Our Commitment to
Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression
Our organization, in cooperation with Community Music Schools of Toronto Foundation, is committed to standing up against oppression, racism, homophobia and intolerance of any kind. To our students, faculty, and community members, we see and hear you, and we remain committed to creating safe and progressive spaces for our students and our staff to co-learn in.
We continue to:
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Deliver our Anti-Racism / Anti-Oppression Action Plan.
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Build on our Curriculum from an anti-racist perspective.
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Seek out, value, and foster diverse leadership at all levels of our organization.
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Acknowledge and support the important contributions of racialized musicians and educators.
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Provide support to other, more fledgling community music schools in the communities we serve, sharing knowledge and best practices.
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Highlight racialized educators, composers and artists, throughout the year, not just in a particular heritage month.
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Establish meaningful partnerships with racialized artists and organizations in our community.
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Initiate constructive conversations with fellow community music schools in the country around developing a joint commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression.
We pledge to:
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Develop a Truth & Reconciliation Action Plan, committed to de-colonizing our school and community.
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Address the calls from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Final Report (2015), both individually and as an organization.
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Improve our approach to human resources, curriculum development, student and parent experiences, engagement of staff, faculty and Board of Directors; ensuring all of these important areas are appropriately aware of, focused on and committed to anti-racism and anti-oppression.
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Deepen our understanding of the systemic barriers that impact many of the youth in our communities, and explore means of reducing those barriers, particularly among students in our classrooms.
We know that music education has true power to transform lives, communities, and our world, which is why we are so deeply committed to this mission. Together, we can build a world that adopts anti-racism and promotes justice, towards a more equal and compassionate future. We look forward to collaborating with each of you in bringing this plan to life, one musical note at a time. Thank you for your continued trust, support and commitment.
If you have any follow up questions or comments, we welcome every one of them – please email us at suggestions@communitymusic.org