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Cornish College of the Arts

Statement of Difference + Inclusion

Cornish College of the Arts is enriched by a diverse population of students, bringing their unique personalities and voices to their art forms. Placed in the vibrant city of Seattle, artists thrive among the wide variety of people and broad spectrum of creative thought that surrounds us. The College supports and engages the many cultural, personal, and spiritual facets of our community.

Cornish commits to demonstrating respect for individual expression and integrity; to promoting the equality of opportunity and rights of all persons within the community and to actively encouraging and maintaining the representation and inclusion of diverse cultures and backgrounds within the student body, faculty, staff and curricula.

We believe that diversity refers to a number of human qualities and characteristics. National origin, race, gender, age, socioeconomic background, religion, sexual orientation and disabilities are characteristics that combine in unique ways, forming the multiple identities we all hold. Those diverse characteristics contribute positively to the environment of Cornish and to an education that accurately reflects and contributes to the complex interplay of art, culture and society.

We hold ourselves responsible to fulfill the mission of Cornish by preparing students “to contribute to society as artists, citizens, and innovators,” and believe that the mission is best served by actively cultivating a positive environment in which to explore and express the diverse perspectives of a pluralistic society.

Statements from Leadership

Cornish News

Board of Trustees Extend President's Contract

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Office of the President

Cornish Statement on Anti-Asian Racism

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Office of the President

Cornish Statement on Racial Equity | June 2020

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Click below for information about the Office of Institutional Equity


Get Involved and Explore Resources

This list is a beginning. We will be adding to it in the coming days and weeks. Have you found information or resources you think we should share here? Send us a note >


Demand Police Accountability

Campaign Zero

Reclaim the Block

Elected Civilian Review Board (NYC)

Donate and Support

The ACLU, which provides legal services and support for a broad range of people with civil rights complaints.

The African-American Writers’ Alliance, a diverse and dynamic collective of Seattle-area writers of African descent, provides an informal and supportive forum for new and published writers.

The Atlanta Solidarity Fund is raising bail and bond money for jailed protestors in Atlanta.

The Bail Project, a nonprofit that aims to mitigate incarceration rates through bail reform.

The Black Embodiments Studio is hybrid arts writing incubator and a public lecture series dedicated to expansive and dynamic investigations of blackness in contemporary art.

Black Mamas Matter Collective is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance. We center Black mamas to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice.

The Black Lens is an independent community publication, based in Spokane, Washington, that is focused on the news, events, people, issues, and information of importance to the African American community.

Black Visions Collective, a black, trans, and queer-led social justice organization and legal fund based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Black Youth Project 100 is a member-based organization of Black youth activists creating justice and freedom for all Black people.

Brooklyn Bail Fund

The Center for Popular Democracy works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions. CPD strengthens our collective capacity to envision and win an innovative pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda.

Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas is the only local, nonprofit organization solely dedicated to presenting emerging Black arts, artists, and ideas in the Seattle area.

Color of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization.

Communities United Against Police Brutality, which operates a crisis hotline where people can report abuse; offers legal, medical, and psychological resource referrals; and engages in political action against police brutality.

Creative Justice builds community with youth most impacted by the school-to-prison-(to-deportation) pipeline. Participants and mentor artists work together to examine the root causes of incarceration, like systemic racism and other forms of oppression, creating art that articulates the power and potential of our communities.

The Crunk Feminist Collective (CFC) will create a space of support and camaraderie for hip hop generation feminists of color, queer and straight, in the academy and without, by building a rhetorical community, in which we can discuss our ideas, express our crunk feminist selves, fellowship with one another, debate and challenge one another, and support each other, as we struggle together to articulate our feminist goals, ideas, visions, and dreams in ways that are both personally and professionally beneficial.

Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

Fair Fight, an organization founded by Stacey Abrams that aims to end voter suppression and equalize voting rights and access for fairer elections

The Festival Sundiata, continues to showcase art, education, and entertainment which depicts the colorful perspectives, culture, and history of people of African descent.

Free Them All for Public Health, which aims to free incarcerated people amid the coronavirus pandemic, is raising money for people who have been arrested during New York City protests over the weekend. What doesn’t go toward local bail will reportedly be sent to other cities and COVID Bailout NYC.

Gansango Music & Dance presents traditional and contemporary dance and music from West Africa – drawing on the stunning talent of multicultural dancers and musicians.

A Gas Mask Fund for black youth activists in Minneapolis is raising money to buy gas masks for demonstrators who’ve faced tear gas during protests.

The Know Your Rights Camp, an organization founded by Colin Kaepernick that provides education and training in black and brown communities, set up a legal fund for Minneapolis protestors.

Kouyate Arts is an African performance company in Seattle, Washington.

Kutt‘N’Up is a dance family that consists of youth all over the greater Seattle area. Our mission is to succeed in all aspects of life including but not limited to grades, responsibility, and accountability.

LANGSTON is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization, established in 2016 to lead programming within the historic Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. LANGSTON guides generative programs and community partnerships that center Black art, artists and audiences and honor the ongoing legacy of Seattle’s Black Central Area.

Living Arts Cultural Heritage (LACH) improves lives, creates connections, and increases unity through education, community events, and creative projects rooted in the history of African Americans and other cultural identities in Kitsap County and the Pacific Northwest.

Minnesota Freedom Fund

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which supports racial justice through advocacy, litigation, and education.

The National Bail Fund Network has a directory of community bail funds to which you can donate, along with a COVID-19 rapid response fund. Another list of funds is available here.

Northstar Health Collective, a St. Paul–based organization that provides health services and support at protests.

Northwest African American Museum's (NAAM) mission is to spread knowledge, understanding, and enjoyment of the histories, arts and cultures of people of African descent for the enrichment of all.

Northwest Tap Connection is a distinctive urban dance studio specializing in Rhythm Tap. The studio’s philosophy is that dance enriches the lives of the students, while developing self-discipline, instilling self-confidence, and encouraging achievement and goal setting.

No New Jails NYC aims to keep the city from constructing new jails, and to instead divert funds that currently go toward the police and incarceration toward housing, ending homelessness, mental health, and other community support systems.

Onyx Fine Arts Collective is organized by the voluntary efforts of a group of artists and supporters committed to celebrate and promote the visual artwork of artists of African descent.

Justice for Breonna Taylor Petition 

Seattle Music Partners cultivates a diverse and vibrant music-making community by providing youth with free music instruction and one-on-one mentoring to eliminate racial and economic barriers to quality music education.

Umoja Fest honors our rich heritage while recognizing our ability to make history. The festival and parade celebrate our collective ability to make ourselves, our families, community, city, state, nation, and world a better place for our future generations.

Wa Na Wari creates space for Black ownership, possibility, and belonging through art, historic preservation, and connection. We are a center for Black art and culture in Seattle’s historically redlined Central District neighborhood.

Racial Equity Tools & Resources

City of Seattle: Racial Equity Toolkit

Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites

Black Lives Matters | Local Chapters

BlackPast.Org

Racial Equity Tools: Center for Assessment and Policy Development

Seattle Education Association Center for Race Equity

Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative Tools & Resources

School's Out Washington: Racial Equity Resources

Black-Owned Business to Support

Black-owned Bookstores [Publishers Weekly List

Black-Owned Small Businesses You Can Support From Anywhere

Black-Owned Businesses & Restaurants in Seattle