about watching a man repeat “I can’t breathe” as he is slowly suffocated over the course of nine minutes, I ask them to remember Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Ezell Ford, Philando Castille, Dominique Clayton...I ask them to remember that this is a systemic problem that, perhaps, could have been solved by action sooner.
It is important to be angry now.
I am angry now.
But anger is nothing without action. We find ourselves at a crossroads as a society. It is a crossroads that we know well, we’ve been here many times before. Is this story going to fade out into the 24 hour news cycle in the next three days? Will some exciting news about space or celebrity gossip drown out the plight of people of color in this country...again? Posts of support are good. Businesses choosing a day of solidarity is good. Protesting is good. But what happens next is what will make all the difference in whether or not this was a turning point in history. Black people, people of color in general, have been fighting for the better part of 200 years. We need more reinforcements.
Maybe you aren’t a protester. That’s okay.
Maybe you aren’t wealthy. That’s okay.
Maybe you’ve never had a black person as a friend in your whole life. That’s okay.
You can still raise your voice and support. You still MUST raise your voice in support.You can lift the voices of black artists, you can be vocal on social media (or email, or regular mail), you can host a reading group with your friends dedicated to becoming antiracist. You can take action so that people don’t forget that injustice is happening all around them. All the time. You can make a conscious commitment to never let yourself forget that the black and brown people around you are dealing with an existence in this country that is markedly different than yours. Consider that I do not have a choice in whether or not this affects me, no one with black or brown skin has a choice about whether or not they are a part of this. I cannot forget about it when it fades into the darkness and out of the public eye.
If you are not actively working against systemic racism, you are actively working to keep it in place. Below are resources that you might use to get involved, to support, and to lead by following. It isn’t about being “woke”, it’s about learning, listening, and acting.
What happens next matters.
What happens next matters.
What happens next matters.
What happens next matters.
What happens next matters.
What happens next matters.
What happens next matters.
What happens next matters.
What happens next matters.
Black lives matter.
Sinjin Jones
Executive Artistic Director
VOTE. Primaries in West Virginia, Georgia, New York, Kentucky, Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma are all coming up later June. Do you know someone in one of those states? You can reach out and encourage them to vote for social justice.
DONATE. If you have spare funds, consider donating to action:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019
https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory
https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
https://lifehacker.com/where-to-donate-to-help-people-fighting-for-racial-just-1843852418
SIGN PETITIONS. Amplifying your voice over and over again.
https://blacklivesmatter.com/petitions/
https://www.justiceforbigfloyd.com/
WRITE. Send an email, write a letter, send a messenger pigeon (anything!) to representatives and let them know that you will stand up for black lives.
Senators and Reps: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/CA#representatives
Cal State Legislature: http://www.legislature.ca.gov/your_legislator.html
CALL. Everyone. The people in positions of power need to know that this is important. Do you work in tech? Your boss needs to know. Your senator, representatives, and everyone who makes decisions needs to know.
Senators and Reps: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/CA#representatives
Cal State Legislature: http://www.legislature.ca.gov/your_legislator.html
LEARN. Engage yourself and your friends in books and readings and podcasts that will push your thinking about race”
Books
Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
White Fragility by Robin Diangelo, PhD
Movies
13th
Dear White People
See You Yesterday
When They See Us
If Beale Street Could Talk
The Hate U Give
Fruitvale Station
I Am Not Your Negro
Just Mercy
Selma
Podcasts
1619
About Race
Code Switch
The Diversity Gap
Intersectionality Matters!
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
Pod for the Cause
Pod Save the People
LIFT. Black artists, artists of color need your support. Engage with them in any way that you can.
https://www.blackartdepot.com/
http://theculture.forharriet.com/2015/05/10-more-dope-black-women-visual-artists.html
SUPPORT. Black Businesses need you. Support them in any way that you can.
Black Owned Businesses: https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2020/black-owned-restaurants/
https://brokeassstuart.com/2020/06/01/a-list-of-black-owned-restaurants-in-the-bay-area/
DON’T STOP. Don’t let this go away. We have to do better.
A Message from the Pear Theatre Board of Directors
We at the Pear Theatre are horrified and saddened by the recent events that have added to our nation's troubled history. We acknowledge the existence of underlying, systemic, centuries-long racism, a poison that continues to destroy the lives of black Americans. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubery are its latest victims, but the historical numbers are far too many to count. They reach deep into the past and forward into our lifetimes. In the last fifty years, many promises have been made in the effort to counter that racism, and some of these promises have been kept, in whole or in part. But far too many of them have been broken. How can this cycle end? What can we do to make it end?
As an arts organization, we believe it is our responsibility to reflect what we see and hear in our society: to tell the stories, express the emotions, and, we hope, help our community explore and understand our shared humanity. Above all, we need to listen.
Now is the time for us to listen. To our neighbors, to the thousands of voices being raised across the country, and, most personally, to what our Artistic Director is saying here about his own daily exhausting experience of being a black man in America. We hear the anger, frustration and pain, and we stand in solidarity with those who feel it, now and always.
We want to make our country better. As a theatre, we have worked to represent our diverse society. We haven't always done it well, and we hope that we can do it better. We hope that we can help to tell more of the stories that need to be told. We are committed to giving the black community a platform--a stage for lifting up their experiences so that audience members of every color can share them. And understand. And so break the cycle.
So what will we do? We raise our voices with you. We take a knee with you. We are and will be with you. Now and always. This is a promise that will not be broken.
The Pear Theatre Board of Directors