In just a few months, Seattle will celebrate 50 years of arts advocacy.  In 1971 Seattle established the Seattle Arts Commission, and later the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture; a tax-payer funded department with a “commitment to anti-racist work practice that centers the creativity and leadership of people of color - those most impacted by structural racism…” The irony is that since establishing a salaried Director position in 2002, the Office of Arts & Culture has never been led by a person of color.

Today, as in the past, the Director is an Anglo-Saxon European male, as was the previous Director and the Director before him; all white and all male. The Deputy Director is also white, as well as the Racial Equity Manager.  What's more surprising ~ as of July 2020 the office does not appear to have a single African American male holding the title of Manager.  And no, project manager is not the same thing. We're asking why there are no African American males in positions with manager-level authority. We're asking if the commitment to equity only applies to front-line, entry-level jobs; or will there be an opportunity for African American males to rise to true leadership positions at the Office of Arts & Culture?