Across the nation, people continue to stand up for justice in response to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade. I stand with you.
I stand in solidarity with the fight against systemic racism. Black lives matter. I also acknowledge the trauma that is caused by the historic oppression of the Black community.
As this music therapy practice grows I am committed to creating a work culture that examines individual biases, fosters dialogues, and acts with accountability. I strive to listen to and lift up voices of people of color who have long been unheard in the music therapy community and our community at large.
Today I'd like to amplify the voices of Canadian music therapists Hayley Francis Cann BMT, MTA, NMT and Priya Shah, RP, MTA, MMT.
They have compiled a resource kit
for therapists and community members seeking to learn more and actively embrace anti-oppressive practices. I invite my fellow music therapists to do this work with me. We must continue the conversation of how racism shows up in our music therapy space and how we are actively working against it.
In addition to this resource kit, here are a few learning experiences geared toward creative arts therapists that are being offered for free or on a sliding scale:
UCLA Arts & Healing presents the HOPE series:
Meera Sinha, MT-BC:
Clearly Clinical:
PESI and Psychotherapy Networker:
This is not enough. This is a start. The work will continue.
Black lives matter.
Comments