Dear Music Together Community,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am rattled to my core over\nwhat’s been happening in our world recently, as I know so many of you are, too.\nThe events of the past weeks have sparked a global conversation on racism that\nhas left many of us wondering what happens next. What can we do to contribute\nto the change that’s so clearly needed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Music Together, our response\nto tragedies has always been rooted in the power of music to heal and connect,\nalong with our wish for a more peaceful world. This heartfelt approach stems\nfrom our desire to be as inclusive as possible as we encourage everyone to see\nmusic as a universal language and our classrooms as safe spaces free of\npolitics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the discussions I’ve had this\nweek with Music Together staff, we have come to understand that it is time for\nus, as an organization, to take an even stronger stance against the systemic\nracism that has led to this cycle of violence against people of color and, in\nparticular, the Black community. Silence is not acceptable. It is time for\nus to work harder to reveal, recognize, and remove the deep socioeconomic,\npolitical, and cultural systems that have supported racial injustice for far\ntoo long. Enough is enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Music Together classes, we\nteach children and families of every race and nationality: We welcome all\nvoices. Racism in any form has no place in our organization, and it never\nwill, but saying that is no longer enough. We have to challenge ourselves to\ntake action, to speak out, to take a stand, and I’m here to tell you that Music\nTogether stands firmly with those seeking justice. Yes, we’re simply music\neducators, but we are also human beings, and as such, we will not remain silent\nwhile so many in our country are being brutalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black lives matter.As some of you may know, over the past several years Music Together Worldwide has instituted a Song Advisory Board<\/a> to ensure that our curriculum’s music is respectfully rendered and to guard against cultural appropriation in all its forms. That was one step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last fall, the entire staff at\nMusic Together’s corporate headquarters participated in a full-day, on-site\nDiversity and Inclusion training so we could start to have the uncomfortable\nconversations that lead to awareness and change. That was another step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, Music Together Worldwide made a donation to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund<\/a> to support their efforts in fighting injustice. Is it enough? No, but it’s yet another step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How many steps will it take? I\nwish I knew, but I DO know that doing nothing is how we got here. We will keep\ntaking steps for as long as we have to. We will stand firm in our commitment to\njustice and equality in everything we do. And we pledge to continue the hard\nwork toward becoming a truly anti-racist organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Susan Darrow, CEO Racism has no place in Music Together, and it never will, but we have come to understand that saying that is no longer enough. We have to challenge ourselves to take action, to speak out, to take a stand. Music Together stands firmly with those seeking justice, and we are committed to doing the hard work to becoming a truly anti-racist organization. Read more<\/a> in a statement from our CEO, Susan Darrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1929"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1935,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions\/1935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musictogether.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Music Together Worldwide <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"