In its stated core values, Providence Players of Fairfax highlights its commitment to our member community as well as our broader community. Recent events – including the senseless loss of Black lives – have stirred the country. Providence Players stands with others in the theater community, our local neighborhoods, and those across the country who cry out for equality and justice.
Throughout Providence Players’ history, we have always taken seriously our commitment to bring our audiences stories that celebrate the depth and breadth of the human condition, and going forward the company will seek opportunities to honor and highlight the diversity and richness of the region we serve.
We are proud to be a member of the James Lee community. Providence Players performs at the James Lee Community Center, first built in 1948 to house The James E. Lee Elementary School for Black children at a time when schools were segregated in Fairfax County. The Center continues to carry the name of the African-American land owner whose son donated the land where the building sits today. We look forward to finding new and creative ways to honor and celebrate this rich history. We owe that to our home community and to those who walked the halls of the James Lee Center before us.
Providence Players plans to do more than just put words on a page. We pledge to put forth a plan of action to address equality and justice where we can, in fact, make an impact. And we will execute that plan with transparency.
To the Black members of our community: we see you; we hear you; we stand with you. We pledge to use our platform to advance the principles of inclusion, equality, and justice. We encourage all who share these principles to join us.
The Board of Directors of Providence Players of Fairfax
June 15, 2020