Catskills Folk Connection on Racism

Catskills Folk Connection’s mission is to conserve and celebrate the expressions of everyday life of all people in the Catskill Mountain region. The mission is founded on an underlying belief in cultural equity. Our focus on folklore, folk art, and folklife provides a way toward an inclusive society made up of diverse groups, communities and individuals, whose ways of life are significant and are deserving of equal support and respect.

Therefore Catskills Folk Connection, in solidarity with communities of color throughout the United States, and with other folklorists and their organizations in New York State and beyond, offers our support of the Black Lives Matter movement in its quest for justice for people of color and for the eradication of institutional racism. We deplore the nationwide ongoing violence against communities of color and recognize that now is the time for us, all of us, to engage in difficult conversations with family, friends, colleagues, and others within our communities.

Catskills Folk Connection affirms its commitment to be part of the societal change that will alleviate racism in all its forms, that will counter stereotyping and scapegoating among our region’s residents, and that will promote equal rights and equal access to cultural and economic prosperity for all. We pledge to seek diverse leadership for Catskills Folk Connection, to continue efforts to expand our programs with marginalized groups in the Catskills, and to increase our support for local and community scholars.

--- Ginny Scheer, Folklorist