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A Statement from the Board of Directors of Locust Street Art:
For over 65 years, Locust Street has prided itself on being a welcoming and inclusive space for all members of our community and has existed to serve marginalized populations within the City of Buffalo and beyond.
We are aware of the recent and very disturbing incident in which a Jewish community school was denied access to Locust Street Art’s services based on a misguided and inaccurate assumption regarding its affiliations and values. This decision was made without the knowledge or involvement of the Board of Directors and was wholly inconsistent with the policies and values of our organization.
As soon as members of the Board were made aware of this serious issue, we directed the Executive Director to retract the decision. She also issued a sincere and unqualified apology to the school. The Program Coordinator who communicated the decision to the school also apologized for this serious lapse in judgment and joins in the Executive Director’s apology. We hope that the school, the public, and our supporters will accept these apologies. We also recognize that this is only the beginning of the process.
The Board has already taken several steps to ensure that nothing like this happens in the future. The Program Coordinator is no longer employed by the organization, and we have instituted a policy that a denial of services is never permitted unless it has been vetted and approved by the Board. We also will require our Executive Director and all other staff to undergo additional diversity, equity, and inclusion training. The Board will also participate in these trainings.
Finally, we have postponed the Annual Art Show, which was scheduled for June 22nd. Taking this step back will allow us time to reflect and continue to discuss any other steps we need to take to ensure accountability, attempt to correct the harm that has been done, and prevent something like this from ever happening again.