An Open Letter to the PMA

UPDATE: on Friday evening Jan 15th the PMA released this statement:
https://www.pilatesmethodalliance.org/Shared_Content/PMA-Blog/Business/We_got_it%20_wrong_again.aspx

We are encouraged by this news, will continue to hold them to account, and look forward to the actions described.
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January 15, 2020

An Open Letter on behalf of the Pilates Community

For decades many have enjoyed the fruits of the efforts of the PMA. Because we want it to succeed far into the future, today we write to insist upon meaningful change.

The Pilates Method Alliance, as evidenced by its name, has tried to bridge historical divisions in our communities. The only not-for-profit professional association dedicated to the Pilates field, it exists to advocate for and support the profession - and those teachers, studios, administrators, aficionados, manufacturers and others with whom it works.

This year, the PMA’s actions and inactions were perceived and felt by the broader industry to have damaged the reputation of the organization and those with whom they associate. Both its flat-footed response to COVID-19, Blackout Tuesday, and its racist, hurtful and insufficient response to the Black Lives Matter movement and conversations have had a negative, embarrassing, and lasting impact on the standing of all in the industry.

As much of the country came together this year to fight COVID-19 and support critical efforts to rebuild businesses, we looked to the PMA for guidance and support. Simultaneously many committed time, effort and resources to fight racism in all of its forms while learning to be antiracist, yet the Pilates Method Alliance disappointed and divided our communities. Its lack of transparency, communication, and leadership in both action and response have sullied what could otherwise have been a transformative, unifying moment.

On December 29th, 2020, a Town Hall convened by the Diversity, Equity, and Community Committee intended to address issues of racism but only further exposed the limitations of the PMA and its current leadership. This further inflamed the issues that the community had been actively working to heal, and reinforced for many the toxic reputation the PMA had garnered.

On January 12th, four of nine newly appointed and elected members of the Board of Directors, each a black woman, resigned.

We are PMA members, non-members, presenters, former presenters, sponsors, former-sponsors, contributors, volunteers and vendors, and collectively we can no longer stand by the subversion of the PMA’s own mission “to provide a proactive voice for a unified community of Pilates professionals.”