Rachelyn Noworyta, Executive Director, Locust Street Art
Kinsey O’Brien, Board President
Shanel Kerekes, Board Vice President
Simone Ragland, Board Treasurer
Heather Gring, Board Secretary
Bradley Bethel, Board Member
Kevin Kitchen, Board Member
June 12, 2024
Dear Executive Director Nowoyta and Locust Street Art Board Members,
It has come to my attention that Rachel Shanowitz of Ohr Temimim School in Amherst recently sent an email inquiring about your services, expressing an interest in working with their middle school students on projects involving ceramics. Morgan Arnett, representing your organization, sent a reply stating “unfortunately, upon further review of your organization, we have found our missions are not aligned and we will not be able to set up programming with your school. It seems we are on opposite sides of a great ethical divide and cannot in good consciousness work with a pro-Israel organization that supports the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
This is deeply troubling on many levels. A review of Ohr Temimim School’s website describes it as an Orthodox Day School where Jewish children of all backgrounds are educated; “Our teachers and staff bring a warm, loving atmosphere to each classroom. They work with every child to inspire a love for learning and Jewish traditions.” Furthermore, it is accredited by the Education Department of the State of New York and follows the same guidelines and curriculum as public schools in the region. The website makes no mention of the Israel-Palestine conflict or even the state of Israel. In fact, students there participate in an incentive program that keeps them motivated to do mitzvot and good deeds. In the absence of any Israeli-related political statement on their website, it seems abundantly clear that Ms. Arnett’s decision on behalf of Locust Street Art demonstrates overt antisemitism.
Your organization receives significant public dollars. Your organization for 2024, Locust Street Art, received $34,500 from Erie County, an increase from $30,000 in 2023. In an annual filing for charitable organizations for filing year 2021, you listed total contributions as $195,802, which included $16,162.00 from the SBA, $36,000 from the New York State Council on the Arts, and $28,500 from Erie County. In addition, Erie County recently invested $50,000 in capital funds for ADA improvements.
Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 maintains; “no business is allowed to turn away a customer based on the person being a member of the following protected status: Race or color, national origin or citizenship status, religious beliefs, sex, age, veteran status, disability or pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity.” I cannot in good conscience continue to support providing public dollars for an organization that would discriminate and show such hostilities to a school that simply wanted to partner with Locust Street Art for art classes for its young students.
Your stated mission on your website proclaims, “Where Art is for everyone.” You go on to state that: “We offer a variety of Community Supported FREE studio arts classes from age 4 to senior adult, low-cost specialized workshops and custom services to our community and beyond.” The denial of offerings by Morgan Arnett runs counter to that mission statement. Personally, I was incredibly impressed with the presentation your organization provided to the Erie County Legislature at budget hearings last November, which is why Ms. Arnett’s words are so shocking to me.
I do understand that a follow-up email was sent by the Executive Director, apologizing for the earlier decision and your organization’s “lapse in judgement.” While I appreciate the outreach, it troubles me that it required a full day of reflection to come to this conclusion when it is quite clearly antisemitism. Meanwhile, the damage has already been done. No mention was made of whether Morgan Arnett would face any disciplinary action or mandated cultural sensitivity training, and whether she was truly sorry for her divisive and hurtful email that made some very broad assumptions, and wrongly brought young, innocent people into a political conflict.
Irrespective of one’s personal political beliefs, organizations like yours are provided with public dollars based on their stated mission. Ms. Arnett’s email response brought back painful reminders of another time that this country has worked hard to keep in the past. Please advise as to what further steps your organization plans to take to ensure something like this never happens again.
Sincerely,
Hon. Christopher Greene
Erie County Legislator