The pre-service music teachers in the Crane Collegiate NAfME Chapter unequivocally condemn  racism and stand with the #BlackLivesMatter movement. To be clear: we stand behind the pursuit of justice and equality when it comes to law enforcement between people of all races. Police brutality, and lack of an “innocent until proven guilty” mentality for black people is inexcusable. We recognize that there is a multitude of injustices and a long history of broader and systemic racism behind this particular issue. All people have a responsibility to educate themselves on the history of these inequalities, and move forward in allyship of the oppressed. 

 

The response of educators is especially important, for we have a responsibility not only to our friends, peers, colleagues, and neighbors, but to our students. We must stand against injustices as we see them. We have a responsibility to validate and affirm our students of color, and to create classroom environments where they feel safe, heard, and free to express themselves. 

 

There are systemic injustices and barriers in music education that exclude entire cultures, genres, composers, musicians, and people. Curriculums do not teach themselves. As teachers, it is our responsibility to decolonize our music classrooms, to deconstruct the white narrative and create an inclusive, diverse learning environment. We must educate ourselves, teach without bias, and provide representation for our students at all times. We must include an intersectional definition of diverse composers, musicians, movements, and music for our students to learn, experience, and explore in our classrooms. 

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This statement is not a permanent solution. It’s merely the beginning of a long-overdue response from those who are currently and will continue to learn, make mistakes, and continue learning. Please contact us with your ideas, concerns, resources, etc.; the more we educate ourselves and communicate with each other, the more we can learn and grow. We challenge all of our members, alumni, professors, and fellow collegiate chapters to take advantage of these resources and take the necessary steps to become the people and teachers our students, colleagues, and communities need us to be. 

 

As a chapter, here is how we hope to proceed to educate ourselves and our community, support our members who are individuals of color, and advocate for justice: