Yesterday, on day 1 of Musical Showcase: Broadway's Best of the 21st Century, a child made a not-mean-intention-ed but inappropriate comment about the new Annie movie ("Yeah, but they cast some black chick as Annie. That's not going to work, she won't have red hair and freckles."). Our instructor addressed the concept of multi-racial casting in response. First thing this morning, I get an email from one of the camper's mothers (the camper is a friend of said commentator) saying her daughter, although liking the group and the instructors, felt that the way the incident was dealt with was blown out of proportion. She is upset and withdrawing from camp. I sent this in response:
Hi .......t,
I'm very disappointed to hear this. I'm wondering if ..........did not accurately relay the events of yesterday. A student in her group said, "Can you believe a black chick is playing Annie in the movie?" and then went on to express that she thought an all-black Annie was a bad idea. While this comment may not have been said with mean intent, it was absolutely something that needed to be addressed. The teacher didn't bring up the actual comment but did address the cast about "rainbow" or multi-racial casting. I can assure you it was addressed quickly, in a very level headed manner, and was witnessed by a full time staff member, who agreed that the comment needed to be addressed in order to make sure everyone in the company felt safe and respected.
We very surprised upon hearing the news of this email. I would hope that you would feel very positive about a camp which is run by instructors who promote acceptance, ensemble, and do not tolerate disrespectful comments, however innocent the kids may think that comment was.
I would encourage ......... to confront this issue, rather than quitting it. We would be happy to discuss the situation with you and .........before camp today to help her (and you) contextualize the incident. I would also encourage you to remember that all stories have three sides to them, and it's important to get a clear picture of what happened before making a decision as big as this one.
Nikki
I mean, maybe throwing away two weeks commitment and $800 isn't a big decision....
Also, this is the response you get at 8:30 in the morning before coffee.
Just a few minutes after this email, I got an email from the parent of this camper's friend, the one who made the insensitive comment. They discussed it last night and how it could make others uncomfortable and she felt bad about it. She thought it was a good lesson for her to learn and is hoping today goes more smoothly. I told her that we would give her some extra TLC to send the message to her (and the rest of the kids) that you can fuck up sometimes and we'll still love you.
Interesting that the parent of the child who made a mistake is fine, even grateful, for our response, but a parent of a bystander camper (who is hearing the story third hand) is withdrawing after one day.
Fascinating, right?
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