#mlk party

[ianthe]

The director of the theatre department read a whole book on microaggressions and were probably using the rest of the leftover crossroads committee money to buy copies for all the faculty as she is onna set up a day for poc in the department to just come talk to her about microaggressions in class and te apl and she's gonna order pizza and I'm so proud of the world righ now I feel like I did a good deed y'all like real shit is happening :')

[ianthe]

it looks like if you google rob hornbostel google suggests "rober hornbostel isu" and "robert hornbostel racist" 

and the change.org petition is the top result for both rob/robert

that + the fact that the theatre department finally woke up and is working on fixing a bunch of things

they've brought in outside people to help facilitate a teaching/learning community based on bell hooks' books on pedagogy

they're forging connections with Mixed Blood Theatre and the St Louis Black Repertory

they're pushing to have the Crossroads production every year again

they're creating structural changes that will diversify the season to not be 9/10 white men

things actually happened thanks to the internet

jsyk :)

[ianthe]

I came to your blog because I heard about the petition, expecting to disagree with you and everything you stood for. But the more I read, the more I thought you sounded like a sweet, genuine person doing what they thought was right. I'm definitely going to reevaluate how I look at incidents like this in the future. I just wanted to let you know that your blog made me think, a lot, in a good way :) sorry to bother you

woah

this ask rocks thank you so much

you didn't bother me at all this just made my night omg

[ianthe]

some insight from a TWENTY YEAR OLD article

"Noh drama is as important as European Renaissance drama; the rituals of Voudon are as spectacular as the Medieval liturgies; the theatre of the deaf is as dramatic and profound as any other modern theatrical work. Unfortunately, many commercial producers and funders do not consider this expansive realm of diversity and are content to simply incorporate the disenfranchised into existing theatrical formats, and then label the result "multicultural."  This kind of multiculturalism is prevalent in university and college theatre departments who "talk the talk" but are hesitant to "walk the walk." Many departments have drafted precise mission statements which promote diversity and cultural pluralism. Rather than becoming an equal partner, the disenfranchised are often reduced to token participation and relegated to a small corner of the academic curriculum. Many institutions produce one ethnic play during the season and believe the mission of diversity is achieved; for a brief time the house is peppered with new faces who want to hear their voices; and then, the "store is closed" until next year. Perhaps other shows have one or two performers who are people of color or disabled. Having done this much, the institutions believe they have fulfilled their commitment to their constituents and grant agencies. And maybe they have. Unfortunately, little is done to foster a dialog. These problems require extensive discussion which forces participants to examine the consequences of following through on cultural pluralism."

  like reading this just makes me so mad because it's literally describing the exact situation of ISU theatre

and this article is from 1994.

like i literally was present for the drafting of a mission statement by the crossroads committee that only puts on one tokenized multicultural production per season

like

it's time to fucking fix this.

this faux diverse environment is what allows people like robert to say that the MLK party is "promoting diversity"

we are artists

we are better than this

[ianthe]

Hi, I went to ISU 30 years ago. When I read about the MLK party situation there, I was horrified. This shames everyone associated with the University, including alumni. I wrote the Dean of Students an email expressing my dismay. I hope it helps.

Thank you!!

From here my next steps are to organize and plan concrete changes that can be implemented, so I'm looking for input on that.

One of the ideas that I'd like to see is the development of a World Theatre History class, and I'm gonna do some research for that now

but I'm trying to figure out what practical ways to help address the climate of the department that allows these instances to not only happen repeatedly but be excused and defended -- it's not just about the party, this is just one example to highlight the problems in our department and on our campus.

So thanks for your support, and know that I'm doing everything that I can to figure out a way to make sure that ISU remains a place that you can be proud to have attended

:)

[ianthe]

oh jesus i have 6 messages please let them not all be stupid

also at the SJI today we had to come up with an action plan for addressing an issue (guess what mine was) and like i kinda want to have a bunch of people involved to try to help me figure out what the next steps are to address this on an individual, faculty and department level cuz ive never been a leader of anything in my damn life and i don't wanna be going about this all the wrong way and whatnot

like i have some ideas but i know #teamrob mofos have been stalking my blog so

[ianthe]

Let me just put this here for all of the haters calling you white- DON'T YOU FUCKERS KNOW SHE'S MIXED?! She's not doing this for ally cookies or to fight your fight for you. She's doing it because what goes on in this theatre department is wrong and apparently, she's one of the only people who cares about it.

When I told my mom I was dating another white boy, the FIRST thing she said to me was "does he know you're part black? White people don't like to be surprised by blackness."

When I was looking to apply to schools, she would throw away any pamphlets that "didn't even try to pretend they were diverse by putting a brown face on the front cover."

My mama's told me that when she retires, she wants to go somewhere like Panama, somewhere "with a lot of other brown people so I won't stick out so much." I almost started crying when she said that to me.

This isn't for you, white people.

This is for my mama.

And for the children whose mamas and papas had to warn them that they will be treated differently because of the way they look, the children who grew up to be intelligent, wonderful people who can't escape the daily bullshit of living in a fucked up, racist society.

This is for anybody who's ever had to hold their tongue when another bullshit microaggression fucked up their day because they don't have the energy to fight every single daily battle.

This is for anybody struggling to accept themselves because they have so much internalized racism that is only perpetuated by the inability of others to stand up for what's right.

This is for anybody who came to the arts because it was a place of liberation and celebration of diversity and experience and found themselves sold short.

This is for everybody who's told me that they wish that they could say something, but they don't want to be ostracized like I have been.

But it's not for the white people.

And if you don't want me to speak on your behalf, then I don't. I don't claim to represent anybody who hasn't given me their support or left me their comments about their own experiences and outrage, which have always been my primary source behind this.

I don't want it to be about me. But I don't want to force anybody else trying to navigate this fucked up world to have to add one more goddamn thing to their list if I can prevent it.

If I ever get out of line, or get bigheaded, PLEASE call me out on it. Because I am trying so hard to show that this is not about me. Just as long as you know that if you're anonymous, I don't know whether to consider you honestly or if you're just another troll trying to discourage me.

Thanks to everybody who's supported me so far, thanks to everybody who's helped me connect with other organizations and departments on campus, thanks to everybody who's watching and waiting and hoping for genuine change, and thanks to my mama and papa for teaching me that some things are worth sticking your neck out for.

I promise I won't let you down.

[ianthe]

i'm and so black. likke very black like the darkest black you can see and i support whites because i'm black. and black black black blackey black. whites aren't racist, you're racist (or maybe not if you're white because white are totally awesome. i should know because i'm a black) let stop doing all this black assistant things too. you know, because black. #ibelieveblack #teamrobbecauseblack #ipromiseimblackandnotwhite #butwhitesarecool

KIAAAAAAAA