At Invictus Theatre Company, we are greatly saddened by the deaths of Tony McDade, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless others who have been murdered in acts of racial violence. We stand in support of the protestors, the Black Community and Black artists.
Black Lives Matter.
As a company we are committed to listening, to learning, and to improving. We believe in the dismantling of systemic oppression, holding our law enforcement authorities accountable for their actions, promoting marginalized voices and creating a just and equitable world for all. We want to share with you the actionable steps we have taken or will be taking to eliminate racism from our organization and to help create a just and equitable world for all:
We continue to grow and expand our Juvenile Justice diversion program “Shakespeare in the Courts” where we actively seek to dismantle systemic racism in the juvenile justice institution by empowering marginalized voices and changing cultural narratives around youth of color.
We continue to develop our youth leader program, which provides opportunities for youth of color to further their involvement in the arts and Invictus Theatre Company’s main stage productions.
We seek to continue to produce works by artists of color and marginalized voices to empower our communities and provide diverse, equitable, and inclusive programming.
We are in the process of professional development initiatives including educating our volunteer staff and board by taking anti-racism courses from Chicago ROAR.
We commit to equity in our casting and hiring process and are actively seeking people of color to join our Board of Directors.
We commit to continuing to listen, learn, and engage with all of our Chicago communities.
A percentage of our 'Night Mother ticket sales were donated to organizations focusing on mental health and wellness in Black communities in Chicago.
We look forward to continuing this important work and staying in touch with you.
Additionally, here are the resources we have found helpful as a company for further involvement:
Black Lives Matter
https://blacklivesmatter.com/
https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co/#
Campaign Zero is a comprehensive platform of research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in America.
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
Color of Change
https://colorofchange.org/
GET LOCAL
Chicago Community Bond Fund @ChiBondFund
Funds go to bail out over 1,000 protesters arrested in downtown Chicago Saturday night and hundreds more last night-- they won’t be the last.
https://chicagobond.org/donate/
The following are Black-led Chicago organizations building power & working towards abolition:
Assata’s Daughters @AssataDaughters
https://www.assatasdaughters.org
Circles & Ciphers @Circles_Ciphers
http://www.circlesandciphers.org
Chicago Torture Justice Center @chitorture
http://chicagotorturejustice.org
EAT Chicago (Equity and Transformation) @ChicagoEat
https://www.eatchicago.org
Chicago Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression @CAARPRNow
https://www.caarpr.org