A Letter from the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus

Dear Friends of the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus,

As the Chorus closes out its 40th season and marks the beginning of Pride month, we are presented with an opportunity to reflect and grow. Recalling the Stonewall Riots of 1969, we remember that it was a black trans woman named Marsha P. Johnson who fought back against abuse by the police to begin an uprising that would shape our community – a community that built a network of queer choruses around the world, including our own. These choruses provide queer people the opportunity to strengthen our collective voices and use music to promote a vision of equity and justice.

The mission of the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus includes a call to “affirm the worth of all people.” Right now, we reflect upon the true meaning of our mission and how we as an organization are working to achieve it.

Black lives matter. As a predominantly white organization, we are working to understand the importance of the role we have as allies to communities of color in Portland, and we acknowledge that we can do better. The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Manuel Ellis at the hands of police officers reinforce the necessity of allyship, solidarity, and the recognition of privilege within our community and throughout our country. Black Americans live under a system of oppressive policies, and it is our responsibility as allies to work with them to dismantle institutional racism.

The Portland Gay Men’s Chorus is committed to do better. We will:

  • uplift the voices and amplify the messages of targeted communities, including the black community in Portland
  • partner with organizations that benefit the black community
  • share the art of black composers, musicians, thinkers, activists, and leaders
  • persistently promote our mission of social justice through musical performances and appearances
  • examine and change our own infrastructure to reflect a more inclusive and diverse nonprofit model
  • leverage the resources and expertise within our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to inform future decisions and actions
  • raise our voices in solidarity with black, brown, and indigenous communities of color
  • continue singing to represent the experiences of the queer community

PGMC will work to prioritize these changes. We commit ourselves to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and we ask our members and our community to engage in meaningful conversations and actions toward racial justice.

To be better allies today, we are signing Resonance Ensemble’s open letter to Governor Kate Brown and Mayor Ted Wheeler and adding our name to the list of LGBTQ Organizations Unite to Combat Racial Violence. We are also using this opportunity to amplify the work of organizations fighting for racial equity in Portland and across the United States:

Local Resources

National Resources

 

Signed,

Chorus Leadership

Richard Jung, Executive Director (he/him/his)
John J. Atorino, Artistic Director (he/him/his)
Mary McCarty, Associate Conductor (she/her/hers)
Ricky Armendariz, Chorus President (he/him/his)
Thom Whittemore, Chorus Vice President (he/him/his)

Board of Directors

Jim McVittie, Board Chair (he/him/his)
Allen Tomlinson, Vice Chair (he/him/his)
Kurt Bedell, Secretary (he/him/his)
Calvin Harrison, Treasurer (he/him/his)
Mark Clift (he/him/his)
Gary Coleman, Founding Member (he/him/his)
H Dwayne Davis (he/him/his)
Eddie May, Chair of DEI Committee (he/him/his)
Phylis Myles (she/her/hers)

Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee

Erik Gullickson (he/him/his)
Elaine Huang (she/her/hers)
Riley Lakos (they/them/theirs)
Frank McMullan (he/him/his)
Scott Serpas (he/him/his)
Amir Shirazi (they/them/theirs)
Reid Vanderburgh, a transman (he/him/his)

/by