What Are you Willing to Give Up? (Part 1)

Our tenth installment features a panel of guests including Robyne Walker Murphy, Toya Lillard and Durell Cooper, with our host Courtney J. Boddie from the Teaching Artistry with Courtney J. Boddie Podcast, whom are all fighting for equitable arts education for BIPOC youth. 

Toya Lillard, from ViBe Theater, starts the conversation with the topic of reckoning. After the murder of George Floyd, organizations and their leaders have been put on spotlight for the corupt policies that have gone against not only their missions but humanity. Due to these intense moments of interrogation, conversations of power have erupted. Instead of disseminating power, bargaining has transpired with (White) leaders to find solutions that do not relinquish said power. 

Unfortunately, the field is rooted in saviorism. Robyne Walker Murphy, from Groundswell, comments that the foundations of NYC Arts Education has assimilated Black and Brown children to White Culture. Our nation still holds Western Classical cannon to the highest regard, therefore, equates White culture as excellence. 

With the world forcibly exposed to recent injustices, many individuals are asking “what happened?” The irony, individuals were not listening. Durell Cooper, from Cultural Innovation Group, speaks about the wave of awakening upon us where many White individuals, who felt progressive in nature, are seeing how their own progressive mindset has oppressed Black and brown children. Ultimately, what are individuals willing to give up (i.e. power) in order to create balance? Many answer with silence, another form of oppression.

Putting money where their mouth is, Lillard has even written a grant to replace herself because she believes that the future involves younger Black women to take charge. To her, in order to make real change and relinquish power, individuals might have to do things they do not enjoy so that the person after is set up for success. 

We end with a question from Walker Murphy: For organizations just talking about social/racial justice, why did it take so long? If this question never gets addressed then then vicious cycle of racism will continue. 

Join us next week to finish up the conversation! 

Robyne Walker Murphy works as the Executive Director at Groundswell, a social justice, youth development program that uses the transformative power of public art making to ignite personal and societal change. To date, Groundswell has installed over 600 murals in all five boroughs of New York City. For seven years, she served as director of the DreamYard Art Center, which, in 2012, the White House recognized as one of the top 12 out-of-school programs in the nation. Previous to her position at Groundswell, Robyne served as director of membership development and engagement at the National Guild for Community Arts Education, working closely with a national network of community arts organizations. Robyne also created the National Guild for Community Arts Education’s  ALAANA Network to recognize and invest in the growth and leadership of people of color in community arts education.

Robyne has conducted workshops and delivered keynote addresses about art and social justice at conferences and institutions across the country including New York University, City College, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, the Bronx Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, and Harvard University School of Education. Robyne is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University where she majored in English with an emphasis in African American Literature she than went on to obtain her MFA in acting from the University of Washington’s Professional Actor Training Program.  In the Fall of 2020, she was appointed to New York City’s Cultural Advisory Committee. She resides in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, Tarik Murphy, and her son, Ras.

Check out a recent work sample.

Follow Robyne on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Toya Lillard is a theater director, artist, activist and educator.  A native Houstonian, Toya graduated from Houston’s High School for Performing and Visual Arts. She has directed plays, developed curricula, led advocacy efforts and implemented innovative teaching artist training programs both in and out of our city’s schools. Prior to joining viBe, Toya served as Director of School Programs for The New York Philharmonic’s Education Department, where she helped to develop its nationally recognized School Partnership Program. In addition to leading viBe Theater Experience, Toya is also part-time faculty at The New School, where she teaches Global Dramatic Literature, Devised Theatre, and Portfolio 1. Toya is also an adjunct professor at CUNY CityTech, where she teaches Black Theater. Toya holds a B.A. from Vassar College, and an M.A. from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Toya serves on the Board of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable and is an Affiliate Representative on the Board of the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance.

Durell Cooper is one of the nation’s most prominent  cultural strategist specializing in systems change and collaborative thought leadership. Prior to founding Cultural Innovation Group, LLC, he was a program officer at the new york city department of cultural affairs (DCLA). Here is a recent work sample: Flow Web Series (Episode 1). He also worked at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, INC. In the marketing department conducting outreach to veteran service organizations and for Lincoln Center education recruiting and training teaching artists as well as several community engagement initiatives aimed at increasing equity and inclusion in NYC public schools. Prior to that he was a public school teacher. Durell is also a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy. 

Durell is a highly sought after public speaker presenting at lincoln center education’s summer forum, the New York City arts and education roundtable’s face to face conference, and for the National Guild for Community Arts Education as well as other engagements. Durell is a 2018 graduate of Stanford’s impact program for arts leaders (IPAL) as well as a 2017 graduate of the National Guild’s Community Arts Education Leadership Institute (CAELI). Currently, he is pursuing his doctorate at New York University.

Follow Durell on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.