Ronee Penoi, Director of Artistic Programming at ArtsEmerson
WHAT’S YOUR BIG IDEA?
Activating decolonization.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
It’s really about creating a more just society and investing in people’s futures. It’s climate justice, racial justice, and economic justice all rolled into one.
The lure of infinite time and money causes Ronee Penoi to think big—like systems big. The director of artistic programming at ArtsEmerson wants to change the way our government thinks about and treats people—not only in the US but also globally.
Penoi says this means structural change on every level. “The government we have right now—there are ideals behind it, but it isn’t working effectively.”
Imagine what could be possible if elected officials listened to and followed the leadership and guidance of people of color who experience the greatest impacts of climate change. “We need to shift our economy and mindset from an extractive to a regenerative way of being,” Penoi said. “Sure, it’s wind energy over fossil fuels, but it is also participatory budget practices, more shared leadership, and centering people and relationships over profit and transaction.”
An influx of funding for large-scale justice initiatives (combined with top-to-bottom campaign finance reform) would allow our elected officials to be held accountable for their actions (or inactions) by voters, rather than by those who fund their political campaigns, she said.
But it’s not as simple as throwing money at a problem. There’s deep transformational healing and reconciliation work that needs to be done in our country for people who have been traditionally marginalized by our systems, and by those who control them.
Penoi believes our leaders should seriously look at reparations for ancestors of slavery in this country, as well as returning land to Indigenous peoples whose tribal nations signed treaties with our government centuries ago that have been ignored.
“The biggest obstacle [in accomplishing this] currently is the folks who don’t want to feel like they are losing power. Sharing power can feel like loss,” Penoi said.
But without widespread change, injustice in all of these areas will only be magnified, she said.
“I always quote the People’s Climate March tagline: ‘To change everything, we need everyone.’ That said, not everyone will show up in the same way, or at the same time. We can’t wait for others to save us; we’ve got to move forward imperfectly now,” she said.
