"Dear White American Theater": A letter from ALAANA theatremakers

Three hundred African, Latine, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) theatremakers signed a letter —accompanied by a petition—demanding that "the white American theatre recognize its legacy of white fragility and white supremacy," Playbill reported.

Playbill states:

Penned in the wake of the nation's civic unrest and against the backdrop of a global Black Lives Matter movement, the letter "We See You, White American Theater" has been signed by Cynthia Erivo, Viola Davis, Suzan-Lori Parks, Lynn Nottage, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lauren Yee, Leslie Odom Jr., Lindsay Mendez, Leah C Gardiner, Katori Hall, Eden Espinosa, Ruthie Ann Miles, Issa Rae, Jacob Padrón, and Liesl Tommy, among others.

"We stand on this ground as *BIPOC theatremakers, multi-generational, at varied stages in our careers, but fiercely in love with the Theatre. Too much to continue it under abuse. We will wrap the least privileged among us in protection, and fearlessly share our many truths," the letter states.

Read the letter here.

Image: Screenshot / "We See You, White American Theater" letter website

*The organizers of this letter use Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) language.