Anti-Racist Resources for Fine and Performing Arts

Author Note: I wrote the following six blog posts after my plenary talk, “Music Theory’s White Racial Frame,” at the Society for Music Theory Annual Meeting in November 2019. This talk was based on a long article, “Music Theory and the White Racial Frame,” which appeared in Music Theory Online in Summer 2020. After the talk I was awestruck by the reaction. Hundreds of people from all over the world reached out to thank me for raising the issues I did. Subsequently I had many lengthy discussions with senior colleagues in the field but, despite stated good intentions, I realized that they were actually uninterested in true antiracist and antisexist structural change. These six posts grew out of these discussions and the work that I did prior to my talk. It is my hope that they can instigate constructive dialog so that we can begin to make real antiracist/antisexist change in music theory. It is best to read in order. Enjoy!

Excerpt: Questioning the curriculum begins with reflecting critically on what it is that we’re actually teaching, the reasons why we’re teaching it, and the reasons why we teach it in this particular way. What biases are we replicating through our pedagogy? How does oppression manifest in our classroom, our department, and our institutions, and what are we doing to disrupt it? These are just a few of the necessary questions to ask ourselves at the start of each semester and throughout the year.

Abstract: In this paper, I advocate for the use of explicit language for discussions of race and call for music education to move out of terminal naivety (Vaugeois 2013) toward a heightened consciousness of political issues and racial oppressions. Employing critical race
theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework, this paper examines race-related silences and the importance of using direct language to identify structural and systemic racism. I offer practical suggestions for initiating “race talk” in school music, in postsecondary music education, and in music education scholarship. These practical implications emerge from the experiences of four Toronto teachers who participated in a multiple case study on social justice and anti-racist work in music education (Hess 2013), the literature on race and silencing inside and outside music education, and my own experiences as a former public school music teacher and music teacher educator. With the surge of hate crimes and unmasked white supremacy in the United States following the election of Donald Trump, being explicit about race is urgent. In this paper, I put forward ways that music educators can center issues of race and racism in daily praxis.

Excerpt: The process of developing an antiracist music theory classroom begins with reflecting critically on what we are doing in the classroom and why. What exactly are we teaching, both in terms of the immediate material and the underlying messages? Why are we including this particular material on the syllabus and why are we teaching it in this particular way? Whose goals does this actually serve, and what exactly are those goals? What disciplinary habits are we unquestioningly reproducing in our syllabi, teaching, and assessment methods? What role does whiteness play in our pedagogy? What role does sexism play? Who and what is missing, and why? Ask these and similar questions at the start of each semester and continue to revisit them as the semester unfolds.

Author Note: In the face of ongoing protests against police brutality in the US, I’m seeing some music educators fretting about the relevance of their work. I believe that Eurocentric music education can validate and perpetuate white supremacy, and that our responsibility is to dismantle it. Here’s an excerpt of my dissertation in progress. I hope you find it useful or thought-provoking.

Excerpt: Western art music is not a universal language. It does some things well, other things not as well, and many things not at all. And yet, although the majority of undergraduate students do not listen regularly to this style of music, the standard theory curriculum continues to privilege it at the expense of all other styles. Given this disconnect, how can we justify our near-exclusive reliance on traditional pedagogy, especially in situations where it isn’t necessary to do so? What biases do we create in our students when we declare Western art music to be mandatory knowledge for anyone pursuing formal studies in music? What biases does this reveal in us?

The Berkeley Music Department is fully aware that this critical moment in U.S. history demands more than words. Therefore, we pledge to examine the ways in which structural racism has shaped our own institution, informed our curriculum, and shaped our pedagogies, research, and labor practices. We will use the tools of the arts and education to teach antiracism, center and recognize the labor of people of color, and highlight the histories that have brought us to this point and the structures that have to be dismantled. As musicians, as scholars, and as educators, we can make sure that our creative work and our teaching explicates histories and structures of complicity (starting with our own), calls out systemic oppression, and promotes discourses of racial justice. We acknowledge that this is challenging work: it demands continuous care, time, and an enduring commitment to education on the part of faculty and students. The Music Department commits to working hard to dismantle these structures in order to make our campus and department community more inclusive and equitable for all people.

The Cornish Music Department acknowledges that we have perpetuated racism and bias in our program, and we accept responsibility for not eradicating this at all levels. We will continue to listen, learn, and improve. To that end, as we reimagine our program through new curriculum initiatives, and in the name of anti-racism, reparative action, and inclusivity, we make the following pledges for the 2020-2021 academic year:

OUR newly created four-semester Musicianship curriculum will commit to using musical examples exclusively by composers of color. Further, 75% of those composers will be women or non-binary individuals.

ALL guest artists and speakers will be people of color, women, and/or non-binary individuals.

ACROSS OUR CURRICULUM, we will examine the historical and contemporary contexts for the erasure of people of color, women, and non-binary individuals from music studies and repertoire choices.

WE will document our work at all stages and share freely and publicly with our students and colleagues in our field.

WE will use what we learn in the coming academic year to make lasting changes in all areas of our department, as we implement an anti-racist curriculum and one that is truly diverse and inclusive.

We, the Department of Music at the University of California Santa Cruz, aligned with all institutions of conscience, recognize in our society a continuing epidemic of racism and racist violence, and we write to express our unequivocal support of Black Americans, and to declare new commitments to meet our responsibilities in pursuit of racial justice. We commit to combating racial hatred, individual acts of racism, and institutional racism that form the context in which racist violence occurs. We commit our department to the conscientious support of students of color, and particularly to Black students, who struggle within the context of ongoing threats of racist violence that impact their education. We also commit to combating racism and Anti-Blackness within our own institution, and within our disciplines, through reforms in our curriculum; setting new priorities in outreach, recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion; and renewed attention to equity in our standards of academic advancement and excellence. With this statement we also express initiatives that manifest our commitments and point to measurable outcomes: increased diversity in our student body, staff, and faculty, and a curriculum that more meaningfully reflects the musics and cultures of our community and society...