May 12, 2021 - Noelle Scaggs - "Diversify the Stage"
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is proud to welcome Noelle Scaggs, co-lead vocalist of alt-pop band Fitz And The Tantrums, as she discusses “Diversify the Stage”, the organization she founded in the spring of 2020 with a focus on transforming the concert, events, and touring industries to increase more diverse representation.
In less than a year, Diversify The Stage has set forth long-term change by partnering with the Music Forward Foundation to create educational and mentorship programs followed by paid internship/apprenticeship placements, in addition to working with NeverFamous.com to create a technical solution to hiring qualified touring staff. The organization is actively engaged in building a culture of accountability that establishes more inclusive hiring practices and greater access to equitable opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ); and Female-identifying and Gender Non-conforming individuals. Diversify The Stage has gained support from the biggest players in the industry, including Live Nation, Live Nation Urban, WME, UTA Music, Azoff Company, Elektra and Atlantic Records, The Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), and the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), The Event Safety Alliance, Roadies Of Color United, lighting collective EVEN Network, as well as, stage suppliers and designers Clair Global and TAIT.
Follow on IG and FB @DiversifyTheStage and @DiverseStage on Twitter.
About the Still Waiting Speaker Series:
"Our ancestors fought for what they expected to be a very different outcome than the one we are currently experiencing. The racial gulf has widened, and we are fighting battles that are bewildering to those of us who know the struggles of others who came before us."
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and its Inaugural Dean, Eileen L. Strempel are proud to launch Still Waiting, a new speaker series that invites the public to join UCLA students in conversation with prominent figures invited by the school’s Anti-Racism Action Committee (ARAC), to help us understand ourselves and our response to this deeply hurtful moment in our nation’s racial reckoning. Still Waiting invites us to demand better of our communities and better of our actions in response to the tangible effects of racist policing, academic and institutional indifference, and methodologies that may bridge the gap between feelings of alienation and feelings of sanctuary and refuge for us all.
About the ARAC:
ARAC, the Anti-Racism Action Committee of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, is a non-hierarchical group of students, staff, and faculty members committed to changing the atmosphere of our Bruin community by addressing issues of bias, marginalization and discrimination toward black, Indigenous and people of color and other intersectional communities.