Statement of justice, equity & inclusivity

Rising Youth Theatre actively values, recognizes, and promotes principles of inclusivity, equity, and social justice in relation to, and across, intersections of race, age, color, disability, faith, religion, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, social class, economic class, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, and all other identities represented among our diverse membership.
Justice: We understand that in order for our organization to live its values, it must be responsive to the current and past systems of oppression that have marginalized people in our communities. Our organization prioritizes pushing back against systems of oppression present in our communities and our field.  
Equity: Rising Youth Theatre is committed to equity practices in artmaking and in non-profit leadership. Our work aims to de-center Whiteness and Eurocentric leadership practices. It is not enough to only convene diverse groups of people, organizationally we understand that we must work in an active dialogue with the social systems, histories, and power flows that our diverse membership negotiates in daily lived experience.
Inclusivity: Rising Youth Theatre works to be a space of deep belonging where our ensembles of youth and adult artists imagine and co-create the world they wish to live in. We know that young people deserve to see themselves both onstage and in leadership and decision-making rooms of our organization. We are committed to diverse, inclusive, reflective representation at every level - on our board, staff, artistic teams, in our budgeting process, and with our youth leaders and collaborators.  
This statement is not just something we believe in. It is something that we practice daily, and is a guide for how we think, imagine, create, engage, and reflect as Rising Youth Theatre. As a company, we challenge ourselves to be constantly listening, learning and evolving so that we are able to meet the needs of our changing community over time.