Hey Everyone!
I'm Jasmine the Event's Coordinator for Tessitura Network. It was amazing to see your bright faces and all the melanin in the room. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with you all throughout the conference but hope to do so in the future. Our next North American Conference will be in DC next year. My city! I would love to get your feedback on what you enjoyed about TLCC and your affinity group(s). If there is anything my team can improve on to make your experience better, I'd love to hear you out!
Til next time
Best,
Jasmine
Hey jasmine.
I think we have reached a critical mass where there are enough people to have a Black Tessitura meet up (Black / African descent). I know this may seem controversial to some but I've always been hyper focused on the Black experience in non-profit performing arts spaces. Besides i think Black encompasses a wide array of experiences and cultures.
The fact that we have gotten to this point is amazing. I remember when the number of POC at this conference could be counted on one hand.
Hey Jason,
I have been in deep reflection about this topic. IN MY OPINION, I feel it is important that People of the Global Majority are united. I learned more listening to my Latinx and AAPI colleagues at the conference experiencing white supremacist dynamics in the workplace from their perspectives. Yes, we acknowledge The Black Experience not only in non-profit performing art space, but overall, is exclusive to African Americans and people of African descent. WE are also not a monolith.
Coming together to dismantle anti-racism in our sector is the key.
Hey Mercedes,Sorry for the delayed response. In many ways I do agree with you. I do not think that the POC group should stop existing . I think it's dope for all of us to get together. But I also think there are specific challenges that Black people face in the arts/ non-profit space that can be overlooked in a general POC group. Also there is a huge amound of diversity within the Black/ African descent community as well. I understand it's a nuanced conversation and I understand that many may disagree. But i did want to put the option out there. I think having both groups would be helpful. But again this is all just my opinion. Also i wanted to say that it's a testament to the work of this group that we have even gotten to the point to be able to have this conversation..