Funding parity should have been a given.

Even in the arts world … where success relies on grace and nuance in an artist's work, with the turn of a dancer's ankle or a playwright's phrase … complaining pays off.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts has come through with a full $5 million for South Jersey arts groups - this region's fair share. The Legislature had stipulated that artists and arts groups in the southern region receive 25 percent of the council's $20 million appropriation.

So receiving the full $5 million should have been a given. It hasn't been.

Last year, the council came up about $1 million short for South Jersey, neglecting some of the most prominent arts groups in the area, including the largest arts organization in Camden County, the Ritz Theatre in Oaklyn.

Supposedly the council made up the difference by giving money to North Jersey groups to perform in South Jersey. That approach was condescending to southern artists, questionable to administrators and a kick in the shins to community leaders trying to build up the local arts scene.

Overall, South Jersey arts groups, especially those in Camden County, were ignored or underfunded for decades. Legislation three years ago was supposed to have fixed that.

But coming into this fiscal year, the arts council was spending $5.52 for every person in Mercer, Middlesex and Essex counties this year, and only $1.07 per person in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties.

Now it's getting better. What's changed?

Basically, South Jersey made a fuss about it. This newspaper ran a string of articles on the situation and supporters of local arts groups made this into a campaign issue. The moral here is there are direct benefits to speaking up.

A case in point is the Ritz Theatre. The council last year denied the Ritz's request for general operating support. To make matters worse, the Ritz was going to have to wait years before being eligible again for a general operating grant.

But the Ritz's supporters were perhaps the most vocal among all the arts boosters. Now the theater has received a $15,000 special project grant to underwrite the premiere of a musical revue by Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz next month.

So our thanks go to all those who raised their voices to make this change, as well as to the legislators and members of the council who heard the outcry. And a reminder to all: Raise your voice, or be forgotten.