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Celebrating Juneteenth with a Commitment to Racial Justice

June 19, 2020 By Cindy Sherwood

On June 19, 1865, more than two months after the end of the Civil War, General Gordon Granger led Union troops to take control of Galveston, Texas and delivered news of the Emancipation Proclamation to the last remaining slaves in the Confederacy.

Although slavery ended 155 years ago in the United States, systemic racism did not. It continues to afflict American society in numerous ways, seen most horrifically in the brutal murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Armaud Arbery, and others killed because of the color of their skin. We honor those who have been murdered and otherwise harmed by our nation’s systemic racism and police brutality.

Arts for Learning Virginia stands in solidarity with our black and brown colleagues, artists, educators, families, and children. Yesterday at the annual meeting of our Board of Directors, the A4L board unanimously voted to implement a policy of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in all aspects of our mission and activities, and at all levels of our organization. We are committed to working to build anti-racist, anti-bias practices into our organization, and as we do so, we are certain of two things:

We have much more work to do, and arts are part of the solution.

Arts for Learning is committed to the children, families, artists, and school communities in our region, to their health and wellbeing, to their freedom and agency, to their human rights, and to the full expression of their humanity through the arts. We are committed to offering programming that reflects and amplifies the communities and cultures in which we serve, as we work to fulfill our core mission of bringing the power of the arts to children in Virginia.

In the fight for racial justice, we resolve to examine and change our own organizational practices and culture. We know that means we need to do better, as we affirm, without equivocation, that

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

We value diversity and inclusion of all people. We welcome your perspectives, thoughts, and ideas, and invite you to write us at info@yav.org.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Black Lives Matter, diversity, inclusion, Juneteenth, racial justice, systemic racism

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Main Office
Arts for Learning
420 North Center Drive
Suite 239
Norfolk, Virginia 23502

Phone: 757-466-7555

Main Office

Arts for Learning
420 North Center Drive
Suite 239
Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Phone:
757-466-7555

IDEAL 2025: Identity, Collaboration, & Community

“I feel like I grew a lot in my artistic skills and socialization skills, as a person in general. It’s really helped me express how I feel.” Sophia Sharp, Bayside Sixth Grade Campus, Virginia Beach “I learned that I can express my feelings through my artwork. That’s what I’m most proud of. Now I’m able […]

Join the A4L Mailing List!

Sign up to receive the latest news on arts integration from Arts for Learning! Thank you for supporting arts-in-education.

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Arts for Learning Virginia. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
At Arts for Learning Virginia, we’re proud to be part of the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ Passport Program. While Passport holders typically receive free admission and 50% off classes at participating organizations, all our programming is always free—no discount needed. To learn more about our public events, check out our calendar of events page here.

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