Phase 2 #DramaTherapistsAgainstWhiteSupremacy

Brought to you by the Cultural Humility, Equity and Diversity Committee (CHEDC)

This campaign addresses the far reaching, all encompassing system of white supremacy and racism that exists in our governments, corporate and public workplaces, health systems and social services, prisons, schools, universities, therapy spaces, and public institutions. Racism exists in all social aspects of life, internalized within our communities, families, and within ourselves.

Where are the places you can push back against prejudice and discrimination?

Below, you will find an incomplete list of ideas and actions intended to fight the system of white supremacy. Because oppressions are intersectional, some of these actions address cultural oppressions faced by other minority groups, including gender diverse and gender non-conforming people, LGBTQIA communities, religious minorities, as well as people who are targeted for their size, age, ability, socio-economic reality, and other forms of cultural oppression. This incomplete list requires your ideas, resources, and creativity.

This campaign will be carried out in 3 phases.

PHASE 1 (Complete)
1- Campaign Actions; 2- Cultural Humility & Clinical Work; 3- Intrapersonal Commitments; 4- Interpersonal Commitment

PHASE 2:
5- Art; 6- NADTA Actions; 7- Advocacy; 8- Holding Power Accountable; 9- Financial Actions; 10- Legal Action.

PHASE 3:
11- Research; 12- For Professors/Educators & Supervisors; 13- For Parents/Caregivers

DIRECTIONS:
1- Fill in the demographic information below. All questions are optional.
2- Select actions that you are willing to commit to (you may already be engaging in these actions).
3- Identify actions that are not on this list to which you would like to commit.
4- Share additional resources to be posted on the CHEDC page of the NADTA website.
5- Access resources to support your commitments on the CHEDC page of the NADTA website.
6- Optional, join a #DramaTherapistsAgainstWhiteSupremacy Support/Accountability Group to support and learn from each others' experiences.

The NADTA CHEDC will share the aggregate results from this campaign with members.

Disclaimer:

We acknowledge that for many reasons depending on who we are, and our current and past experiences of discrimination, exclusion, and/or other forms of trauma, we hold different privileges and are exposed to different risks when we do this work. Please participate in this campaign in a way that makes sense to you.

Research shows that talking about cultural oppression can cause discomfort, fear, and defensiveness in dominant social groups (Sue & Constantine, 2007).

We acknowledge that these difficult feelings can make it challenging to remain connected to the material (Frederick, 1995, p. 89) and we invite everyone to try to notice what is happening in your body as you read through this campaign. We also acknowledge, that people of color and racialized minorities contend with racial oppression everyday. Research shows that racism causes chronic stress (Carter, 2007) and racial trauma (Bryant-Davis & Ocampo, 2006), and negatively impacts both physical and mental health (Sue, 2010). Police brutality, disproportionate incarceration rates, and other violence make racism a matter of life and death. Unjustly, people of color are often expected to engage in a disproportionate amount of emotional labor around equity issues related to race and ethnicity.

Let's work together to create change in our work, our communities, and our organization.

Please note that this data will not be used for publication.

For a full list of the resources for Phase 2, click here.

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:
This information will be kept on a confidential NADTA server and it will help the CHEDC learn more about the cultural composition of the people participating in this campaign. It may also be used to support programming and outreach in the future.

Question Title

* Where do you currently live?

North America

Africa

Asia

Europe

South America

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* What is your professional status?

Professional Drama Therapist (with RDT)

Using Drama Therapy (without RDT)

Other Creative Arts Therapy Professional

Allied Mental Health Professional

Drama Therapy Student

Other

Question Title

* What is your age?

18-24 years old

25-34 years old

35-44 years old

45-54 years old

55-64 years old

65-74 years old

75+

Question Title

* How do you identify racially and ethnically?

Question Title

* Do you identify as a person of color or racialized minority?

Yes

Question Title

* Do you identify as a religious minority?

Yes

Question Title

* How would you describe your gender identity?

Question Title

* How would you describe your sexual orientation?

Section 5: MAKE ART

Question Title

* I commit to (select all that apply)...

A) Make art that highlights inequity.

Some examples:

o An image of justice/Une image de la justice- Global cartoon contest
o Chiedza Pasipanodya on racism and self-care
o Chilling replicas of 'children in cages' appear on NYC sidewalks
o Houston’s new poet laureate plans to tackle mental health through poetry
o “I, too, am Harvard”
o Memorial for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
o Ill Nana/Diversecity Dance Company on racism and the healing power of dance
o Phyllis Walker on storytelling and its role in self-care
o Ta-Nehisi Coates wants artists to take on Black Lives Matter

B) Make art that celebrates and acknowledges the identities, resilience, and accomplishments of racialized people.

o BIPOC TV & Film
o Black and Brown Theatre | Detroit
o How these Black playwrights are challenging American theatre
o Exhibit is first major show of artwork by Native women
o Faculty members receive grants for diversity programming (NYU Steinhardt News)
o 'It's long overdue': The first exhibition for Native American female artists
o Photos celebrating queer culture in Latin America
o Resistance 150: Indigenous artists challenge Canadians to reckon with our history
o Spark Disability Art Festival
o Staging a revolution: Can theatre be an effective form of activism?
o The unashamedly queer, feminist, and intersectional play you need to see | Dazed
o Why theatre is one of the most important tools for social justice
o Historic Quebec church hosts queer love story

B.1 Social Justice in American Theatre Companies/Projects
B.2 Social Justice in Canadian Theatre Companies/Projects
B.3 Organizations Committed to Personal and Social Change through Theatre

C) Standing against cultural appropriation in art.

o An artist’s guide to cultural appropriation
o Collaboration not appropriation
o Cultural appropriation vs. appreciation
o Dirty words: Appropriation | canadianart
o Eradicating cultural appropriation in art education
o It Means More: Anti-Cultural Appropriation Campaign
o Representation matters: On Native American appropriations in art success story
o Resources on what ‘cultural appropriation’ is and isn’t
o The difference between cultural appropriation and exchange
o Think before you appropriate questions

D) Learn how to create culturally inclusive and equitable spaces within my art making processes.

E) Work towards improving the accessibility of the arts.

Some examples:
o 8 Things everyone needs to know about art and disability
o Access to live music for disabled audiences
o Accessibility should be part of everyday arts practice, not just a special event
o “All the world’s a stage”: Improving theatrical accessibility in the U.S
o Autism, art, and accessibility to theater
o Meet CAMH’s first Artist in Wellness
o MOMO Movement Dance Theatre
o National Endowment for the Arts | Accessibility
o Raising the curtain on accessibility: Resources from the performing arts
o Resources for inclusion of people with disabilities in the arts | Leeway Foundation
o The mental health zines filling the gap that therapy doesn’t

Section 6. NADTA EQUITY ACTIONS

Question Title

* I commit to (select all that apply)...

A) Participate in an NADTA Racial Justice Dialogue.

B) Checking this box confirms your interest in participating in a Cultural Humility, Equity, and Diversity Committee (CHEDC) subcommittee concerned with writing the NADTA Social Equity Position Statements. Please contact diversity@nadta.org to find out more.

C) Checking this box confirms your interest in participating in a Cultural Humility, Equity and Diversity Committee (CHEDC) subcommittee concerned with social action. Please contact diversity@nadta.org to find out more.

D) Submit a proposal on a social equity issue for the next NADTA Conference, here are some ideas that members shared wanting to see:

o Embodied workshops exploring white guilt and shame
o How does whiteness and colonialism operate in our community
o How does white supremacy impact the creation of mass incarceration in the USA
o Learning to tolerate discomfort
o Opportunities for dialogue with people who value white supremacy ideas
o Privilege 101
o Spaces for reconciliation between people of color and white people
o Transgenerational trauma
o Workshops on having difficult conversations about racism
o White supremacy

E) Learn about the multiple initiatives the NADTA has taken to improve equity, inclusion, and justice in our organization.

See website for further information on the following:

o Racial Justice Dialogues
o Accessibility policy
o Publicizing conference presenters cultural humility statement
o Gender Inclusive Washrooms Policy at conferences
o Position Statement Policy and statements
o Increasing accessibility at conferences
o Recruitment efforts at Black universities

F) Connect with other members from one of your cultural communities and add your voice to highlight the needs of your community within the NADTA structure. Contact the CHEDC (Diversity) Chair at diversity@nadta.org if you would like to create a new cultural committee, or join one of the following that already exists:

Spanish speaking committee, contact: idalid.diazp@gmail.com
Creative Arts Therapists of Color New York: Sandra Ramos-Watt lalalitai@gmail.com
CATs of Color Philadelphia: catsofcolorphl@gmail.com; First Thursday of every month www.catsofcolor.com

Virtual Facebook Groups:
Art Therapists of Color
Blacks In DramaTherapy

G) Volunteer to support the NADTA’s equity initiatives. Reach out to the CHEDC (Diversity Chair) and share ideas of how you would like to see the NADTA continue to grow in its cultural humility and equity efforts.

Below are some ideas from members. Email diversity@nadta.org with your own ideas.

o   Conference presenters to acknowledge that they have read the NADTA Cultural Response/ability Guidelines
o   Presenters to be given tools to address microaggressions and other forms of cultural ruptures that occur during presentations
o   The implementation of land acknowledgments at the conference. For example, “I live and work in Montreal and I would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk), a place which has long served as a site for meeting and exchange among nations” (CAUT, 2016).
o   Increase the mandatory diversity and equity content in all NADTA accredited curriculums. Make your voice heard about what this training should include: racial trauma, examination of privilege, intergenerational trauma, the impact of racism and other forms of cultural oppression on mental health, collective/historical trauma. Offer your help in making curriculum change.
o Continue to advocate for professional faculty requirements around diversity and cultural humility for all accredited schools
o Continue to include recent diversity and cultural humility content as part of the continuing ed requirements for RDT and BCT renewal.
o   Send CHEDC (Diversity) Chair and other volunteers to Washington, DC to participate in advocacy related events.
o   In alignment with our colleagues in Art Therapy (AATA) and Music Therapy (CAMT), whose Codes of Ethics specify how their members are to engage in culturally humble practices, NADTA will work to continually update their Code of Ethics.
o Collect social demographic data in your in workplace, school, or organization.

H) Learn about clients’ racial and ethnic identities through intake, and create opportunities to explore race and ethnicity in the clinical space when relevant.

I also commit to (add my own idea/s here). Please feel free to share resources to be considered for the campaign resource list on the NADTA website:

Section 7. ADVOCACY

Ellie Weisel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, reminds us “We must take sides, neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”

Question Title

* I commit to (select all that apply)...

A) Create a statement/policy showing my commitment to inclusion and anti-racism for my organization, school, workplace, neighborhood.

o 10 Examples of awesome diversity statements
o Developing and writing a diversity statement
o Diversity, inclusion, and equity policy template
o Navigator
o Pew Research Center
o The Analyst Institute

B) Create or participate in my workplace equity committee.

o Clearinghouse Review - Journal of Poverty Law and Policy
o Evaluate your workplace’s inclusion and equity standards
o Racial Equity Tools

C) Support the creation of people of color only spaces, and if needed educate yourself about the value of these spaces.

o CUSA service centres to host quties of colour
o Making Waves and the necessity of closed and open events
o No, Black-only safe spaces are not racist
o The BIPOC Project | A Black, Indigenous & People of Colour Movement
o Why people of color need spaces without white people

D) Be an ally.

o Ally or accomplice? The language of activism
o Allyship | The Anti-Oppression Network
o Dear white women: Here's how to step up for women of color
o Guide to allyship
o Opportunities for white people in the fight for racial justice

E) Support voter registration and polling in neighborhoods where people of color live, because they have historically been marginalized from the political process.

o How grassroots organizers got black voters to the polls in Alabama
o How to fight voter suppression in 2018
o Poor People’s Campaign | A National Call for Moral Revival
o Voter suppression is an all-American problem we can fight – and win
o Voting eligibility rules for immigrants

F) Support post-prison programs, because the inflated incarceration rates of Black, Indigenous and Latinx people lead to their long-term economic and political disenfranchisement.

o Corrections and rehabilitation programs | homeless hub
o Elizabeth Fry Society | Prison Community Outreach
o Koch network project gears up to help inmates reenter society after prison
o Re-integration programs | The Bridge Prison Ministry
o Unlock Tomorrow (CHEDC member Kamran Afary’s work)

G) Join an anti-racist rally or protest against many of the discriminatory laws and policies that exist throughout North America.

H) Join a racial justice organization and volunteer for multiple anti-racist initiatives and campaigns.

I) Wear a t-shirt, button, or other signifier that shows that I am working towards a more race, gender, sexual orientation, SES, ability, age, and religion inclusive world.

J) Organize a symbolic act where members in different communities are invited to take a stand for racial justice.

K) Work/outreach to support Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) communities.

o American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
o National Immigration Law Center
o United We Dream | The largest immigrant youth-led network

L) Work towards reuniting separated migrant families.

o 6 Impactful ways to help migrant families separated at the border
o 7 Real ways to help in the effort to reunite immigrant families
o Charity Navigator: Immigration and refugees
o Trump’s family separation crisis - How you can help

M) Fight for freedom against censorship around diversity and inclusion language.

o An incomplete guide to inclusive language for startups and tech

N) Work to protect female assigned at birth (people with uteri)'s reproductive choices.

o Abortion bills push women's reproductive rights into political spotlight | CNN Politics
o Abortion in America, explained in 10 facts
o Canada is finally taking period poverty seriously
o Hidden from history: Indigenous women's activism in Saskatchewan
o Issues in reproductive health

O) Work/outreach to support Planned Parenthood Communities which are under threat.

o Planned Parenthood Plan Van

P) Fight for the rights of trans and gender diverse people whose rights are being eroded on multiple legal and policy levels.

o APA: Supporting transgender and gender diverse students in schools
o CPAC Documentaries: Transgender journey: The struggle for rights and respect
o National Center for Transgender Equality
o Transgender children & youth: Understanding the basics | Human Rights Campaign

Q) Create and/or distribute/make accessible coping with community trauma toolkits for the multiple communities who have been under attack (Gender Non-Conforming & LGBT2SIQ Communities, Muslims, Jews, People of Color).

o Coping with Community Trauma Toolkit
o First Nations Communications Toolkit

R) Prioritize your own healing when it comes to racialized trauma.

Maintain hope that change is possible by keeping up to date with all of the systemic human rights battles that are being won daily.

Change is not only possible - it is happening: Because we all need good news to support our resilience in these difficult times.

o Black Columbia law students force Central Park 5 prosecutor to resign
o Black women and political activism in America
o Government of Canada launches Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics
o New Brunswick announces third gender marker for birth certificates
o Maine officially bans gay conversion therapy

T) Engage in advocacy through podcasts.

o How one professor uses podcasts to teach empathy and social justice
o Start your own podcast

Section 8: HOLD POWER ACCOUNTABLE

Question Title

* I commit to (select all that apply)...

A) Pressure community leaders to speak out, create community consultations with racialized people and create policies against racism.

o Racial equity tools, laws, and policies

News articles:
o Citizen petition garners 20,000 signatures for inquiry into racism | Breakfast Television
o Documentary explores death of Colten Boushie and his family's resilience
o Oppression in America: 'To root this out we need a movement against racist policies'
o The politics and policy of racism in American health care

B) Respond to government hate speech and pressure colleagues of government official to denounce their colleagues' discriminatory discourse.

C) Learn more about police violence and actions to take against it.

Black Lives Matter. Like many around the world, we at the North American Drama Therapy Association share the profound grief, anger, and pain as we grapple with the loss of Mya Hall, 27; Freddie Gray, 25; Trayvon Martin, 17; Rumain Brisbon, 34; Tamir Rice, 12; Yvette Smith, 47; Akai Gurley, 28; Kajieme Powell, 25; Ezell Ford, 25; Oscar Grant, 22, Dante Parker, 36; Michael Brown, 18; John Crawford III, 22; Tyree Woodson, 38; Eric Garner, 43; Victor White, 22; Yvette Smith, 47; McKenzie Cochran, 25; Jordan Baker, 26; Andy Lopez, 13; Miriam Carey, 34; Jonathan Ferrell, 24; Carlos Alcis, 43; Larry Eugene Jackson, Jr., 32; Deion Fludd, 17; Kimani Gray, 16; Johnnie Kamahi Warren, 43; Malissa Williams, 30; Timothy Russell, 43; Reynaldo Cuevas, 20; and countless others. Their deaths have brought international attention to the daily violence experienced within communities of color at the hands of the police and civilians, who are rarely held responsible for their actions.

o 15 Things your city can do right now to end police brutality
o ACLU fighting police abuse: A community action manual
o Police Brutality Action Kit (Created by Showing Up for Racial Justice – SURJ)
o Resistance school - Practical skills to reclaim, rebuild, and reimagine America

News articles on police violence:
o 'Betrayed, humiliated' Val-d'Or women speak out after no charges against police accused of abuse
o Black people are still suffering from police violence. Is America still listening?

News articles covering police violence and actions taken against it:
o Systemic racism hearings: Community demands apology from police - Montreal Gazette
o Thunder Bay police board apologizes for systemic racism
o Trends in Indigenous policing models: An international comparison

Section 9: FINANCIAL ACTION

Question Title

* I commit to (select all that apply)...

A) Donate money to an impactful racial justice or immigrant rights organization.

Some examples:
o Here’s where to donate to help migrant children and families at the border
o Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
o RAICES Unaccompanied Children Fund (LEAF)

B) Donate time through volunteering at a racial justice or immigrant rights organization.

Some examples:
o 7 activist groups supporting families at the border that need your help right now
o Americans for Immigrant Justice
o Here’s a list of organizations that are mobilizing to help immigrant children separated from their families
o Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
o Immigrants' Rights Organizations | Cornell Law School

C) Fundraise for racial justice organizations.

o 28 Organizations that empower Black communities
o Operation Make Lemonade: Transforming white supremacist rallies into anti-racist fundraisers
o Racial Equity Resource Guide

D) Contribute financially to the Drama Therapy Fund to support people with less financial availability to attend NADTA conferences.

Section 10: LEGAL ACTION

Question Title

* I commit to:

A) Calling and writing to your elected officials and push them to repeal discriminatory laws and to create laws that protect people from discrimination.

An erosion of civil rights continues as the current American government announces the end of protection for childhood arrivals (DACA), a discriminatory amicus brief threatening employment protection for LGBT2SIQ people and a US military ban on transgender people serving. What bills can you support and which one’s should you resist?

A.1 Canada
o Find your member of Parliament
Bill C-21
Law 62
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

o Ask your government official to revoke Law 62
Law 62: Quebec’s Religious Neutrality Bill that will prevent women with niqabs and burkas from accessing public services such as health care, education, legal services and public transportation
o National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation | University of Manitoba
o National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

News Articles:
o Bill 21: UN human rights experts express concern about Quebec secularism legislation
o Protestors support legal fight against Bill 21

A.2 USA

Dream Act 2017
Dream Act 2017: A bill which provides a path to citizenship and cancels the removal and adjustment of status of certain individuals who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children, and for other purposes.

o 5 Ways to help migrant children and families right now
o Call your elected officials and push them to repeal discriminatory laws and to create laws that protect people from discrimination
o California sues Trump administration over ending DACA, joining 15 other states, D.C.
o Contact your elected officials
o Learn about the status of immigration, policing, healthcare, reproductive justice, voting rights, LGBTQ equity, and economic justice laws in each state

For a full list of the resources for Phase 2, click here.

FOR FURTHER RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOU WITH MANY OF THESE COMMITMENTS PLEASE VISIT THE CHEDC PAGE ON THE NADTA WEBSITE.

Thank you for taking the time to make our world a better, safer, and more just place.

By participating in this campaign you are standing with our members, clients, and communities who experience the trauma of racism and intersecting oppressions.

STAY TUNED FOR PHASE 3 OF THE CAMPAIGN. This phase will focus on:
-Research
-Commitments for Professors/Educators & Supervisors;
-Commitments for Parents & Caregivers

A special thank you to all the members who have shared content and editing support with this campaign. Please continue to share resources with us.

“To end racism, we must combat it everywhere it lives and thrives. We must confront it in ourselves, in our communities, and in our nation. No one person can do it all or do it alone, but we can all do things to help, and in doing so, work collectively to end racism” (Cole, 2018).

Thank you for completing the survey. Click Here to enter the raffle.

Question Title

* If you have feedback regarding Phase 2 (comments and suggestions are very welcome) please share it here. Alternatively, if you would like to reach out to the CHEDC directly please email diversity@nadta.org.