Statement Against Racism by Community • Education • Arts:
Community • Education • Arts (CEArts), a small all-volunteer nonprofit 501(c)(3) Arts organization, is based in Noblesville, the county seat for Hamilton County, Indiana. CEArts condemns intolerance, racism, prejudice, discrimination of any kind against any persons. We believe Black Lives Matter, we believe the lives of all people of color matter, we believe LBGTQ lives matter, we believe the lives of women matter, we believe the lives of people with disabilities matter, and we believe freedom to safely practice any religion matters. CEArts supports the Black Lives Matter movement, and encourages Black artists, musicians, and writers to participate in our arts projects, events, and opportunities.
Although our organization is based in a city, county, and State that is predominantly white and historically a white conservative Republican stronghold, we recognize there are many people here, aligned politically as Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, who stand with us against racism and prejudice of all kinds. The murder of George Floyd by law enforcement officers added yet another name to a too-long list of murdered black Americans in our country. We condemn the January 6,(2021) violent insurrection against our democracy by white domestic terrorists incited by the former president and GOP members of Congress. Our organization condemns all violent racist and discriminatory actions of government and law enforcement officers and administrators, and we respect the dedicated antiracist law enforcement officers and administrators who do their jobs without hurting others. We believe in the right to peacefully protest to raise awareness for change, action, healing, and to show support and unity.
We know systemic racism exists in America, and our country needs to put an end to it. Racial inequality intersects with other aspects of people’s identities, including gender, sexuality, religion, disability, and ethnicity, and we believe America must use an intersectional approach to be a truly equal and antiracist society. We believe that we must speak out against hate, violence, and systemic racism, especially when they take lives of our brothers and sisters. One step towards ending systemic inequity in America is for people and businesses to speak out and take action to support people of color as allies. We encourage support for organizations like these: Noblesville Diversity Coalition, Indy10 Black Lives Matter, The Bail Project, Kheprw Institute, and Indianapolis Urban League.
There is power in numbers, in votes, in signatures, and in dollars donated. We encourage you to use the resources available to you for good, for change, and ultimately creativity and justice for all. ~ Heidi Luerra, Founder & CEO, RAW: natural born artists
We believe that intolerance, racism, prejudice, and discrimination against any persons, in any place, by any human being, by any public or private business, by our schools, and by our government goes against the ideals upon which our democracy must stand — justice, equality, and liberty. We believe the Arts enhance the world we all live in, and can work towards justice, equality, and liberty by changing people’s perspectives and by bringing people together. We strive to show the Arts are essential, relevant, vital, and accessible to quality of life FOR ALL. In our arts projects, we’re honored to include creations from artists, writers, and musicians from all over the world from all walks of life.
CEArts is the home of diverse Arts-related projects and opportunities for creatives of all kinds. We host online Arts Showcase exhibits, a podcast, short video series, and produce two annual projects, Noblesville Interdisciplinary Creativity Expo (NICE), and The Polk Street Review (TPSR) publication. All of our projects, events, and opportunities support community participation and involvement by seeking submissions from all kinds of creatives (art, music/song lyrics, poetry, prose, photographs, etc) with all levels of experience from amateur to professional. We offer publishing services, a variety of workshops, podcast discussions, short videos, webinars, and more throughout the year, with our annual NICE main event occurring in the Fall and the annual TPSR book launch occurring in February.