Dear A.B.L.E. Family, Friends and Followers,
There’s something incredibly powerful in seeing yourself authentically represented in media and the arts. Time and time again, artistic expression has proven that it has the power to shed light on different perspectives and make bridges that lead to more understanding, empathy and belonging. As a Colombian-American who was born in the United States but raised within experiences that were entirely influenced by my Latine culture and traditions, it was rare that I got a chance to see myself reflected and represented in the media I consumed. And when I did, I felt VISIBLE. I felt PROUD. I felt like I finally BELONGED.
One such experience was when I saw In the Heights on Broadway. It moved me to tears. Through every salsa step and familial reference made on that stage, I finally saw lived experiences I could relate to and was reminded that I was not alone. What a powerful thing - to be able to transmit through art and expression that you are seen. To be able to inspire that not only you belong but have the right to share the uniqueness of your story with the world.
As the Vice President of A.B.L.E.’s Board of Directors and the Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Committee, I am so proud of the work A.B.L.E has done to place participants with disabilities in the spotlight and give them that sense of belonging. By opening up the aperture of the stories that NEED to be told through the arts, A.B.L.E.’s work strives to shift societal perceptions about disability to build more inclusive, empathetic communities.
And while our mission is founded on building opportunities for the underrepresented, we know we can challenge ourselves to do more. Over the past 2 years, the DE&I Committee has humbly taken this challenge on with the goal of honestly examining all of the activities of the organization to ensure that our commitment to diversity, representation, and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.
From our committee meet-ups (which, I must admit, haven’t been as regular as we had originally mapped out), some initiatives have blossomed over the past year that have already contributed immensely to the evolution and growth of A.B.L.E. These include:
1) LAUNCHING OUR PROGRAM ADVISORY COUNCIL
With the goal of ensuring our community has an active voice in growing our program leadership, we launched the Program Advisory Council (PAC). Composed of 4 actors, 2 facilitators, and 2 caregivers, the PAC has already brainstormed several initiatives including keeping our ensembles connected through monthly check-ins and our ensemble portal, streamlining our registration process, and consulting on COVID reopening policies. Looking ahead, the Council is focused on further connecting our community via efforts such as:
Family Support Series - a recurring meet-up where we will provide space for learning and reflection for the caregivers who support our actors, across topics such as exploring gender and sexuality, estate and financial planning, and independent living.
Social Series - in an effort to increase visibility of the disability community within our neighborhoods, and for our actors to continue to take an active role within them, A.B.L.E. will host field trips and community service days.
Book Club - a chance to learn with and from the community, every month we’ll explore a different theme such as Communication and Activism. We’ll highlight suggested titles from authors with disabilities and other underrepresented communities. The monthly Book Club meetings will encourage conversations, questions and activities around the theme of the month.
2) LAUNCHING OUR CREATIVE ASSOCIATES INITIATIVE
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people with a disability is more than double the rate than for those without a disability - with more than 70% of people with disabilities being un/under employed, per the last Census. With so many barriers to people with disabilities in the workplace - from transportation to lack of training and potential loss of benefits if they work too many hours - A.B.L.E. launched the Creative Associates Initiative with the commitment to uphold the disability advocacy mantra of “nothing about us, without us”.
A.B.L.E.’s 2022 Creative Associates. photo by JOE MAZZA
In its launch year, we’ve hired 6 longtime ensemble members with disabilities to co-lead workshops and outreach programming, and support administrative projects. Nearly 75% of our current ensemble members are over 22 - the age Disability Advocates refer to as “falling off the cliff” - so the Creative Associates Program is a critical step to providing people with disabilities a competitive salary for their work within an environment that is supportive, inclusive and allows them to build transferable job skills.
3) BUILDING EQUITABLE EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES
Hiring & Recruitment Practices
As we continue to grow and establish ourselves as a company, we have been working hard to ensure that our hiring and onboarding practices are just, equitable and transparent at every step. This includes everything from the language on our job descriptions to where opportunities are posted. As we prepared to expand our staff this year, we developed an inclusive hiring process that allows applicants to meet many different members of the A.B.L.E. community and experience our organizational values. The process also ensures all team members evaluating applications and interviews address their own implicit biases.
For the first time, we conducted an open call for Teaching Artists (TAs)- receiving 24 applications from which we hired 3 TAs, including our first teaching artist of color.
Pay Scales
Fair and competitive pay is a paramount focus area for A.B.L.E. as we work to dismantle the barriers that may prohibit individuals from working with the organization, and in the arts and nonprofit sector in general. It’s no secret that many non-profit organizations don’t pay competitive salaries (if at all). However, we realize that our work doesn’t happen without PEOPLE. To that end, we are continuing to work towards pay parity for our administrative roles, and have set an organization-wide minimum wage equivalent to $25/hr in keeping with the suggested living wage for the Chicago area.
As we opened applications for new teaching artists in the winter, we re-worked pay scales to ensure we are offering competitive wages, and recognizing Teaching Artists for the significant amount of planning and preparation they put in outside of rehearsal. This also meant re-classifying our TAs as employees rather than independent contractors - something that is not common in many arts organizations. While this adds some costs to A.B.L.E., we knew this was the right decision to ensure they have protections and support.
Some of ABLE’s Staff and Teaching Artists (not pictured: Arin, Kal, and Perry). photo by JOE MAZZA
Benefits
We also strived to remove other barriers to participation that may exist for members of our community by expanding our Technology and Travel Assistance Initiative - matching expenses up to $50/month for all staff, volunteers, and participants. In FY22, we reimbursed a total of $6,248 to members of our community who took advantage of this benefit.
Additionally, in FY23, we have budgeted to start providing health insurance for our full time staff.
Leadership
We continue to adhere to the matrix for Board recruitment developed last fiscal year to ensure a range of backgrounds are included in organizational leadership. In FY23, we have already added 3 new board members with a makeup of personal and professional experience, including one board member who identifies with a disability. You can meet our board here.
Yet, with all of our strides, we must acknowledge that our efforts NEED to continue to transcend our work against ableism, and ensure that TRUE diversity is a foundational pillar of everything we do. After all, disability doesn’t discriminate. Anyone from any race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation may also have a disability. And that puts A.B.L.E. in a unique position to build bridges between communities. We recognize our responsibility to ensure our work represents and reaches people of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
With the honesty that characterizes everything we do, we also recognize that we haven’t yet done enough to meaningfully tackle the lack of racial and ethnic representation that currently exists within our organization. Per our latest Diversity Survey conducted in April 2022, only 8% of respondents self-identified as Hispanic/Latine, 7% as Black or African American and 4% as Southwest Asian. With well over 50% of Chicago’s population made up of these communities, our latest survey results only underscore that we have MUCH TO DO. From finding accessible venues to reliable transportation, many of the barriers to tackle are systematic and deeply ingrained in the racial and socioeconomic divides of Chicago. But solely blaming these barriers ignores all we can do - all the hard work we must do and want to do - to address these challenges head on.
A prime focus for the DE&I Committee as we look into the future is to find ways to expand our outreach programs to meet people where they are. Over the past year, we’ve slowly been working to build relationships with organizations in other neighborhoods in the hopes of reaching participants, potential teaching artists, volunteers, and partners from more diverse backgrounds. We know that with these relationships will come a lot of education and we look forward to listening, learning, and adapting our work to ensure we’re being as inclusive and welcoming as possible.
Our 2021 and 2022 Diversity Surveys have provided some very clear benchmarks. As A.B.L.E. prepares to create our new 5 year Strategic Plan this winter, we will bring this awareness and education to our larger organizational Strategic Planning process, and ensure that A.B.L.E.’s long-term goals are deeply intertwined with our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our hope is we can develop and implement strategic changes and deploy our next Diversity Survey in 2024, as a means of measuring our progress over time. I look forward to sharing our goals and plans on how to get there in the weeks and months to come.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leads to Belonging. There’s nothing more impactful and beautiful than creating a safe space where we can be our most authentic selves, because we see ourselves reflected in those shared experiences. This year, 77% of our Diversity Survey respondents noted they “always feel represented in the work” that A.B.L.E. shares in the community. My hope is for us to reach 100%. Just like I did when I saw myself represented on that In The Heights stage, I wish for this growing community to always feel visible and proud, and to experience that same sense of belonging.
At the core of all that we do, we want to continue to create a space where our differences are cause for open dialogue, empathy and celebration. We are steadfast in our resolve to continue growing our community, learning from the rich and diverse tapestry that is the city of Chicago and using our means and creativity to provide a stage to tell those stories. If you’d like to join these important conversations or have ideas on how we can further advance in these efforts, please reach out to us below.
Thank you,
Marcela Sarmiento
