Board Statement regarding racial equity
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We believe that Black Lives Matter. We stand in support of racial equity and social justice.
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We acknowledge that:
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There have been historical injustices of structural and systemic racism
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We need to be part of the movement for racial justice
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There is a sense of urgency.
We commit to:
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Take responsibility for our actions, including when we allow people to be mistreated
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Educate ourselves on an individual basis and as Compass Center Board
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Collect more data regarding who we serve and the needs of our community
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Review our policies and look through a racial equity lens and seek to correct biases that we discover
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Go outside our networks and work to increase board diversity
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Reassess the Compass Center strategic plan
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Support openness and honesty among the board so differences of opinion can be shared and heard
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Be open to feedback and collaboration from staff, clients and volunteers
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Create a culture of inclusion
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Create measurable goals to hold ourselves accountable to these commitments.
We will advocate for:
- Agencies and organizations with which we interact to demonstrate their efforts to improve racial equity and social justice
- Clients who we may have underserved in the past by seeking to understand how to reach out to them or lower barriers to accessing our services
- Each of our employees who have experienced inequity in their work with us or with agencies we interact with.
We will challenge ourselves to
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Understand where we need to improve: our desire to correct injustice does not automatically mean we will be able to see it more clearly. We will need focus and assistance to create measurable improvements.
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Learn effective ways to implement change in vision and practice
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Open our conversations to a diverse range of voices.