BUILDING A BETTER FIELD

On January 31, 2021, I published a letter detailing my experiences with Jedediah Wheeler, executive director of Peak Performances at Montclair State University. In 2018, Peak Performances committed to commissioning my new work, Being Future Being, and over the course of more than a year our negotiations, planning, and conversations had worked toward the goal of premiering the work on their stage.

The impact of Covid-19 has brought foundational inequities in our field to the fore, and I published my letter in an act of solidarity with collective efforts to call forth better practices, including Creating New Futures and We See You White American Theatre. Creating New Futures started a petition in support of these efforts, which is still actively collecting signatures. My letter — and perhaps even more, Peak’s response — sparked a national conversation about ethics, equity, white supremacy and decolonization in the field of the performing arts. It is a conversation that continues to evolve, and here I have compiled resources for those who want as full a picture as I can offer of what led up to the publication of my letter, exchanges with my producer, George Lugg, the field-wide response, public responses, and our legal efforts to seek redress.

MY ORIGINAL LETTER & MSU’s RESPONSE

1/31/2021 Emily Johnson Letter to MSU
http://emily-72967.medium.com/a-letter-i-hope-in-the-future-doesnt-need-to-be-written-52e1d6fd5350

2/4/2021 MSU’s Posted Response from Peak Performance’s Web Site

CORRESPONDENCE WITH MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY

2/11/2021 George Lugg's Email to MSU in Response to Inaccuracies in MSU's Statement

2/19/2021 MSU's Response to George Lugg

4/6/2021 Emily Johnson / Catalyst Legal Representative's Letter to MSU

SOLIDARITY STATEMENTS

February 2021 ACTIVE NOW, click here to sign: Creating New Futures Petition in Solidarity with Emily Johnson

February 2021 Creating New Futures Solidarity Statement

February 2021 Arts Presenters Statement in Solidarity with Emily Johnson

2/12/2021 Solidarity Statement from CultureBot
https://www.culturebot.org/2021/02/88555/creating-new-futures-a-statement-in-solidarity-with-emily-johnson-calls-to-action/

2/15/2021 Solidarity Statement from New York Live Arts
https://mailchi.mp/newyorklivearts/commitment-to-artists?e=c6d7c6b5b6

2/16/2021 Solidarity Statement from Wet Ink Ensemble
http://www.wetink.org/events/season-23/wet-ink-statement-re-emily-johnson-peak-performances-msu

2/26/2021 The Festival Academy Keynote
https://www.thefestivalacademy.eu/media/3019-atelier-for-arts-and-production-managers-elefsina-000000028268.pdf

Late February 2021 Solidarity Statement from Western Arts Alliance
https://www.westarts.org/news-updates/in-support-of-emily-johnson

March 2021 Creating New Futures NYTimes Article EDIT

Received 3/10/2021 Solidarity Statement from Women’s Working Group Statement https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ovtYwbR3ENgFH_Ea4ZCqYIpGO51uNlT3/view?usp=sharing

3/30/2021 Letter by Omonike Akinyemi
http://production-72194.medium.com/

March 2021 Delaware Nation Solidarity Statement

MEDIA & EVENTS

April 2021 MSU radio Interview with Daniel StrongWalker Thomas - Delaware
Nation Lenni Lenape; Joseph M Pierce - Cherokee Nation; Emily Johnson,
Yup'ik Nation; Omonike Akinyemi; with MSU student Carley Campbell
http://drive.google.com/file/d/1ut7qKrHUiOhLaLmPTtpjjpjCA0vUNeSR/view?usp=sharing

March 2021 Decolonizing Art with Emily Johnson, The Kennedy Center
Video: http://www.kennedy-center.org/digitalstage/arts-across-america/2021/decolonizing-art-emily-johnson/
Facebook Live: http://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=875263019706780

2/16/2021 Black Arts Admin B*tch Podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0dtp2ktEkv8JpPa6iUMCsS?si=98be3f4ff7be4a1b&nd=1

PRESS STATEMENTS & REPORTING

2/05/2021, updated 2/09/21 Article on Politico
https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2021/02/05/montclair-state-university-executive-accused-of-verbal-abusive-1362099?fbclid=IwAR1MsTk_rXvAyZNqO9wsjGbpeE999S0cPT60msAIwY4mq0QkrAHVx3guIXY

2/08/2021 Article on Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/02/08/montclair-state-director-accused-verbal-abuse

2/08/2021 Article on The College Fix
https://www.thecollegefix.com/indigenous-artist-says-administrators-refusal-to-adopt-land-acknowledgment-is-like-raping-her/

2/09/2021 Mention in New York Times
https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/arts/dance/dance-theaters-without-live-performance.amp.html

2/10/2021 Article on North Jersey (dot) com
https://www.northjersey.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.northjersey.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fessex%2Fmontclair%2F2021%2F02%2F10%2Fmontclair-state-nj-peak-performance-head-accused-violent-outburst%2F4441915001%2F

2/10/2021 Article on NJ (dot) com
https://www.nj.com/essex/2021/02/native-american-artist-accuses-montclair-university-arts-director-of-verbal-abuse.html?fbclid=IwAR10_mGiR_RlXlZ0DBj-ZqXtgWkFVfcmd8P642GmgyV5qnPmA6MWMC1gAx4

2/11/2021 Article on Montclair Local
https://www.montclairlocal.news/2021/02/11/artist-accuses-msu-official-of-being-violent-and-oppressive-individual/

2/12/2021 Article on ALL ARTS
https://allarts.org/2021/02/peak-hd-statement/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-allartstv&utm_content=later-14432730&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram

2/12/2021 Tweet from HowlRound Theatre Commons
https://twitter.com/HowlRound/status/1360250206583992322