Making Equity Explicit in Policy – Both on the public and private sector side, we have been working hard to link pro-arts policy with a pro-equity stance. This has included the creation of a set of Policy Statements about issues like healthcare, immigration, discrimination, free speech, and education that intertwine the two.

• The five equity-associated Policy Statements have collectively been viewed nearly 9,000 times.
• See the various Policy Statements in our Arts Mobilization Center.

Public Sector Policy – We have pursued public sector pro-arts, pro-equity policy development through both direct action across the political spectrum (including engagement at both major political conventions) and training the field. This covers a variety of arts-related areas including tax policy, education policy, and immigration policy. Through our longest-standing partnership, with the US Conference of Mayors, in 2018 we encouraged the adoption of two equity-related resolutions—one affirming our Statement on Cultural Equity and one particularly around arts and business partnerships promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Arts Education Policy – Within arts education advocacy, we’ve been pursuing a vision of equity in access to arts education for America’s learners. This has included work on the equitable distribution of monies and policy guidance to states and local education agencies to enhance the arts as a meaningful pathway to achieving broader educational goals.

• Since 2017, the Arts Education Speakers Bureau has trained over 12,000 grassroots advocates in all 50 states. The majority of participants in programs were female (72%), were educated above a bachelor’s degree (57%), were almost a quarter non-white (23%), and many (8%) have a disability.
• A concerted effort to hold trainings in more rural areas of the country is underway in 2018-19.
• Learn more about Americans for the Arts’ work on arts education and equity.

Private Sector Policy – On the private sector side, we have worked to educate business leaders, private philanthropy, and those who work with them about cultural equity through Business Roundtables, monthly virtual conversations, and ongoing support of equity dialogues taking place among the various United Arts Funds across the country. In addition, we are developing a substantial body of work to enhance our impact and reach into the broader creative economy, beyond the non-profit space.

• Research shows that 29 percent of for-profit businesses are led by people of color, compared to just 18 percent of non-profits.