Adrienne Warren, Kara Young and Jess McLeod Join Speaker Lineup for BROADWAY UNITED FOR RACIAL JUSTICE

Broadway Advocacy Coalition cofounder and Tony Award nominee Adrienne Warren, rising actress Kara Young, director and activist Jess McLeod have joined the speaker lineup for tomorrow's Broadway United for Racial Justice.

Join Unite NY this Saturday, May 1st at 2pm at Bryant Park for Broadway United for Racial Justice. As Broadway prepares to turn the marquee lights back on, the community stands unified in the demand for necessary change in the Broadway and entertainment industries.

Previously announced speakers include Eden Espinosa (Broadway actress and activist), Liesl Tommy (Tony Award nominated director), Clint Ramos (Tony Award winning costume and set designer), Cody Renard Richard (Broadway production stage manager and founder of The Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program), Dyllón Burnside (known for his role as Ricky Evangelista, in the FX television series "Pose"), Adam Hyndman (actor, producer and founder of The Industry Standard Group), and many others from the Broadway community. The lineup is subject to change.

"We are all the leaders in the movement, and we get to lead to end racism and to hold each other accountable and discover what that looks like," said Unite NY. "We're an organization that brings people together. Broadway has created a space where there is zero tolerance for homophobia and that same space must be created for racial justice and equity. For generations entertainment has been challenging and spreading awareness of social issues. What happens when it is in the industry itself? We must hold the entertainment industry to a higher standard. This an opportunity for a healing, liberation, and building coalition to actually end racism."

DEMANDS:

Entertainment industries to be equal opportunity employers - not just on stage but in executive positions and roles including but not limited to theatre owners, directors, producers, stage managers, designers, stage technicians, general managers, casting, ushers, advertising, tech, agents, etc. Working together to create an agreed upon outline of what equity in the community really looks like.

An enactment of a zero-tolerance policy for any form of racism implicit or explicit - including micro and macro aggressions.

The creation of more theatre initiatives that educate and support the industry's pledge for more inclusivity and intersectionality on and off stage - from race, to gender representation to visible and invisible differing abilities.

Amplification of more voices of color across all categories in major projects through Broadway and other commercial theater and media ventures.

A group of students from performing arts institutions have also put forth an additional demand that UniteNY amplifies:

As the educators for Broadway's future performers, these institutions MUST review and renew an all-inclusive curriculum regardless of race, physicalities, or sexual orientation. The complete removal of old "typecasting" terminology to move forward from the old standards of Broadway and allow students to believe and become whoever they want to be on stage.

For more information, follow @UniteNY2020 on Instagram and on how you can become more involved in the fight for social justice.