Anti-Racism Commitment and Resources

Black Lives Matter.

We are angry, heartbroken, and grief-filled about the murder of George Floyd and the long history of violence against black people in our city. 

This event is forcing Hopewell to take an overdue look into our organizational practices. Our commitment to the North Minneapolis community is not just about music-- it is about breaking down systemic barriers and supporting black voices on the Northside. We recognize that we are in a privileged position in our community and acknowledge that there are areas in our organization which do not fully reflect our mission. We have a responsibility to use this privilege to dismantle systems of oppression and we are committed to re-examining how our organization operates in pursuit of a future free of racism and prejudice. Our commitment to anti-racism and work to become an anti-racist organization is imperative and will be ongoing.

We at Hopewell are committed to taking intentional actions to combat racism within our organization, including but not limited to the following:

1. Hopewell Music will learn from and amplify the voices of BIPOC (Black, Indiginous and People of Color) leaders and community members. We will be following the example of BIPOC leaders and modeling after their leadership.
2. We will re-examine our current employment recruitment and hiring practices. While we operate in one of the most diverse areas of Minneapolis with about half of residents identifying as black, our staff and board leadership is and historically has been predominantly white. This is not something we can ignore and we recognize that this hinders our ability to understand and address issues of inequity in North Minneapolis. While there are many elements contributing these problems, the underlying truth is that we as an organization must reflect our Northside community. 
3. In our upcoming strategic planning sessions, we will create a plan to intentionally partner with schools and community organizations to reach more Northside BIPOC students. This involves creating a safe learning environment for these students. These actions are vital for us to truly fulfill our mission of advocating for access and equity in music education.  
4. We are committed to being persistent, educating ourselves, and moving with urgency. We will look at how we are perpetuating white supremacy and systemic racism within our policies and procedures. We will use that knowledge to create concrete immediate and long-term plans. We welcome being held accountable for our actions as well as feedback about opportunities for us to show up in anti-racist ways.  My contact information is 612.492.1054 or andrea@hopewellmusic.com. 

SUPPORT THE NORTHSIDE
There are a number of Northside initiatives that are actively rebuilding our neighborhoods and businesses after the destruction of white supremacist violence against BIPOC. You can get involved by donating to these campaigns:

Northside Funders Group - “Restore North” will help the community rebuild, with 100% of all proceeds going directly to affected businesses and the community.

Upper Northside Business Association - Funds raised will directly support businesses in the Camden neighborhood which sustained fire damage, looted, or sustained any other property damage.

We will continue to stand in solidarity with those who are actively tearing down systemic barriers. It is our responsibility to address the systematic marginalization of BIPOC in our city and to identify long standing traditions that push black voices to the sidelines. Together, we must work to bring undertold narratives to the forefront in order to create an equitable future for Minneapolis and our music community.

Andrea Myers, Executive Director