There is resurgence on the conversation around racial diversity in the arts and culture workforce. African-Americans are particularly underrepresented relative to population in cities like New York and Los Angeles. There is a call for shared strategies and models to increase the pipeline of diverse arts administrators. The journalism and business, when faced with similar diversity challenges thirty years ago, created unique, mission-specific organizations committed to increasing racial diversity in their fields. The author conducted research, interviews and surveys on three of the most successful programs, The LEAD Business Program’s pre-college summer institutes; the Urban Alliance’s work study program for high school students; and The Emma Bowen Foundation's multi-year media/ journalism internship and scholarship program for college students. The author concludes with recommendations as follows (1) The LEAD Business Program pre-college summer institutes and university arts presenting programs should collaborate; (2) K-12 arts education programs should expose students to the business of the arts; (3) Arts service organizations like the Association for Arts Professionals (APAP), Americans for the Arts and Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) must lead action-oriented convenings that affirm the need for data collection, the value of racial diversity in the arts workforce and connect stakeholders and potential funders to programs like the Urban Alliance and Urban Arts Alliance; (4) establish a database of internships, highlighting diversity internships, and market it to African American civic, social and educational groups.M.S., Arts Administration -- Drexel University, 201
