Feature: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access – Community Access Shares our Work Towards Becoming an Anti-Racist Organization.

There can be no social justice without racial justice. We are proud to share the work we’re doing and the path we’re taking to do this important work.

Over the past several years, Community Access (CA) has embarked on a journey to become an explicitly anti-racist organization. Our journey began with reflection and assessment, and included establishing a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access Steering Committee (DEIA) and developing an action plan to move this work forward.

The DEIA Steering Committee is made up of staff at all levels from across the organization. The Steering Committee is charged with leading CA’s efforts to become an explicitly anti-racist organization and ensure that CA practices promote diversity, equity, inclusion and access across the agency.

In addition to other priorities, such as the rollout of CA’s Racism in the U.S. training to all staff and hosting drop-in sessions to provide staff support and celebrate diverse cultural traditions and identities, the Steering Committee developed Community Access’ Racial Equity Statement and established racial equity as a core organizational value. We are happy to be able to share the statement with a wider audience here.

Racial Equity Statement:
Becoming an explicitly anti-racist organization is critical to our mission. Systemic racism is at the root of generational inequity that persists in our country, and impedes access to education, housing, healthcare, career advancement, wealth and economic stability, safety, compassion, and fulfillment.

We name racial equity as a Community Access core value because we have not done so in the past. We are committed to understanding and addressing the harms caused by racism and anti-Blackness in the lives of the participants we support and the people who work at Community Access. This commitment exists alongside the need to address power dynamics that function across other group identities such as disability status, gender, sexuality, religion, and socio-economic status.

We are committed to:

• Increasing inclusion, belonging, equity, and access so that we can be a part of a world where anti-racist activities are the norm, both within our organization and in our advocacy in the wider community.
• Examining our agency culture, practices, protocols, and habits with an understanding as to how they advance or impede our anti-racist journey.
• Identifying harms BIPOC participants and staff experience systemically and personally while working to correct our practices, even when this means having brave conversations and changing.
• Providing transparency by reporting on key Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access metrics.
• Dedicating resources to ongoing anti-racist work and learning from our successes and our challenges