On Tuesday, March 19, Wells Fargo invited company leaders and staff as well as arts innovators throughout the region to join its Courageous Conversations discussion series.
“We believe that corporate America has an opportunity – and maybe even an obligation – to start conversations like this,” said Heather Hunt-Ruddy, head of Client Experience and Growth at Wells Fargo Advisors. “And to our team members, we want you to know that you can come to work every day and be your authentic selves.”
The courtyard area of Wells Fargo’s campus was transformed into a performance space where a discussion was held on race, diversity and inclusion framed around Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ upcoming world premiere of “Fire Shut Up In My Bones” by six-time Grammy winner and Oscar nominee Terence Blanchard.
“Never before has a corporate funder invited us to our headquarters to have an important conversation about race and any deep important issue with art as an anchor,” said Andrew Jorgensen, general director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
The panel was moderated by Gene Dobbs Bradford, president and CEO of Jazz St. Louis, which is co-commissioning “Fire.” It included hip-hop artist Bates, Joanna Mendoza of the Ariana String Quartet, and Wells Fargo Advisors Senior Vice President and Advocate Coach David Dawkins.
“Fire” is based on the autobiography by New York Times columnist Charles Blow.
“Taking up Charles Blow’s memoir – this incredibly powerful story of abuse, of race and one man’s journey to find forgiveness and self-acceptance – is the heart of what great opera can be, and it resonates in the world that we live in today,” Jorgensen said. “Opera does not have to be a museum piece that reflects the stories and experiences of the 17th and 18th century.”
The 45-minute panel discussion focused on race and the arts. It touched upon consumer bias in hip-hop, audience discrimination at the opera, the frustration of being in a black art form with a mostly white fan base, and building diverse audiences by creating a reflection of the audience on stage.
“If you want a more diverse audience, you will have to get more diversity on the stage,” Mendoza said.
Blanchard offered evidence of this when he spoke of the lone black man he saw playing in the orchestra during his first trip to the symphony as a young child growing up in New Orleans. “I watched him the entire time,” Blanchard said.
Dawkins talked about the experience of being the lone black in the audience when he decided to visit the symphony in The Bronx as a youth growing up. The stares and the attitude of the patrons made him uncomfortable, to say the least.
“There is a stigma associated with opera,” Dawkins said. “There’s the ‘they don’t belong here.’ And not only are ‘they are not supposed to be here,’ but they certainly aren’t supposed to be performing it.”
“Fire” takes that notion and turns it on its head. According to Jorgensen, that is the premise of the “Bold Work, New Voices” series that commissioned both “Fire” and Blanchard’s 2013 debut opera “Champion.”
“My mission is to reach as many people as I possibly can and to let them know that they have an authentic home at the opera,” Jorgensen said. “And that’s not just us saying, ‘Come like our thing.’ That’s actually telling stories that speak to people and finding the powerful ways to tell stories through music that will speak to a larger swath of our community.”
Blanchard gave props to Wells Fargo and its willingness to invest in the arts through a broad range of programming.
“Being here at Wells Fargo drives home how important it is. I know that these are bankers, and bankers want to see a return on investment. But you won’t see your return right away,” Blanchard said.
“I’m the perfect example of that. I’m the product of programs that have been funded by corporations like this one. If it weren’t for programs like that, I would have been out on the street doing things that I shouldn’t have been doing.”
Courageous Conversations, which has been in place for a few years, engages company staff and leadership around the subject of diversity and inclusion.
“It is really fascinating how many people have a better sense of the concept of privilege – and how it feels to be in someone else’s shoes,” Hunt-Ruddy said. “We’ve had courageous conversations about race. We’ve had courageous conversations about gender. We’ve had courageous conversations about sexual orientation – and about abilities.”
But this is the first time that Wells Fargo invited outsiders, and Hunt-Ruddy hopes that it sparks a new trend.
“I want corporations to feel like they want to be a part of it,” she said. “I want the community to feel like they can talk about it, and I want our team members to know how dedicated we are to continuing it.”
