Equity Statement

Racism has tormented and destroyed people of color in Oakland and the Bay Area since the massacres against California’s indigenous peoples. Oakland, one of the most diverse cities in the country today, has been plagued by its historical and systematic racist policies that impact neighborhoods, schools, jobs and more. The devastating impact of marginalization and oppression through genocide, segregation, drug trafficking, police brutality and the incarceration rates of Black and Brown people have created cycles of tyranny for poor communities of color.

The Center for ArtEsteem (ArtEsteem) began its work in 1989 with the foundational belief that racism is a life-threatening illness. The organization set forth to use the Attitudinal Healing principles as a critical strategy to address the harmful effects of racial inequity. Attitudinal Healing is the belief that we can choose peace over conflict and love over fear. The founders believed that it was not only the outer systemic forces of racism and oppression that are catastrophic, but that internalized racism is a self-defeating and detrimental force that psychologically colludes with the destructive potency of systemic racism. ArtEsteem was developed to use the arts, creativity and communication for inner healing and self-empowerment, to uplift and encourage resilience in the face of racism and oppression.

ArtEsteem addresses racially equitable policies and practices by: 

  • Embedding Attitudinal Healing principles as tools to address how we process and experience systematic and internalized racism and its destruction as a life-threatening disease.

  • Impart the role and ability of art and creativity in developing higher conscious awareness, community building and social activism through our programs.

  • Address in ArtEsteem curriculum the institutional, social and geographical deficit model towards blackness in relation to a white supremacist agenda embedded and operating deeply in our culture and history.

  • Develop and seek opportunities for youth and community members ArtEsteem serves to become involved in ArtEsteem staffing and board structures.