New York – Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, declared that Juneteenth would be a staff holiday.
Juneteenth commemorates the day that the last of the Africans enslaved in the United States were set free - more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation became law. This annual holiday is a time of celebration and reflection and a call to action to combat racial inequality.
Equity is taking steps to become an anti-racist organization. Equity's elected Council passed a formal resolution regarding the Black Lives Matter movement, currently accessible in Equity’s Diversity & Inclusion blog and in the member portal.
Members seeking to join that work can explore resources, such as a webinar on race that took place in April, currently available in the member portal and the forthcoming Workplace Inclusion Lab, scheduled for June 22.
This week, the union held a Town Hall to discuss racial justice in Equity and the larger theatre industry, including creating space for Black members to address union leadership.
ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. www.actorsequity.org #EquityWorks
June 18, 2020
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