“The ask is building an antiracist America. The ask is removing from our vocabulary this term not-racist, these terms like race-neutral policy. And realizing that there are racist ideas that suggest that certain groups are better or worse than others, and there are antiracist ideas that suggest we’re equal.” Ibram X. Kendi
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[Theme Music Plays]
Episode 0: An Introduction
Welcome to the Antiracist Artist Podcast, a podcast for activists, advocates and allies working to make our communities equitable through artistry. Each episode I am joined in conversation by an artist or arts facilitator who has been paving the way, in hopes of learning from their expertise and experience. Through action and unity, we can create a better tomorrow today. Let’s go.
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Hello and welcome to the Antiracist Artist Podcast. I’m your host, Taylor Ybarra, and I’m so glad to have you a part of the conversation.
The sound clip you just heard was #1 New York Times bestselling author and the Founding Director of The Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University, Ibram X. Kendi speaking on the OWN Spotlight special Where Do We Go From Here? Through his brilliant work and pointedly in his book, How To Be An Antiracist, Kendi argues against the notion that something can be “race-neutral,” rather illustrating how every action we take, every decision we make is either racist or antiracist.
Our artistic industries have long been steeped in white supremacy and inequality, and we as artists, facilitators and consumers must become acutely conscious of this condition and actively dismantle the systems of oppression that remain.
We are positioned in a moment with terrific opportunity to manifest meaningful change. It is my hope that this podcast and the discussions that come from it may offer us ideas, inspiration, and steps forward for an accessible, inclusive, antiracist, and equitable future in the arts.
We will be talking to some of the most exciting artists and art facilitators who have been carving out this path toward an antiracist world, with the opportunity to listen to how they have navigated their journeys and their visions of the future.
Who am I? I am an artist, advocate, producer and facilitator who is deeply outraged with the state of our union. I focus my work toward making the arts, and in turn our larger communities, inclusive, accessible, equitable and antiracist in order to promote empathy and kindness; actively seeking to dismantle the oppressive forces of systemic and structural injustices in America. I am dedicated to a more comprehensive education on what brought us to this current reality, and learning what action may help to correct these injustices. I believe that art has a special purpose and ability to create an immediate change in its audience; that the creation of art is the greatest expression of compassion, empathy, and humanity; that compassion, empathy, and humanity are what our world needs most right now.
Each episode, we invite our guests to choose an organization to uplift, one that is creating a meaningful impact toward a more equitable, inclusive, accessible and antiracist future. For this Introduction Episode, we invited the phenomenal vocalists from the theme music to this task. On behalf of these artists, the Antiracist Artist Podcast has made a donation to The Audre Lorde Project, Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, the Anti Racism Fund, Know Your Rights Camp, and the Austin Justice Coalition. You can donate and learn more about each of these organizations via the links in the show notes.
This podcast is made with, by, and for those of us in this fight together, and I invite you to be a part of this podcast community with us. You can stay connected with us at AntiracistArtist.com, on Instagram @antiracistartist, or by emailing antiracistartist@gmail.com. Let us know why antiracist artistry is important to you, what questions you would like to dig into, and who you’d like to hear from in future episodes.
I will leave the last words of this Introduction Episode to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., from an excerpt of a speech given in Selma, Alabama on March 8, 1965.
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“A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.
“So we're going to stand up amid horses. We're going to stand up right here in Alabama, amid the billy-clubs. We're going to stand up right here in Alabama amid police dogs, if they have them. We're going to stand up amid tear gas!
“We're going to stand up amid anything they can muster up, letting the world know that we are determined to be free!” Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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[Theme Music Plays]
The Antiracist Artist Podcast is hosted by Taylor Ybarra, produced by Subito Politico Productions, LLC, and edited by Andrew Alcaraz.
To stay connected with the Antiracist Artist Podcast, please visit us at AntiracistArtist.com, on Instagram @antiracistartist, or via email at antiracistartist@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!
Our podcast is made possible with the support of folx like you. You can get exclusive content and access to the show by becoming a patron at patreon.com/antiracistartist.
This episode’s donation was made possible in part by the generosity of Rachel Paletsky.
Theme music features vocals by Esteban Suero, Forest VanDyke, Kennedy Kanagawa, Jamison, & MinJi Kim.
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This episode features the following artists/arts facilitators:
Esteban Suero | IG @estesuero / @theofficialeros
Forest VanDyke | IG - @forestvandyke
Kennedy Kanagawa | kennedykanagawa.com | IG @thisiskennedy
Jamison | www.courtneyjamison.com | IG @iamcourtneyjamison | TW @thecjamison
MinJi Kim | IG @minjilikesdogsandmusic