06/28/2020
Concerning recent events, CP Swing would like to express our solidarity with the Black community, Black Lives Matter, and all BIPOC dancers. We support those who are protesting the systemic racism that has plagued our nation since long before its inception. Our students are grateful to be participants in and consumers of Black culture, particularly Lindy Hop.
CP Swing and its current officer team recognize the lack of diversity that has represented our club for almost 20 years. We have created a plan of action to ensure we are offering opportunities to people outside of the Cal Poly majority. Please contact us at [email protected] if you'd like to learn more. Our new club policies will be implemented at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. We hope that returning from quarantine will allow us the opportunity to rectify our issues regarding inclusion.
Our dance community has created some excellent resources that we ask our CP Swing community to reflect on.
1. Visit the blog, Obsidian Tea (https://obsidiantea.com/), written by our 2019 Blues Workshop instructor, Grey Armstrong.
2. Read works by Terry Monaghan, including "Why Study the Lindy Hop" published in Dance Research Journal (https://doi.org/10.2307/1477810).
3. Contact the Cal Poly Democrats (https://www.calpolydemocrats.com/) and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department (https://www.slosheriff.org/) to challenge the need for excessive funding and police in local schools.
And most of all, please continue to support the Black community and ensure that you are doing your part to be a responsible consumer of Black culture.
Thank you,
CP Swing and Drop Dead Blues
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