The Kodaly Educators of Georgia Chapter of the Organization of American Kodaly Educators affirms that Black Lives Matter. We recognize that systemic racism is deeply woven throughout our society, including music education. As members of a profession that is nearly 90% white*, we recognize the call to use our platform to dismantle racism in our music classrooms. At this pivotal time in our history, we commit to centering Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian (BBIA*) voices and global music traditions that have suppressed, appropriated, or ignored in our classrooms. With a spirit of intentional growth and change, we commit to professional learning that will help us listen, learn, and cultivate an actively anti-racist environment for music making.
We recognize that these statements are meaningless without concrete action. Our first step is to ensure that our workshop series for the 2021-2021 school year amplifies BBIA educators as presenters.
You may also wish to read the letters and action statements from the national Organization of American Kodaly Educators linked below*.
(1) 2015 article about Elpus study: https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2015/12/music-teachers-are-mostly-white-study.html
(2) Link to a conversation with Lorelai Batisalong and Alice Tsui about the terms BBIP and BBIA: https://youtu.be/nMrlgoYmLU0
(3) OAKE letters and action statements from June 2020: https://www.oake.org/about-us/letter-to-members/
We recognize that these statements are meaningless without concrete action. Our first step is to ensure that our workshop series for the 2021-2021 school year amplifies BBIA educators as presenters.
You may also wish to read the letters and action statements from the national Organization of American Kodaly Educators linked below*.
(1) 2015 article about Elpus study: https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2015/12/music-teachers-are-mostly-white-study.html
(2) Link to a conversation with Lorelai Batisalong and Alice Tsui about the terms BBIP and BBIA: https://youtu.be/nMrlgoYmLU0
(3) OAKE letters and action statements from June 2020: https://www.oake.org/about-us/letter-to-members/