Terry Blackhawk

Michigan Nightlight: What does being a leader mean to you?
InsideOut Literary Arts Project Founder and Executive Director Terry Blackhawk: I find being a leader very humbling. InsideOut is blessed by a devoted staff and board of directors whose energies and insights help make us who we are. The growth of InsideOut has been largely organic and intuitive and open to new possibilities. We have grown by following how, as Robert Frost would say, “way leads on to way.” I feel successful as a leader when I am able to blend energies of people and connections and envision new possibilities -- new ways of enriching our service to young people. 
 
What is your dream for kids?
That they will find personal affirmation, connection with others, and the ability to work hard and persevere through discovering and sharing their creative voices.

...no discussion of educational policy is complete without an understanding of the central role that the arts can play in positive youth development, academic success, personal well-being, and responsible citizenship.

 
What is the one concrete thing that can be done to improve the environment for social sector work in Michigan?
I learned recently that there are well over 47,000 nonprofits in the state of Michigan. I honestly don’t know what to make of that figure. It’s overwhelming to think of the dreams, struggles and hours poured into each separate entity, the fatigue on the part of individuals and donors who are inundated with requests from all sectors -- all good, all worthy, all vying for the same limited resources --and the amount of energy required to maintain oversight of all of these endeavors. We drown in this sea of ink, this chorus of appeals.  
 
As for social sector work in the arts, however, with which I have more familiarity, there are fine independent support organizations, such as ArtServe Michigan and the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan, or our state run Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs that would benefit greatly from increased financial support, with which they could in turn benefit their memberships.
 
A good model for support such as this is the City of San Francisco, which levied a hotel tax over 35 years ago dedicated specifically to supporting the arts. The arts and the city have flourished.
 
I also believe that no discussion of educational policy is complete without an understanding of the central role that the arts can play in positive youth development, academic success, personal well-being, and responsible citizenship.
 
How do you know you’re making progress?
The increased number of students served by InsideOut from year to year, the requests from other cultural organizations to partner with us, evaluations that point to clear evidence of students’ growth as readers and writers, the eagerness of professional writers to make a difference by working with InsideOut – these, in addition to recognition through important

I am proud of the courage of our youth poets who hold audiences spellbound with the passion of their words.

awards, all let me know we are moving in the right direction.
 
What are you most proud of?
I am proud when our students attribute some measure of their success to InsideOut. I am proud of the courage of our youth poets who hold audiences spellbound with the passion of their words. I am also proud that InsideOut won the 2012 Closing the Gap Award from New Detroit. I hold New Detroit’s mission of fighting racism and economic disparity in highest regard and feel honored that we were recognized as a group that fulfills their goals. 
 
What are the most significant barriers to persuading schools, parents, etc. that art matters.
There is no lack of evidence of the effectiveness of arts education in ensuring student success and school transformation. Studies have pointed this out for years. Most recently, the President’s Committee for the Arts and the Humanities has released an all-encompassing research report that needs to be widely broadcast.