Today is Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The tragic reality was it took more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation for the last enslaved people to be freed - in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.
Juneteenth is a day for reflection. At AGMA, we thank the leadership, energy, and vision of our Black members, who have led the way as our union has worked to confront systemic racism in our industries. We also acknowledge the work yet to be done and recommit ourselves to finding and implementing ways in which AGMA Artists can use their collective power to unlearn and dismantle racism inside our industries.
We must use AGMA’s power and resources to combat inequality and oppression in our industries and our society. Racism and discrimination are safety issues; they make our workplaces dangerous and tear at the fabric of solidarity that binds us together.
At the May AGMA Board of Governors meeting, AGMA’s overarching I.D.E.A. Policy was approved. AGMA members can review this comprehensive policy in detail; in fact, all the policies of the AGMA Board of Governors are available on the website. To access the policies, members first need to log in to MyAGMA, then select “Policies and Procedures” and then “Policies of the AGMA Board of Governors.”