Advocacy
Posted: Jun 11, 2020
COCA's Advocacy Guide has information about Black Lives Matter plus links to other Arts Advocacy Resources.
To learn more about Advocacy Resources from Americans for the Arts, please click here.
To learn more about Advocacy Resources from the Florida Cultural Alliance, please click here.
To learn more about Advocacy Resources from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, please click here.
To see all of COCA's current Advocacy listings in our Classifieds section, please click here.
To see information about Black Lives matter, please see below:
COCA stands with Black Lives Matter, protesters, artists of color and allies who are speaking out to change inequitable and racist systems.
WE WILL:
*Facilitate on-going, organizational and community-wide conversations about race, class, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and income status as these issues relate to our arts community.
*Continue to examine our grant and public art practices and policies to ensure under-invested and under-represented communities can compete equitably for exhibitions, grants and other financial opportunities.
*Feature artists and organizations in our community that facilitate equity and those who are equity champions.
WE BELIEVE:
*The ability to express, celebrate and champion cultural tradition and heritage is elemental to honest civic discourse and the well-being of our community.
*Artists and cultural creators have a unique role in challenging inequity and imagining new and more just realities.
*The health of our future cultural community in Tallahassee and Leon County is contingent on inclusionary practices that move towards cultural plurality.
*Inequity is pervasive and historic. Disparities and discrimination are daily occurrences that are rooted in long-standing majority privilege and power inside and outside of the cultural arts.
Equity moves past inclusion and representation; accepting that power has created uneven starting points for some communities and individuals. Simple diverse representation does not dismantle the unequal nature of voice, resource allocation and visibility that exist in the arts and cultural ecosystem.
The arts hold transformative power. They offer an instrument to amplify under-represented voices and open a dialog for meaningful change. We are listening. We see the outpouring of grief and pain. We hold ourselves accountable to be better and do more. This is a start, but there is more work to do to make sure we continue to learn and improve.
Please visit our website here to see COCA's Statement on Cultural Equity.
Resources are added to this listing periodically.
Most recent update: 8-26-2021
DEI in TLH
Recording of the presentation can be found here (with Zoom passcode: t5=A?8nW)
Two additional resources mentioned in the DEI in TLH presentation, Black Fatigue by Mary Frances Winters and Good White People by Shannon Sullivan.
Black Fatigue by Mary Frances Winters can be purchased here.
Good White People by Shannon Sullivan can be purchased here.
Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) 10/20/30 Pledge---a commitment to racial equity, diversity and inclusion (REDI) for the performing arts.
The APAP 10/20/30 Pledge aims to eliminate barriers to leadership, a pledge to steward the work, and a pledge to support cultural workers who identify as Black, Native/Indigenous, People of Color, women, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQIA2S+. It is a commitment to racial equity and gender justice. Watch the video message.
APAP is here to meet you wherever you are. Join us for The Arts Are REDI: APAP and the 10/20/30 Pledge Roundtable Discussion on Thursday, April 1 at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) to learn more. Register here.
Breaking News: APAP advances arts priorities to Biden/Harris administration
On February 2, 2021, Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) along with its advocacy partners advanced a letter on The Arts and Cultural Sector: Federal Policy Actions to the Biden-Harris Administration with policy recommendations to help accelerate the process of mending America’s social fabric, ending systemic racism, and creating equitable economic growth by promoting and investing in the arts and its intersecting public policies such as health, education, pay equity, parental leave, and gig worker protections.
Florida Senate Committee Assignments
The Senate has been filling seats on their committees. The complete directory of committees can be found at this link. The committees that are critical to our success are listed below. If your senator is on one of these lists, your advocacy will be especially important.
Some committees of critical importance to the success of arts and culture: Appropriations, Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development, and Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.
Register here for the December 28, 10AM EST Statewide Call (feat. 2021 Advocacy Campaign)
Florida Arts and Cultural Non-Profit Sector 2021 Legislative Platform
Click here to see the Arts and Cultural Non-Profit Sector 2021 Legislative Platform
Professional Development
Matching Funds Available for Bipoc Artists - CHF has matching funds for up to 50 visual artists from BIPOC or underserved communities to attend our online Virtualize Your Art Career Conference October 19-30.
Initiatives to support
A Call for a Cultural New Deal
National Civil Rights Conference
Check out and register for the 2021 Conference
Articles/Media
Arts Vote: Five Things You Can Do for the Arts Now
10 Organizations Supporting Black Artists, Creators, Movers & Shakers You Can Donate To Today
A Message to Non-Black People at a Time of Acute Anti-Black Hatred
Black Lives Matter protests across the US and world
Solidarity Is
How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change
Performing Whiteness
Enough Already with the Statements of “Solidarity,” Arts World
How to be a white ally and practice anti-racism
Rest in Power, Beautiful #blacklivesmatter
21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge
National Museum of African American History and Culture Releases “Talking About Race” Web Portal
Museums and Equity in Times of Crisis
Curatorial Dreaming in the Age of COVID-19
For Museum Leaders Who Want to Do Better
Webinar Series: Taking diversity and inclusion efforts from intention to action at museums
University of Iowa: Art and the Pursuit of Social Justice webinar events
Resource Guides
Black Arts & Cultural Funding and Justice Resource Hub
No Going Back: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide for Artists and Activists
Anti-racism resources for white people
Resources to Support Black Businesses and More
Coronavirus: Guidance for Better Mental Health
A Pandemic Time Capsule and Tools for 2021
New ArtPlace America report explores building community wealth through arts, culture and equitable development
BIPOC Arts Marketing Freelancer Database
The brand-new BIPOC Arts Marketing Freelancer Database is a FREE, open source database. If you’re a graphic designer, web designer, video editor, sound/podcast engineer, illustrator, social media pro, etc - share your information! I’ve already had success connecting with an incredible freelancer through this list, and I hope the database will be useful to all of us going forward. If you’re a BIPOC Arts Marketing Freelancer, free to add your info directly to the spreadsheet. Keep it growing!
Tallahassee LGBTQ+ Resource Guide Application
For years now Tallahassee has been in need of a comprehensive LGBTQ+ resource guide, one that is vetted and labored by people of the community. Capital Tea has held a monthly LGBTQ+ resource meeting where local LGBTQ+ groups and advocates have worked to develop a process that ensures this guide will meet our needs locally.
We are now ready to begin collecting information to fill the resource guide! We invite you to fill out the application by following this LINK. We ask that you please complete the application by September 14th, 2021.
Who should fill this out?
This application is meant for any retail, restaurant, social service, mental health counselor, realtor, dentist, doctor, vet, entertainment space, legal, and every service that falls in between. We invite business owners and EDs to complete this application and we also wholeheartedly invite folks who work in these spaces as direct care, supervisors, front line, and volunteers to fill this out.
Huge shout out to the individuals who labored alongside us. Including but not limited to the Florida State University College of Medicine Center for Translational Behavioral Science, TransParent, PFLAG. We hope to share with you a list of other folks and groups who joined in for the collective goal of ensuring LGBTQ+ folks in our community have access to safe and affirming spaces!
Please feel free to share this with others in the Tallahassee area.
Shareable link below
https://forms.gle/dnSZ7GTeV1s65Bx16
Local Organizations
Town Hall Tuesdays with COCA, INIE, and UPHS
Dream Defenders Tallahassee - Facebook & Instagram
The Movement 850 - Instagram
Local Events
National Organizations
Brown Girls Doc Mafia is an initiative advocating for over 3,300 women and non-binary people of color working in the documentary film industry around the world.
