By Elizabeth Myong
Dallas Morning News
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News
The city of Dallas will cut about $248,000 in funding for cultural programming and redistribute the money to other arts and culture organizations.
The Dallas City Council has voted to cut city funding for cultural programming to Dallas Black Dance Theatre and redistribute the roughly $248,000 to other arts and culture organizations for the upcoming year.
Georgia Scaife, president of DBDT’s board of directors, saidin a written statementthe dance company is “deeply disappointed” by the City Council’s decision.
“The City’s decision will undoubtedly negatively affect the Dallas community through its impact on our ability to deliver the programming and outreach that have defined our commitment to this community for decades,” she said.
The news comes after Dallas Black Dance Theatre reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board on Sunday after the agency found merit to dozens of unfair labor practice charges made against the company.
The dance company is required to pay dancers over $560,000 in back pay, front pay and damages incurred through loss of their employment, according to the settlement. DBDT is also required to send letters of apology to the dancers and provide training to managers and employees.
On Oct. 23, the council paused funding to the dance company while it waited for a decision from the NLRB.
The council voted 11-4 in favor of cutting funding. Council member Adam Bazaldua, who voted in favor, said he hopes the decision is a “wake-up call” for the dance company.
“Just as much as we’ve heard how prized of an organization this is, everyone has to work on maintaining their reputation. It’s not just given,” he said.
He called for leadership change and criticized the organization’s current board structure. Moving forward, Bazaldua warned the dance company that they could face the same lack of funding the following year if significant changes aren’t made.
Council member Carolyn King Arnold strongly opposed cutting funding to the dance company, expressing concern about how it might affect the Black community.
“I’m going to say no I don’t support cutting their funds if indeed it may cripple a program that represents the culture in this city that we don’t have many of,” she said.
Terrell Rogers Jr., one of the dancers who was fired from the company, said he felt a mix of emotions after the City Council vote: happy, relieved and also slightly hopeful.
“I don’t see Dallas Black as a place that is willing to change, but hopefully from the pressure that came from the City Council meeting today, the [Dallas Black Dance Theatre] board will start to consider making some some serious shifts and alterations with leadership in order for the organization to survive,” he said.
Griff Braun is the national organizing director with the American Guild of Musical Artists, which represents 10 dancers who were fired from the company. He said while the NLRB settlement provided dancers with some justice, more must be done.
“I think the City Council did the right thing today,” he said. “Our feeling was that as long as that same leadership is in place at the company that nothing significant has changed.”
An advisory committee to the council will review which arts groups could receive redistributed funds.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
