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Activist Group Steers Transformation via Informative Lecture Sequence - Anti-Racism Action Committee

Launch of Still Waiting Speaker Series at UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music in January 2021, initiated to foster essential discussions regarding the nation's racial reckoning. This series aims to prompt institutions and community members to acknowledge and confront the repercussions of...

Encouraging Racial Equality: Anti-Racism Action Committee Presents a Succession of Educational...
Encouraging Racial Equality: Anti-Racism Action Committee Presents a Succession of Educational Talks

Activist Group Steers Transformation via Informative Lecture Sequence - Anti-Racism Action Committee

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music launched the Still Waiting speaker series in January 2021, as part of an ongoing commitment to addressing issues of systemic racism within the school and the wider arts and music industry.

Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Arturo O'Farrill, named the series after the long wait for racial justice that continues today. The series aims to facilitate dialogue about the racial reckoning in the nation, with a focus on the arts and music.

The inaugural season of the series featured seven talks, with the first conversation being between O'Farrill and renowned professor, author, and orator, Dr. Cornel West. Other presenters included Simon Woods from the League of American Orchestras, who explored the legacy of racism in the orchestral world, as well as Dr. Phillip Ewell and Dr. Danielle Brown, who gave presentations examining issues of race facing academic music studies.

Each presenter provided engaging, first-hand insight into their experiences within the industry. Diverse fields within performance were also represented, with speakers such as dancer Ayodele Casel, singer-songwriter Noelle Scaggs, and trombonist and band director Dr. Isrea Butler.

The speaker series was designed to gather people from both within UCLA and outside of the university for important discussions. The Anti-Racism Action Committee (ARAC), formed in June 2020, played a key role in creating the series. The ARAC is a coalition of faculty, staff, administration, and students working together to examine and address issues of systemic racism within the school.

Chloe Swindler, a doctoral student studying trumpet, is one of the co-chairs of the ARAC. Swindler stated, "There are things students can fix," and "I'm hoping students will see that by getting involved, they can make actionable changes happen."

As the School of Music prepares for a new academic year, O'Farrill plans to continue the Still Waiting Speaker Series. To view 2020-21 Still Waiting series events and to stay up to date on future events, please visit the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion website. For more information on any speaker series addressing racial justice in the arts and music, it is recommended to check the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s official website or contact their administration directly.

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is planning to continue the Still Waiting Speaker Series, focusing on racial justice in the arts and music, as part of their commitment to diversity-and-inclusion within the school. In the past, this series has seen speakers from various fields, such as academia, orchestras, and performance, sharing their experiences and insights about racial issues within the industry. To stay updated on upcoming events, one can visit the Education-and-self-development section of the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion website. Additionally, for more information on similar speaker series, it's advisable to check the official UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music website or contact their administration directly.

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