Black Staff Members Of The Long Beach Opera Resign Following Allegations of Racism and Misogyny

Three Black long-time staffers of the Long Beach Opera have officially resigned, according to The Los Angeles Times, and an open letter posted to Facebook on Tuesday. The trio cite “a culture of misogyny” and “racial tokenism” among other issues as the factors that led to their collective decision.

The Black Opera Alliance – which is the nonprofit that released the letter to their Facebook page – defines themselves as an org that “empowers Black classical artists and administrators by exposing systems of racial inequity and under-representation of the African diaspora in all facets of the industry and challenging institutions to implement drastic reform.”

The BOA has made it clear that they will “continue to stand in solidarity with the signatories of the resignation letter and everyone who stands against systemic inequity in opera.”

While minister of culture, Alexander Gedeon, associate artistic director Derrell Acon and education manager Elijah Cineas have only recently made the letter public, it was actually submitted to the Long Beach Opera’s board of directors back in December of 2021. Within the letter, each of the three contributors agreed to fulfill their duties assigned to them and their respective productions throughout the remainder of their on stage runs. Alexander Gedeon however, found himself unable to continue, and released a personal statement within the same 24 hours.

“STIMMUNG”, the first show of the organization’s 2022 season, and canceled this past Monday, was originally scheduled to open this weekend. With Gedeon as the show’s director, unfortunately, the curtains were closed on the production before they were even opened. At the time of the show’s cancellation, the Long Beach Opera revealed that it was in the midst of an investigation into the allegations that were made in the letter.

In citing allegations of misogyny, the letter states:

“This is an environment where women are marginalized, silenced, and devalued. This is an environment where the work of women is not honored by upper leadership. Women are not leaving because they have found better jobs. They are escaping because the environment is toxic. We are advocating for colleagues who have not had the channels, empowerment, or permission to speak up against this toxicity for fear of being punished.”

The letter additionally states that when it comes to the racism that pervades the culture of the organization, that despite addressing these issues in leadership committee meetings in 2021, “the problem is endemic and indicative of larger issues” including “a lack of the required skills and commitment to devise a cohesive leadership model, and a lack of initiative to authentically share power in the leadership structure.”

As far as the future of the “STIMMUNG” production, Gedeon hopes it will eventually come to fruition. “STIMMUNG is a dream project incubated for years”, he stated. “The collision of my personal values with the status quo resulted in pulling the plug for the human integrity of everyone involved. That said, the work of the singers, designers and directors on STIMMUNG was absolutely extraordinary. I trust it will still see the light of day.”