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US Opera Company Responses to “Pledge for Racial Equity and Systemic Change in Opera”


April 14, 2021
by Black Opera Alliance and TRG Arts

Insight Report – April 2021

Executive Summary – Key Findings

  • 106 opera companies in the US were sent Black Opera Alliance’s “Pledge for Racial Equity and Systemic Change in Opera.” (The Pledge)
  • 44% of US opera companies have responded “Yes” to The Pledge and 1% has responded “No.”
  • The US regions of the East and Great Lakes account for the greatest proportion of “Yes” responses. The Southwest region is home to the only “No” response.
  • The most racially diverse US regions are the regions that have the highest percentages of “No Response” to The Pledge.

Introduction

Black Opera Alliance (BOA) and TRG Arts have partnered to further BOA’s mission to expose racial inequity and under-representation of the African diaspora in all facets of the opera sector and promote reform. To achieve this, BOA and TRG Arts are tracking the progress that opera companies in the US are making towards the eight areas of needed transformation defined in The Pledge released in September of 2020.

As the opera field seeks out truer equity, inclusion, and racial justice, this framework provides specific requirements and timelines. BOA is eager to understand the impact and progress of The Pledge.

To share how progress is being made, BOA and TRG will be releasing on-going insight reports in 2021. Historically, the lack of industry-wide accountability has been a prime culprit in stalling substantive industry evolution in the EDI space. These reports will shine a spotlight on how and where the sector is making gains. BOA and TRG Arts are also committed to helping the opera sector understand how to apply these data points in 2021 to aid in journeys of improvement. To facilitate industrywide learning, BOA and TRG Arts will also host webinars to review each insight report and discuss take-aways and action items.

Download the full Insight Report



In this first of a series of webinars, Black Opera Alliance and TRG Arts share progress the Opera sector is making towards Black Opera Alliance's pledge for "Racial Equity and Systemic Change in Opera.”


Black Opera Alliance

The mission of the Black Opera Alliance (BOA) is to empower Black classical artists and administrators by exposing systems of racial inequity and under-representation of the African diaspora in all facets of the industry and challenging institutions to implement drastic reform. BOA was founded in the midst of the current pandemic out of a need for support and action when opera professionals around the world are out of work and the Black population is disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and economic hardship. Alongside the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement, Black opera professionals and others who support equity have decided that the time for change is now.

Find out more about Black Opera Alliance