“We Are UCLA”

 

On February 26, 2023, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music sponsored the groundbreaking Music and Justice Concert, featuring Dave Brubeck’s “The Gates of Justice.” UCLA Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) piloted a partnership with the School of Music to advance inclusion through academic mission, with great thanks to our partners including Chancellor Gene Block, Dean Eileen Strempel, Professor Mark Kligman, Professor Arturo O’Farrill, Professor Neal Stulberg, Lisa Garibay, Beth Kraemer, Vice Chancellor Anna Spain Bradley, Dr. Linda Clowers, Anyssa Llerena, Kris O’Daly, Rusty Klibaner, Dustin Newhouse, and Angela Lee.

Follow the journey of the Bruins featured below, students, staff, faculty, and alumni, as they experienced the evening’s intersection of art, social justice, and inclusion. 

we are ucla campaign from the Music and Justice event series collaboration between the office of equity, diversity and inclusion and the herb alpert school of music. the graphic features 9 portraits of vip edi guests, and the following language: we don't all look the same. we don't all speak the same languages. diverse backgrounds and difference experiences make us unique. our ability to be a community that values our individual identities makes us strong.

Testimonials from Bruins

desirae barragan
“
Together as a community we can come together and amplify voices and experiences in creative avenues like song. The ability to make space for all encourages unity in a safe and inspiring way. Justice can be honored through music.
Desirae Barragan (UCLA Class of 2023, Undergraduate, Human Biology and Society and American Indian Studies)
anya booker
“
Music has the capacity to register notes of representation and recognition of our range of humanity, and to stir up our connection long before we were taught that difference is seeded in hate. We meet each other in the truths and truth-telling of keys, tonality, lyrics - and more – always reminding us that what is indelibly signified is the fullness of all that we are – whoever we are. In the sound and the silence, and all that’s in between, we learn that inclusion is to hold one another as our “brothers’/sisters’, indeed - everyone’s keeper. That is to say, we are the incantation of dreams born of our diverse imagination, and free to demonstrate an arrangement of solos and choirs inspired by honoring souls - one to another. With inclusivity, we are the expression of all of our identities in communion and in concert.
Anya Booker (Associate Dean, UCLA School of Arts and Architecture)
jade elyssa cariaga
“
Access to the arts is a human right. As ever, the artists have masterfully woven elements of sentimentality with the somber contexts these elements were created. Experiences like this invite discovery and recognition across communities, building bridges through perceived differences while simultaneously honoring our unique perspectives.
Jade Elyssa Cariaga (UCLA Alum, Chair of UCLA Committee on LGBTQ Affairs)
ashley ceballos-hernandez
“
Tonight’s Music and Justice concert has been very transformative for me personally as it is my first exposure to this genre of music. It is extremely inspiring and beautiful to listen to these stories in the form of music. Seeing this inclusion and diversity on stage is incredibly inspiring.
Ashley Ceballos-Hernandez (UCLA Class of 2023, Undergraduate, Public Affairs and Labor Studies)
donald zelaya
“
Music is a profound way to express ourselves artistically. Activism is how we express our commitment to justice and inclusion. It only feels right to blend music and activism creating a synergy of expression as we build community and ignite justice within our hearts. Activism is an art and art is a form of activism.
Donald Zelaya (Class of 2023, Graduate, Public Policy)

Photos from the Concert

 

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Photo Credits: Juan Tallo, Dustin Newhouse, and Angela Lee