US orchestras offer ‘a short history of cultural racism’
NewsA priority promotion by the League of American Orchestras:
Tuesday, March 8, 1:00pm Eastern/10:00am Pacific
Structural racism impacts every sector in America, including the orchestra field. But what are its origins? Join us for a 4½ hour online seminar led by Ayo Magwood, Uprooting Inequity LLC, to explore in three parts the historical evolution of structural racism:
Part 1: The Origins of Race and Racism
How and why were the races first constructed?
How and why was anti-Black racism developed?
Trace the historical evolution of the social construction of race from the early colonial period when the colonies were still a class-based society as in England, through the middle colonial period when the Black-White racial binary and a race-based caste system were constructed through laws. Through primary source evidence, learn that racism did not lead to slavery; rather it was the economic interests of slavery that drove the development of racial narratives and a racial caste system.
Part 2: The Historical Reproduction of Racism
Why has there been so little progress in racial economic progress?
Why do most Americans vastly overestimate racial economic progress?
Throughout U.S. history, prohibited forms of racial discrimination have repeatedly been reproduced in more legally and morally acceptable forms: ostensibly “race-neutral” policies that have racially disparate impact. These policies have racially disparate impacts because they are based on either wealth or geography, which are deeply impacted by historical discrimination, and thus act as proxies for race. It is because of this that civil rights legislation had little impact on racial economic progress. Discover how the reproduction of racism in housing discrimination (FHA/VA mortgage discrimination, redlining, exclusionary zoning), and in education discrimination (G.I. Bill, school funding disparities) form the foundations of contemporary structural racism.
Part 3: Contemporary Structural Racism
What is structural racism, and how does it differ from interpersonal bias?
How does structural racism affect racial economic disparities?
Understand the concept of structural racism, how it differs from individual bias, and how structural racism is rooted in the persistent legacies of the accumulated gains of historical discrimination (residential segregation and the racial wealth gap). Recognize that eliminating all racial bias would not have much impact on structural racism and how contemporary structural racism impacts racial economic disparities. Identify the role of individual “opportunity hoarding” in reproducing and exacerbating structural racism.
Speaker: Ayo Magwood, Founder, Uprooting Inequity LLC
what a spectacular load of tosh – so glad I don’t live in the US
How is offering a space for discussion and critical analysis on important social issues “tosh”? You do know that just because you close your eyes, the world doesn’t stop existing right?
If you think any real discussion will be allowed, you haven’t been subjected to one of these events. Responses deviating from the party line are not welcome, in my experience. The goal is not dialogue and understanding but reeducation.
Well whatever the event and whatever the subject, if the comment offered is “this is tosh and I’m glad I’m not a citizen of this country”, then yes, such comment will be dismissed as trivial, unconstructive, and disrespectful.
I dont think there is any ” discussion ” involved . This just brainwashing and curse to those who would emit the slightest objection.
“so glad I don’t live in the US”
…so are we.
Yes. Live in the UK where orchestral bullying is rife, especially within the London orchestras. Elephant in the room and always has been historically. Replace racism with bullying and it makes sense.
What does this “orchestral bullying” consist of ?
Who is interested in the topic would do well to educate themselves from different independent sources, not from one Reader’s Digest lecture sponsored by whomever has an interest that certain aspects should be presented in a certain light. American sponsors seem to be blind to any other form of racism that has not originated in their own backyard.
Waiting for comments on this…..just waiting.
Biden should send a message and pick a black woman as our next Legitimate Leader of Ukraine.
My respect. In 17 words your “comment” delegitimizes President Biden’s pick for the Supreme Court (despite her outstanding qualifications), mocks the Ukrainian people in their struggle for survival AND follows the Russian party line in suggesting that the democratically elected Ukrainian political leaders are really American puppets. All of this on a site dedicated to music and without any connection to the original post.
Your teachers at troll scholl must be so proud. Obviously, you graduated with distinction.
My respect. In 17 words your “comment” delegitimizes President Biden’s pick for the Supreme Court (despite her outstanding qualifications), mocks the Ukrainian people in their struggle for survival AND follows the Russian party line in suggesting that the democratically elected Ukrainian political leaders are really American puppets. All of this on a site dedicated to music and without any connection to the original post.
Your teachers at troll school must be so proud. Obviously, you graduated with distinction.
As racism has been around ever since the Tower of Babel and even before (when Cain slew Abel) then I would have thought that musicians could have done without this sort of mumbo-jumbo.
Um, your argument makes no sense. Just because something horrible has been around since eternity does not mean people should ignore it…With that mentality there would have been absolutely zero progress in society since the dawn of humanity.
Are you sure you understand English? The poster didn’t say anything about ignoring _racism_ , he said that musicians could do without the mumbo-jumbo. You could spare us the rest of your virtue-signaling.
Please NL can you re-consider the use of this photo connected to this information?
This is a photo of a murder in action, not only is it highly inappropriate under these circumstances, it is ludicrously insensitive to the victim’s family.
The incident represented in this photo was the catalyst for the past two years of racial violence in the US: a serial criminal who took enough fentanyl to kill several grown men was detained and died in custody. Courts found all officers guilty and now we can move on to solve the myriad other problems in America caused by vibrant diversity running amok.
Lmao WOW
Identify the lies in my comment at your peril.
While I think the League has more important and better things to spend its time on, this “tosh” is becoming ever more important. Orchestras depend on donations and financial support from large businesses and they are becoming, like it or not, more “woke” (God, I hate that word) and when non-profits apply for grants the reviewers want to know what your organization is doing to address racial inequality. Go to the website for Sommerfest in Minneapolis and you’ll see this in action: plenty of POC as conductors, soloists, composers, etc. This reason for this tosh can be summarized easily: follow the money.
Are folks taking issue with the topic, or with the League of American Orchestras taking an interest in the issue by presenting this?
I’ll agree: this is something that should be taught in schools, not just in a LAO seminar.
You can stick your agreement wherever you reside, internet denizen. Most intelligent Americans have had enough of this b.s.
Yet the “intelligent Americans” you refer to often have very poor educational background…Oh the irony of those who can’t understand how little they know because they simply don’t know anything.
ask a “highly educated” liberal/leftist what they know about biological differences in race, sex and about disparities in race and IQ and you’ll find out who the ignorant ones are…
This is worse than nonsense. It is evil. Just look at this one quote: “Recognize that eliminating all racial bias would not have much impact on structural racism and how contemporary structural racism impacts racial economic disparities. Identify the role of individual “opportunity hoarding” in reproducing and exacerbating structural racism”.
Of course that means there is no redemption for the oppressors just as their was no redemption for the bourgeoise in the mind of Lenin. Annihilation of the current regime is the only solution. Undoubtedly, the writer is being paid a handsome fee to promote his racist and Marxist indoctrination. Ibram X Kendi, the darling of white progressives was recently paid $20,000 for a 1 hour meeting to talk about racism in the affluent school district of Fairfax Virginia. Lenin was right about one thing, Capitalists will sell the rope to hang themselves.
You clearly do not understand what “structural racism” means, and you’d benefit from listening to this seminar. The argument isn’t that there can never be “redemption” or that structural racism cannot be fixed. It’s that structural racism goes beyond individual prejudice, and has been “structured” into political ideologies and policies. Therefore, one must consciously and deliberately change those institutions and policies in order to overcome structural racism, is what they mean.
You are the one who does not understand the meaning of it . Alank is right , this is totalitarian thinking. The communists and the Nazis too were thinking of producing a better world
Apparently it’s true. But what your post and media reporting fail to mention is what fees this district and others pay to others for presentations by subject-matter experts. For a public speaking gig of someone of his stature, it’s actually not that exhorbitant a fee; Brene Brown will set one back up to $200,000.
The LOA or ASOL is a pile of trash. They are circling the drain here in America, as their attempted “McFranchisement” of American orchestras (a one-size-fits all approach to orchestral management) has now mostly failed. They peaked in the 1990’s/2000’s, when they were also making a lot of terrible bets on conductors through their workshops and conductor preview events. In pre-woke times, they prioritized conductors who were involved with community activism, regardless of their artistic integrity or competence. As a result, many hacks were shuffled through into prime positions. If you knew Jesse Rosen and the rest of the brotherhood, you might have a chance of being anointed to a role with their support. You can give the LOA a great deal of credit for the current lack of talent in prime positions in the US.
Same is true for the League’s orchestra management “fellowship” program. Graduates practically get a guaranteed job for life, no matter how badly they fail.
+1000….ASOL/LOA is one of the worst things to happen to American orchestras.
Ayo gives her audiences, who are overwhelmed by the information she conveys on a tidal wave of PowerPoint slides, 30 second “brain breaks” periodically.
CRT for musicians. LMAO at LAO.
A completely invisible organization that has nothing to do with orchestras in the US.
This Diversity consulting firms are, obviously, just in it for the money. Racism is certainly embedded in USA culture, there’s no doubt about that, but these consulting firms are like any other. My girlfriend’s workplace hired one to do a diversity training and the host was unprepared, didnt know how to use Zoom, an basically took up 3 hours reading slides, playing stupid ice breaker games and generally accomplishing nothing except collecting who knows how many thousands of dollars so that the workplace could check a box and say that they did diversity training.
A racist culture which happens to be the world’s biggest multicultural nation. Okey dokey.
Amen.
You do know that you just generalized and spoke on behalf of thousands of consulting firms by referring to one single anecdote, right? I don’t understand why people do this….it can’t be too hard to understand that facts are not so easy to obtain and that our experiences are incredibly limited. I mean, 8 billion people inhabit this earth, and if everyone believed in their own “truth” from one single experience, then there would be 8 billion differing facts about the same situation. Can we just stop this nonsense, please?
The “Left” has been on a crusade to destroy the USA since the late 50’s. Race has been and will continue to be a major element in their quest. In the sixties government began the division through race identity. It is not enough for you to be an American. They had to develop hyphenated Amercans (African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Indian-Americans, Native-Americans, etc.) Pitting one race against another creates division which is what the Left wants. Before the sixties we were Americans period. The race hustlers have benefited from the division and have been richly rewarded.
Project much?
I want to meet this “The Left.” Do they have a website? 501(c)(3) status?
And they’ve been out to destroy America since the 1950s? They haven’t done a very good job, have they?
Stephen Colbert used to do this much more artfully back in the day as “Stephen Colbert;” don’t quit the day job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RosCZkH5uTI
Look at who’s financing this attack on white people’s culture — Capitalist money, from Mellon wealth, Gillman wealth, American Express….
The only structural racism in this country is against whites, especially white males
This comment thread is vile, racist, and idiotic. What profoundly ill-informed statements from people with no pedigree to show for. If you don’t think there is structural racism in society then you’re the reason these seminars are necessary. There is more class in a trump orgy at mar a lago than in this thread. It’s shameful that NL sees fit to have a website and comment thread that’s primary purpose is fuel hatred and racism. But I guess a man’s gotta eat?
The United States of America is the most multicultural nation on earth. Every day, thousands of people from all over the world — whether it be Europe, Russia, China, or the Global South — clamor to get in, for the opportunity to become Americans. (Ironically the LAO’s chief executive, who hails from the U.K., would once have been among such people.) Soon, tragically, we will have many thousands of Ukrainians — not to mention more than a few Russians — joining that line. As for this seminar, just look at the fine print as to see who’s actually funding it: the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and American Express — in other words, woke capitalism, spooned straight from the jar. And if you actually asked any serious Black Marxist, as opposed to the hucksters mentioned here, you would realize that the crisis at hand is NOT ultimately one of race, but rather one of economic, social, educational and environmental inequality. Once upon a time, the ASOL, then based in Washington DC, was a quiet, serious, unpretentious organization, devoted to being an advocate for American orchestra musicians, managers, volunteers and conductors. And it was pretty much the least racist or sexist bunch of people you’d ever met in your life. But following its name change, and its pretentious move to NYC, it has joined the vast cadre of privileged, armchair Marxists and corporate neoliberals who, day by day, are engaging in this non-stop culture-war that is literally destroying the Democratic Party, and paving the way for an elected fascist government in 2024. But don’t ask me, just turn on the news after Election Day this November; the Republican National Committee will already owe the LAO a fruit basket or two. And to circle back to London, England: if Simon Woods, the League’s CEO, really believes all of this stuff, then he should have the courage of his convictions and resign his post, whereupon he could be succeeded by an equally competent person of color — such as the woman who is the new head of the NEA, who is both less pompous and more impressive than he is. If not, then he should quietly wrap up this carnival and get back to bringing American musicians together.