Metro Arts Commission, sicker by the day. Will Cheek to Resign amid Death Threats.

From The Pamphleteer, March 15, 2024- This morning, Arts Commission member Will Cheek announced that he would be resigning his post. In an email to Mayor O'Connell and the other arts commissioners, Cheek cites "death threats" and "intimidation" stemming from his opposition to Daniel Singh's initiative to "increase equity" in the funding process. Back in January, we reported on Singh's initiative to remake Metro Arts into a vessel for antiracism.

The resignation comes as a resolution put forward by CM Joy Styles and sponsored by CMs Jacob Kupin, Erin Evans, Ginny Welsch, Terry Vo, Jordan Huffman, Rollin Horton, and Russ Bradford sought to remove Cheek from the art's commission. The resolution cites Cheek's unwillingness to play ball in expanding equity in the department as the grounds for his removal, referring to the Metro Arts Cultural Equity Statement to make the case.

I could make some jokes here, but all I'm going to do is point you to a public statement made during the Metro Arts Oversight Committee meeting earlier this week in which much blame was placed on Cheek for failures that, by other accounts, arise from director Daniel Singh's poor leadership. Drink every time you hear "white supremacy."

As Metro Finance carries out its financial audit of Metro Arts, it will be interesting to see if this uneasy coalition that has emerged to deflect blame from Singh will persist. I'm feeling bearish about the whole thing and am taking up a short position on this mutiny.

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