Londoners of the African Diaspora

Anti-Racism Initiative

Introduction

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Every single one of our black cast members has been called a slave. From ladies of the highest class to men at Sal’s. And if not a slave, then “surprisingly elegant.”

The black experience at Dickens Fair is simply different from the white experience. Racism is present and felt every weekend by the actions of uneducated and sometimes well-intentioned patrons and workers. In the past, we have set aside these harmful experiences and in doing so, some of the integrity of our blackness, in order to step into a role that our white cast members can seamlessly inhabit.  

We will not do this anymore. We will no longer harm ourselves so that others may maintain their comfort. We believe in the magic of Dickens Fair and we want to truly feel a part of the community. Instead of taking our costumes and going home, we would much rather partner with Red Barn Productions and The Living History Centre to invest and commit to the historically forgotten people of this fair community.

We, the members of Londoners of the African Diaspora (LoAD), on behalf of ourselves and all black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) representation at The Dickens Christmas Fair, a Red Barn Production event, suggest the following of Red Barn Productions and The Living History Centre:

We ask that Red Barn Productions support LoAD in continuing efforts to ensure positive experiences for nonwhite participants and guests through Harm Reduction, Culture Change, Leadership Development, Visibility Increase and Learning Opportunities. We recognize that time and intention are critical to change and acknowledge that not all of these recommendations will be fulfilled by 2021. In lieu of immediate action, we will accept clear, timely deadlines negotiated in conversation with LoAD and public goals and the publishing of the status of said goals at the end of every year.

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Harm Reduction

A great deal of harm is experienced at Dickens Fair in the form of discrimination and harassment.  This stifles creative expression and discourages BIPOC involvement in this production. In order to be our most creative self, all BIPOC cast, crew and patrons, like all people, must first feel physically and emotionally safe.

To become a community that is proactive about reducing the harm experienced by BIPOC cast members and those oppressed by heterosexism, LoAD recommends the creation and enactment of the following:

• Hire a credentialed HR consultant that is not personally connected to any members of Red Barn Productions and The Living History Centre to handle all staffing, discrimination and harassment issues, acknowledging that while the cast is largely made of volunteers, Dickens Fair is put on with the labor of over a thousand and thus needs more professional handling. Members of the Diversity Committee (previously promised by Red Barn Productions) must be a part of the hiring process.

• California law AB 1443 extends harassment and discrimination protections under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to volunteers and unpaid interns. Formalize protocols to provide safe structures whereby racist incidents are reported with a timely administrative response and a transparent chain of accountability without fear of dismissal, retaliation or retribution.

• It is especially important that reporting harassment or uncomfortable sexual or race-related encounters is not reserved for the most egregious incidents.  Cast members should feel safe reporting even the smallest of incidents knowing that they will be taken seriously and the actions taken will be equitable, just, educational and restorative rather than punitive.  In the past, incidents related to harassment only get noticed when someone is asked to leave the community. Only hearing about these sorts of incidents creates a silencing effect in reporters and a victimized attitude in offenders and sympathizers. 

• In order to have a culture where it is safe to report racial harassment and discrimination, a standardized method for reporting all forms of harassment and discrimination must be developed, with the understanding that BIPOC communities don’t just suffer from racial bias but can experience more harm in reporting overall. LoAD recommends creating clarity around the harassment and discrimination reporting practice by developing a process that includes:

  • Clear definitions of harassment and discrimination; including racial, sexual and gender.

  • A standardized and publicly available incident report form.

  • A publicly available list of individuals to report to.

  • Comprehensive leadership training on responding to and investigating reports.

  • Clear, concise measures for addressing the offense requisite to the severity of the case, which would be determined by the complainant, senior members of Red Barn Productions and members of the Diversity Committee.

  • In the interest of developing a culture of company-wide learning and transparency, all reported incidents should be made known to the cast, with an explanation of why it was wrong and what the response was and materials for future learning. Anonymity will be determined in partnership with the complainant.

• Develop intervention and disruption protocols for harmful moments (i.e. racist and discriminatory comments from audience members).

• Included in the pass-approval process, all staff, volunteers, vendors, performance guests and Pickwick Pass holders must be required to sign a written anti-discrimination and harassment clause.

• If any black cast, crew or guest reports harassment, they should be made aware of LoAD, our advocacy and be given the contact information of the sitting president. 

Culture Change

As a community, we must strive to change the culture so that BIPOC customers, cast and crew can participate fully without reservation or concern in this predominantly white space. The following is necessary:

• Publicly acknowledge and commit to reversing years of inaction and cultural complacency that has allowed the Dickens community to become a safe place for anti-blackness, racism, heterosexism and the people who want to celebrate a romanticized white history.

  • Samples of this can be seen in the decolonizing of museums:

    • Uncovering White Supremacy Culture In Museum Work

    • What Does It Mean To Decolonize A Museum?

• Red Barn Productions and Dickens Fair leadership commit to phasing out the language of “family” when talking about the cast, crew and regular guests of The Dickens Fair. Red Barn Productions is a company.  While it is true that a wonderful community is born out of that labor, the designation of cast, crew and vendors as a family is harmful because:

  • Use of familial language limits the pursuit of equity:  Just as families often have toxic, predatory or racist uncles that get a pass, Dickens Fair has the same.

  • Familial language fails to acknowledge the imbalance of power among the company.

  • People protect the “bond” of family instead of the professional, creative and collective values that should be upheld.

  • Prioritizes the length of a relationship rather than the value a person adds to the show and community.

  • For further reading on this, please see: 

    • Why Your Business Isn't A Family | Workable

    • Stop Saying Your Company Is Like A Family | Forbes Magazine

• Proactively engage the fair community when prominent figures and vendors or similar theatrical and reenactment productions publicly act in a way that does not uphold our community values or discriminates against people of a federally protected class, which includes race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, or military or veteran status. 

  • This is not a request for Red Barn Productions to actively monitor the behavior of Dickens Fair participants and patrons but does ask that when issues of discrimination occur in adjacent communities with participation overlap, that Red Barn leadership be prepared to publicly reaffirm our stance on these issues.

• To set the tone for remembering the impact of history and the actions of white supremacy; name and acknowledge the tribal land and its Native peoples who have lived, currently live and will live on the land where any Dickens Fair activity happens.

  • This includes during the morning meeting at workshops, the 9am workshop of every weekend, the character round-robin during dress rehearsal and notes on opening day.

  • Include public acknowledgment in the Dickens Fair patron newspaper and map.

  • For further reading on this please see

    • A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment | Native Governance Center

    • A guide and call to acknowledgment | U.S. Department of Arts and Culture

Leadership Development

The nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region is 59 percent people of color. The Dickens Fair should have leadership that reflects the diversity of the Bay Area. To achieve this, Red Barn Productions and The Living History Centre should do the following:

• Add a job position centered on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Red Barn Productions and hire a person of color in this role. 

  • Understand that LoAD has the power to veto candidates for said position. Other affinity and advocacy groups who request it should have the same. 

  • This position would be responsible for leading the Diversity Committee.

• Obtain and maintain demographic information on cast, crew, vendors and visiting acts.

• Increase the percentage of BIPOC directors, assistant directors, stage managers, workshop teachers and vendors to 50 percent.

• With an eye for providing directing and producing experience for BIPOC, queer, trans and new voices in the DCF environment; LoAd suggests that Red Barn establishes a director's cohort.

  • Create an annual off-season workshop (can be done online or in-person) that shares the ingredients of a good Dickens Fair stage show, cast or environment.

  • Allow workshop attendants to pitch ideas and apply for a 6-month directorial mentorship.

  • Designate time on the stages to support cohort members in premiering new shows. LoAD recommends reimagining the use of the outside stage for this purpose.

• Dedicate 25 percent of your vendor space to BIPOC artists and business owners or vendors with 60 percent or more BIPOC employment. 

• Allow LoAD, all other affinity groups in the solidarity network and unaffiliated people of marginalized communities to put forward and vote on members of the Diversity Committee.

• Create and publicly share clarity about the power and responsibility of the Diversity Committee, to be decided with the input of LoAD.

• Commit to having the Diversity Committee fully staffed and running by June 1, 2021.

Visibility Increase

BIPOC visibility within Fair is of vital importance. An increase in visible BIPOC involvement takes more than an invitation but structural change that enables BIPOC creativity to thrive in white spaces. Intentional initiatives, explicit pathways and financial commitments are necessary to work against decades of inattention that lead to white dominance in spaces that claim to be countercultural. 

LoAD recommends that Red Barn Productions and The Living History Centre do the following:

• Recruit, hire and costume at least 10 BIPOC actors annually to play historical persons of color at Dickens Fair.

• Establish a clear policy that allows for non-traditional casting in regard to race, gender and ability for ALL ROLES.

  • This includes titular characters such as Mr. Scrooge, Little Dorrit, Father Christmas and historical figures such as Charles Dickens, royal children, Queen Victoria, etc.

  • This policy would be clear that historical BIPOC characters WILL NOT be played by anyone other than a person of their original ethnicity. 

  • Please see further reading on color-conscious casting:

    • There’s No Business Like Show Business: Abandoning Color-Blind Casting and Embracing Color-Conscious Casting in American Theatre | The Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law

    • Colour conscious casting should be prioritized | The Broad

    • Stop Blaming History for Your All-White, All-Male Movie | The New York Times

• In the interest of developing new stories and acts, especially those that center on BIPOC, queer or trans characters, stories and culture; create and make public a formal proposal process for developing successful new ideas, shows, stages and casts.  Be transparent about the pitching process so that innovators can make a pitch and know that it is being considered.

• Acknowledging that costuming can be prohibitive for all but especially so for BIPOC, queer or trans participants; commit to costuming new cast members and vendors.

  • This can be done by buying, loaning or renting costumes on behalf of first-year participants.

• Offer costuming, grooming instructions and history to BIPOC cast members in deference to unique features, customs and history. 

• Welcome BIPOC accents from BIPOC cast members in roles where the accent does not need to be English for historical accuracy or fidelity to a written character.

• Hire or commission BIPOC artists to add accurate representation of BIPOC faces and history to scenery and decorations. 

• 40 percent of the people in every advertisement must be BIPOC cast members or guests. All advertisements must be seen and approved by the paid DEI staff person leading the Diversity Committee.

• 30 percent of the people in Dickens Fair photo galleries curated by Red Barn Productions and official photographers must be BIPOC cast members and guests.

• 25 percent of the representatives of Dickens Fair in press appearances must be BIPOC cast members.

• 25 percent of DCF guest acts should be BIPOC run organizations or have 60 percent or more BIPOC participation.

• Invite BIPOC content producers, minority-owned press and press with 60 percent or more BIPOC content producers to experience Dickens Fair. 

• All Tours of London must include engaging or featuring two BIPOC performances and 20 percent of Tours per weekend must be centered on BIPOC history in Victorian London. 

• In partnership with the paid DEI staff member, screen all performances, including those by outside guests, for culturally insensitive or appropriative material. 

• Stage shows and performances centered on non-white tradition, history or culture must be directed by BIPOC artists or organizations.

• Hire a BIPOC director to develop and maintain an annual stage show with an all-BIPOC cast.

• Provide discounted tickets and guided experiences for organizations serving BIPOC youth.

• Develop and maintain a library of books and documentaries about the experiences of BIPOC Britons of the Victorian era that will be made available to all cast members, priority for BIPOC cast and crew.

• Publish, in both the missive and online, a list of affinity groups, their leadership and contact information. Provide a flyer at workshops with the same information.

• Cast photo assistance

  • Dedicate time and space during the show for BIPOC and other affinity groups to gather.

    • LoAD would like to publicly acknowledge that the Green Man Inn has always been welcoming and accommodating to us. However scheduling, space and lighting are difficult on this stage.  Therefore we request that either DCF lights the Green Man Inn for photography or a more suitable location, such as the Adventurer’s Club, be made available.

  • Require that BIPOC employees and vendors be free to take part in this opportunity and be paid during their attendance or provide free coverage when needed.

  • Directors and vendors must announce the time and date of these photos (even if no BIPOC cast and crew are present), date and times must be posted in the missive, the patrons’ map, outside of the gathering and online.

  • Directors must work with cast members to provide understudies or rework the show so that affinity group members are able to attend if there is an unavoidable conflict of time.

Learning Opportunities

To create a truly inclusive and equitable community, change must begin at the workshops. Much of what is wrong stems from the lack of education around race and race-related issues.

It is in the best interest of the whole company that regular, mandatory, universal Anti-Racism, Implicit Bias, Anti-Oppression and Bystander Training, to be conducted by a qualified, fully vetted specialist selected by the paid staff leading the Diversity Committee, be made available.

The myth of the ‘innocent bystander’ has caused untold harm for Dickens Fair participants for far too long. Every employee and volunteer associated with Dickens Fair should be properly and regularly trained by a specialist in anti-racism intervention with the requisite tools necessary to address racism or harm when it happens. 

Positive steps forward start with an educated leadership, which is why we recommend the following:

• Harassment Training standard to California Law

  • Attendance: Mandatory for all leaders, managers, directors, stage managers and security 

  • Frequency of Attendance: Once every 3 years in rotation

  • Teaching: California law on harassment and discrimination protections and knowledge of Dickens internal procedures if harassment is reported.

  • Purpose: Understanding legal protection and setting expectations
     

• Anti-Racism and Implicit Bias Training

  • Attendance: Mandatory for all cast, crew, security and vendors

  • Frequency:  First year for new cast members and once every 3 years for veterans

  • Teaching: defining terms and history regarding equity, justice, inclusion, white supremacy, bias, ableism and anti-queerness in Victorian London, The Dickens Fair and modernity

  • Purpose: Develop common language for understanding white supremacy in the DCF community
     

• Anti-Oppression and Bystander Training

  • Attendance: Mandatory for all leadership and managers. Open to others. 

  • Frequency: Once every 3 years 

  • Teaching: How to partner with marginalized communities to create a welcoming environment at Fair. Develop ears to recognize dog whistle phrasing, microaggressions and privilege.

  • Purpose: Providing tools for dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy at Dickens Fair
     

• BIPOC in England

  • Attendance: Optional for everyone

  • Frequency: Given every year

  • Teaching: To tell a more accurate history of London as it was lived by including BIPOC stories and decentering white stories

  • Purpose: Reverse inequity and have a more complete picture of London
     

• Teachers for all four classes must be certified in a relevant field of study. The Diversity Committee should be committed to recruiting and selecting the teachers who will run these workshops.

• Reimagine the orientation class to include what harassment and discrimination look like at Dickens Fair and how to address it.  Also include training on intervention and disruption protocols for harmful moments in and out of character. 

• All workshops with a social history credit must include a BIPOC component that has been preapproved by the paid staff leading the Diversity Committee.

• Develop learning and engagement opportunities for Pickwick Pass holders and other frequent guests to fair, in recognition of their commitment to and influence in this community.

• In the interest of continuously seeking competency in intercultural relationships, LoAD recommends that all Dickens Fair leadership include in their professional development annual opportunities to learn from BIPOC educators about diversity, equity and inclusion or the BIPOC experience via books, seminars, workshops, webinars and lectures beyond those offered by Red Barn Productions.

  • Recommended readings:

  • So You Want to Talk About Race | Ijeoma Oluo

  • Racial Justice, Racial Equity, and Anti-Racism Reading List | Harvard Kennedy School

  • A Black History Month Library

Conclusion

The above recommendations are addressed to Red Barn Productions and The Living History Centre because we are asking you to be leaders in the necessary culture change that will make Dickens Fair a truly magical, inclusive and safe environment for all to enjoy. True change and inclusivity at Dickens Fair will be made by the individual transformations of the 1000+ cast and crew members that give of their time and creativity to put on this production. Please do your absolute best to create an environment where the necessary learning and change can occur. 

These recommendations are not an exhaustive list of ways that inclusivity can be achieved at Dickens Fair.  We know that many of our fellow volunteers and castmates have wonderful ideas of their own that will make our fair all the better. We await the leadership of Red Barn Productions and the Living History Centre and commit to partnering with them on their stated goals as they support us.

As the black cast and crew members of Dickens Fair, we recognize that our liberation is tied to the liberation of all others. Because of that understanding, we wish to make it clear that we stand beside our Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Latinx, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Muslim, Jewish, disabled, neurodivergent and queer castmates and those oppressed by sexism and heterosexism.  This proposal is not only beneficial to black cast and crew members but is for the betterment of all who wish to participate in Dickens Fair.  It is our hope that the continued labor for creating equity will not rest on the backs of black women but be shared by all.