Standing in Solidarity with the Black Community

July 24, 2020

To Mayor Byron Brown and Buffalo City Council members:

We are outraged and saddened about the senseless killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd by powers that are supposed to protect and serve. We are not surprised: their murders join the names of the thousands of Black people who have been killed across the nation, and in Buffalo including India Cummings, India Cummings, Jose Hernandez-Rossy, Marcus Neal, Rafael Pito Rivera, Wardel Meech Davis, and so many others we have yet to know or may never know about.

Frontline Arts Buffalo joins the beautiful protestors in Buffalo and across the world in demanding justice and change. We join the call for an end to systemic racial injustice, to the killing of Black and Brown bodies, and to the woeful ignorance those in power have exercised for years. This is a transformative moment for every person living in the United States. We write this letter as a group of artists, arts administrators, engaged citizens, justice advocates, policy researchers, and many others who intend to put our resources into creating a fair future for Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, and frontline arts organizations. We live and work on the lands of the Six Nations–the Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca, and Tuscarora. Buffalo is currently one of the poorest, most segregated cities in the nation, and a major hub for refugees from all over the world. 

As creators and supporters of the arts, we are thankful to have learned the power of the arts early on: they empower us to express our individual experiences and perspectives as we fight injustice and dream of the futures we need. It is the tool in which we are able to tell OUR stories and pass those stories from generations to generations. Our job is to be in service to our frontline communities: to their astounding creativity, their deep integrity, and to channel the power of their arts. We demand the safety of our communities. That is especially true of our frontline community of Black people, Indigenious people, and persons of color.

We call upon all arts and culture leaders in Buffalo and Western New York State to add their signatures of support and in commitment to the betterment of Black lives in our city and in our institutions. We join the call of local activists such as Black Love Resists in the Rust, Showing Up for Racial Justice - Buffalo, and national arts coalitions that have emerged in cities such as Philadelphia and New York City, and unequivocally demand the following:

• We demand  the closure of Erie County correctional facilities; defunding the Buffalo Police Force to 1/3 of the city budget they currently hold; and reinvestment of funds into community services.

• We demand the institution of Cariol’s Law.

• We demand all arts and culture organizations in Buffalo to sever known ties with the police, and for all historically white organizations to implement accountable, significant institutional change to reflect the communities in which they patronize. 

• We demand the immediate institution of a devoted arts fund based on taxes secured through sports events and other tourism dollars. The arts generates $350 million dollars annually in our region: We can no longer ask politely for scraps to support our communities. 

• In line with the Frontline Arts Buffalo Partnership for the Public Good 2020 community plank, we demand an equitable and increased representation of frontline communities in City of Buffalo public art:

  • The City of Buffalo should verify that it is holding capital improvement projects to Chapter 409-3 of the City of Buffalo Code, requiring projects in excess of $1 million, put aside 1% of the total budgeted construction and design cost to create, repair, and maintain works of public art. The City should take these steps:

    • Create an amendment to ensure that public art funds from the Arts Commission and its Art in Public Places Committee are accessible to frontline arts organizations;

    • Increase representation on both committees from frontline arts communities;

    • Update the catalog of the City’s art collection (last updated in 2004);

    • Lower the capital improvement project threshold to $500,000;

    • Increase transparency around the oversight of this funding.

We can no longer accept the false solutions brought forth by Mayor Brown and the Buffalo Common Council.  Measures for police reform have proven to be wildly insufficient, time and time, again throughout our history. The tide has turned: the time is now. The people are crying out for what it is WE need. Demands have been made. It’s time to listen.