Town Hall Press Release

For immediate release:

June 22, 2020

CREAT and IDEA ATL Partner to Host Night of Racial Reckoning

Atlanta, GA- June 22 How do we move forward? In the wake of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks, protesters across the country have taken to the streets to demand an end to the war on Black and Brown people and the devaluation of their lives. That war and devaluation have taken many forms, including inequitable opportunities and unsafe work environments within our own theatre community. Before our community can move forward, it needs to reckon with the injustices perpetrated within our theaters. 

The Coalition for Racial Equity in Atlanta Theater (CREAT) and Inclusion Diversity Equity in the Arts Atlanta (IDEA ATL)  have partnered to host a three-night virtual town hall:

June 29th, 6 pm to 9 pm Town Hall for Racial Reckoning 

June 30th, 6 pm to 9 pm Town Hall for Racial Reckoning 

July 1st, 6 pm to 9 pm Night of Healing for BIPOC Theatre Makers Only

Theaters have been randomly assigned to one of the two Town Hall Nights. List of theaters can be found HERE.

Later today, the leadership and boards of all professional and semi-professional theaters in the metro Atlanta region will receive an invitation to the Town Hall for Racial Reckoning. Theatre makers of color will be invited to sign up before or during the event to speak. A neutral moderator will be on hand to facilitate the event, and a mental health professional will be online. With speakers’ permission, their stories will be collected in a document.  After the event each board and staff will be sent a collection of the stories about their theater.

For too long, BIPOC artists have felt forced to stay silent due to fear of retaliation. But the very survival of our industry now requires that we speak up. This is one small step toward creating a more equitable and just theatre community, Metro region, and country. 

For more information and to sign up to speak please visit www.atlcreat.com/town-hall. 

If you have questions please email atlcreat@gmail.com.