The Dear Evan Hansen team has released a statement about Black Lives Matter, and has donated to both Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Color of Change.
See the message below:
To Our Dear Evan Hansen Community,
We have spent the last several days listening to the Black members of our companies, our community, our country, and the world, as they share with us their pain, their suffering, and their heartbreak. These truths, we must admit, are not new. The systemic racism against Black people and communities is not new. A theatrical culture in which Black voices have been silenced and erased is not new. And as we mourn the unspeakable losses of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, we recognize that the brutal murder of Black people is not new.
The shameful reality is that, for all too long, the injustices and inequities endured by our fellow citizens, our peers, and our friends have gone unheard and unheeded. The shameful reality is that none of it is new.
Primis Player Placeholder What must be new is our commitment not merely to listen, but to act, and to act now.
As a first step, on behalf of our three Dear Evan Hansen companies, we have donated $100,000 to be split equally between two organizations, to help effect change both in our theater community and on a national level.
- $50,000 towards Broadway Advocacy Coalition, to sponsor an industry-wide "Continuing the Conversation" Forum in early 2021. As we look towards reopening Broadway and returning to work, this forum will follow up on the conversation that BAC has begun this week, to ensure that this is not a trending topic or a one-time outpouring of support, but an ongoing commitment to real progress, accountability and change within the theater community.
- $50,000 to Color of Change, the national racial justice organization committed to keeping corporate and political leaders accountable, building game-changing research on systems of inequality, and advancing solutions for racial justice.
And our work on examining our own practices has already begun.
Like so many companies and organizations large and small, we are looking inward, assessing the personnel, policies, and systems of our show at every level, in every department, and at every location.
We also encourage you, our Dear Evan Hansen community, to take your own action. Stand with the organizations-both national and local-that are leading this movement. We have provided some references and resources here.
Dear Evan Hansen is about community and connection. We will use our voice and our reach to apply those values in working to undo an unjust system. Even now, while our theaters are empty, our show will not be silent.
Sincerely,
Stacey Mindich
Michael Greif
Steven Levenson
Benj Pasek
Justin Paul
The producer and creators of Dear Evan Hansen