I wish I had said something in the moment, but I didn’t because I respected my professors so much at the time, and because I was stuck in disbelief. It might be hard for people of color to hear, but all racism and racist actions do not come exclusively from White people. I was once told by a Black instructor that I must have been trained by a White instructor to be as good as I am. People of color are also part of this broken system and, there- fore, at risk of contributing to the sys- temic racism that has been integrated into the dance community—even if not on a conscious or intentional level. Ignorant and racist statements like that are heartbreaking to hear from someone who looks like you.
I don’t want the next generation of people of color to feel like they don’t belong because they look different, even though they put in the work like any other dancer. Being proud of your blackness or heritage should not be a threat. We need to create an environ- ment where people can be embraced for being individuals, rather than trying to put dancers of color into pre-designated, racist boxes. It is important to point out that I have had many positive experiences in the dance community as a profes- sor, dancer, and student. I have been fortunate to have great mentors and collaborators of all ethnicities, and in general the Bay Area is a great place to be an artist because of the diver- sity of cultures and experiences we have here. But the struggles with rac- ism I have highlighted here are unfor- tunately endemic to my experience, as well as to the experiences of other BIPOC people. The dance community (and the larger arts community) still has a long way to go. It is time to understand how White privilege is damaging and limiting all of us , and that we need to reimagine what it means to value and respect the contributions we are all working hard to make. JOSLYNN MATHIS REED hails from Detroit Michigan. Her lifelong passion for dance has taken her on a journey that includes performing with Aretha Franklin as a teenager, studying West African dance in Ghana as an undergraduate, and teaching dance to a wide range of students over the years. In addition to leading workshops and intensives, she currently teaches ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, dance history, hip-hop culture, and advanced technique courses at several Bay Area colleges. Joslynn founded Mathis Reed Dance Company in 2014, presenting work that explores the black experience in America through a multicultural, multiethnic lens. She has performed and collabo- rated with Shinichi Iova-Koga, Nina Haft, Wanjuru Kamuyu, Ana Marie and Sylvia Water (Alvin Ailey Company), Heather Stockton, Mills College Reper- tory Company, and California State University East Bay Repertory Company. Joslynn holds a B.A. in Dance/Theater Arts from California State Universi- ty East Bay and an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Mills College.
I am sharing these hurtful and rac- ist experiences because it’s time to put an end to the pretense that we have an inclusive environment in the dance community and in the larger arts community, not just in the Bay Area but everywhere. Merely hiring peo- ple of color does not create anti-racist spaces; we have to change the people who are calling the shots. I am working hard to make the Bay Area dance community more inclu- sive and diverse. I’m excited to be joining the Board of Directors of the Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley to lend my voice to reimagin- ing a thriving community arts organi- zation. I’m looking forward to creat- ing more equitable and positive spaces for dancers and other artists.
SUMMER 2021 in dance 29
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