Hello ITP/IMA community past, present, and future:
As a faculty we have been having serious discussions about structural racism, and specifically anti-Black racism, that exists within ITP/IMA and beyond. Individual faculty, staff, and students have worked to address racism within and outside of our classrooms, but we know this work should not be shouldered by individuals, and instead be made core to the department’s mission. We want and need to make major changes, internal to the culture and structure of ITP/IMA, as well as with regards to the effect ITP/IMA has on our field and society at large.
To begin to make these changes, we are forming a working group and seeking outside guidance, so that we can safely and effectively hold space to listen to you, our community.
While the precise mission of the working group will be formed in part in response to the community’s feedback, here are some of the actions we are committing to now:
- Meet weekly throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, starting immediately, and publicly share outcomes on a regular basis.
- Create an agenda and list of priorities for the academic year 2020-2021 with input and discussion from students and the community at large.
- Participate in the school’s anti-racism training for faculty, staff and students in coordination with NYU’s Office of Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Strategic Innovation.
- Create a budget to support new racial justice initiatives, including (but not limited to): workshops and trainings for our community, an archive of curriculum materials that specifically centers work from Black, Brown, and Indigenous people, external anti-racist change-making consultation, funding for student initiatives that center anti-racism and BIPOC experiences.
- Develop and publish a system of accountability and assessment for the working group’s actions.
- Adhere to the plans outlined in Dean Green’s June 17 message, Tisch Actions Against Racial Inequities, to address all forms of racism, discrimination, and anti-Blackness at Tisch School of the Arts.
The working group will actively seek student and alumni representation with appropriate acknowledgment and compensation. For now we have this voluntary feedback form where you can share ideas, speak on your experiences, or express your interest in getting more involved.
We are excited and energized to make change.
Signed,
The full-time faculty of ITP/IMA