Modern Marimba is committed to dismantling oppression by removing obstacles in our organization that harm marginalized people. This means that our Board of Directors, music creators, educators, and staff understand that Modern Marimba is openly committed to anti-oppression and anti-racism through work that directly benefits our local community.
We openly acknowledge the problematic and limiting nature of the nonprofit industrial complex, and we intentionally try to eliminate our participation in doing harm.
MODMA commits to the following policy starting in its 2020/2021 season:
No less than 75% of Modern Marimba’s assets, Board of Directors, and programs will be led, represent, or serve music creators, staff, and grantees who intersect with these historically marginalized groups of people:
- BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color) and BBIA (Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian)
- LGBTQ2IA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, two-spirit, intersex, asexual, non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid, femmes, and all the many wonderful Queer identities)
- People with Disabilities, and
- Women (trans, nonbinary, cis, femme, and all!)
Modern Marimba’s Board of Directors commits to having regular conversations and taking action in advancing anti-racism and dismantling white supremacy in our musical ecosystem. We will conduct identity surveys annually, financially measure our depth of impact, and be held accountable by the public.
If we cannot adhere to this policy, Modern Marimba will dismantle at the end of the 2024/2025 season, and its assets will be transferred to non-profit organizations in Sarasota committed to justice and peace through anti-oppression and anti-racism.
Read our Equity Guideline for Donors and Foundations.
Definitions
Modern Marimba offers the definitions below to clarify its intent to include individuals and organizations in ways that enable us to feel a sense of belonging to our community.
Anti-Racism is the practice of recognizing and actively opposing racism in society with the goal of promoting racial equity.
Belonging refers to the support, feeling of connectedness, and experience of community among peers and colleagues within our organization. Belonging is a process of building a foundation through diversity, equity, and inclusive practices that cultivates community.
Diversity refers to group social differences such as race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, gender preferences, country of origin, dis/ability, cultural, political, religious, or any group affiliations.
Equity means acknowledging and making adjustments to address the consequences of a long history of prejudice and discriminatory treatment that continues and has a negative impact on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and marginalized communities.
Inclusive practices are those that include an active, intentional, meaningful, and equitable engagement across the diversity of the Sarasota community. Recognizing our diversity while meaningfully engaging it facilitates greater awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the complex ways individuals engage within systems and institutions. Building these skills and abilities among individual members will begin to address past injustices and lay a strong foundation for equitable success for individuals and organizations and, as a consequence, our nation and the global communities where we work.
Social justice has several elements that affect many areas of public policy and public administration; it is fair treatment of all people in a society, including respect for the rights of people who have been marginalized and the equitable distribution of resources among members of a community; it is fairness manifested in society through healthcare, gender equality, reproductive rights, education, employment, and voting; and it imposes personal responsibility to collaborate with others to thrive and inspire change towards peace.