Below is a statement from Acaville founder, Aaron Director:
It has been a heartbreaking several days. I have been struggling with if, and
how, for Acaville to respond. The struggle is not because it’s not our place –
it’s everyone’s responsibility, if we see a murder, to say something. It’s even
more a requirement to do so when the murder isn’t singular, but yet another
example of a pattern that has continued for hundreds of years.
The struggle is more about what to say or do. Systemic racism in America is
a big and seemingly omnipresent issue. What can we, a community nonprofit
focused on music and the human voice, offer? It is a question that can lead
to a sense of helplessness.
But that very helplessness can lead to anger and then rage, and then
destruction – a path that we don’t want to follow. That helplessness can also
lead to oblivious silence, which only enables the discrimination, racism, and
murder. That result is intolerable as well.
So for the moment, we can start by simply speaking up, and saying that it is
unacceptable. By naming it and shaming it. Is that a big step? No. But it’s a
start.
Another place we can look – and maybe make some impact: our own
backyard. The a cappella community has made strides in diversity and
inclusion over the last decade or so, but there is still so far to go. Here at
Acaville, we’ve tried to raise issues of inclusion in our programming, but we
can do more. We will do more.
We continue to work through the sadness and anger, and will continue to
work to find ways to help. Even if individually our efforts feel small,
collectively, I’m confident we can change the world.