Statement of response to the El Sistema-inspired community

The following is a statement from the El Sistema USA President, Katie Wyatt.  El Sistema Indianapolis stands with those who have experienced oppression and injustice. 

"We mourn with the many families across America who have suffered incredible losses due to over-policing, racial profiling, and systemic oppression. While the most recent death of George Floyd is the focal point of the current news cycle, it is a system of institutionalized oppression and repressive policing tactics that impact many of our member organizations and families. We recognize and grieve these circumstances, and are committed to working to change them."

The following is a quote from the founder of the El Sistema movement, Jose Abreu:

​(El Sistema is) “No longer putting society at the service of art, and much less at the services of monopolies of the elite, but instead art at the service of society, at the service of the weakest, at the service of the children, at the service of the sick, at the service of the vulnerable, and at the service of all those who cry for vindication through the spirit of their human condition and the raising up of their dignity."