Mid-West Region Home Ownership Leaders’ Summit Past, Present & Future Reflections from our Host & Weaver – Maurissa Stone There is much to be said about how the social injustices of our past, as pointed out by Richard Rothstein, continue to stain our societal attitudes, values, and beliefs about BIPOC, those representing the LGBTQIA community, and others with intersections such as those with unique access and functional needs. We are aware of the intended outcomes of movements and legislation such as Civil Rights, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Housing, etc. that aim to create equitable institutions and systems. Unfortunately, we continue to fall short in creating measurable and impactful changes within our institutional, systemic, and organizational policies, practices and systems. We are living through a pivotal time in history that requires us to recognize and embrace the promise of an inclusive America. It also requires us to illuminate the wrongdoing of our federal and state governments, as well as industries, that pivoted from enslavement and disenfranchisement and gave birth to the new Jim Crow Era in which structural and systemic racism continues to remain in the forefront. A commitment to an inclusive society also means a commitment to an inclusive economy. Service delivery entities have a long history of creating racial hierarchies and white saviorism in communities of color. Race Literacy is a critical tool in beginning the tough conversations around race and how racism is leveraged within organizations and the housing industry. We must first begin the process of acknowledging the hierarchy of human value that was created and maintained by the myth of white supremacy and dismantle these values that are informed by such socialization. These valuations of people based upon their race, class, gender, sexuality, culture, nation and other identifying markers are maintained in our society’s operational norms. Racial healing and transformation can only occur when we develop a framework to analyze systems of oppression within our industry and organization’s operational norms. Conducting an organizational culture assessment can be used as a tool to determine if your organization’s outward facing value of equity and inclusion is in alignment with the actual operating norms of your organization and or industry.
Mid-West Region Home Ownership Leaders’ Summit: Past, Present & Future
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Dr. Stefanie K. Johnson author of Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams provides us with tools to create an inclusive culture: • • • • • • • • • •
Delete the word meritocracy. Follow the D-C-B-A principle. Define Criteria Before Assessing. Adopt a growth mind-set. Ban bullying and try giving. Lift people up, don’t carry them. Try reciprocal mentoring. Think right and left-not right and wrong. Prepare for perception. Choose equity over equality. Aim for inclusion.
How do we use what we have learned in these three days to make sustainable action in how we operate and conduct business? Homeownership and Housing Counseling agencies must recognize the value of including their operational eco systems in planning to include: • • • • • •
Food insecurity Employment Transportation Education Health Care Child Care
Racial Healing and Transformation We must begin with creating intersecting forums for Racial Healing and Transformation. This process begins with creating safe space within your organizations and communities for truthtelling. This is where community/staff members can learn about the history of oppression and racial inequity as it relates to housing, organizational culture or community. Holding space for community/staff to share openly about how their individual and collective experiences have shaped their racial experiences is an important part of the process. Holding space for racial healing will help facilitate systemic transformation. Race Equity Analysis & Organizational Culture Assessment It is critical to use an equity lens when designing or implementing programs that aim to enhance workplace policies, practices, and cultures. Racial Equity must be systems-based, race-explicit and outcome-oriented. This process must dig deeper than looking at the effects of systemic racism, such as individualized barriers to fair housing or employment, but also unpack the root causes and ways in which operating norms perpetuate structural racism. Creating outward-facing values of Race Equity is not enough; there must be goals that are specific and measurable. Mid-West Region Home Ownership Leaders’ Summit: Past, Present & Future
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Race Equity Analysis and a Blueprint for Action Planning: • • • • • • • • • • • •
Do BIPOC/LGBTQIA staff and with other intersections feel safe and heard regarding their concerns? How does the organizational leadership measure outward-facing values of equity? Does the organization have a process to conduct a Culture Assessment using a Race Equity Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) lens? How is data on race, ethnicity, gender, and zip codes collected and disaggregated? How is data on job retention, average wages, and advancement collected and used? How does the board of your organization connect in meaningful ways with individuals/communities served? How does the organization measure wellness beyond fitness and mental health days off? How did you help your communities thrive during the Pandemic and civil unrest? What are your 2021 REDI Initiatives? What are the current REDI challenges facing your organization, and industry? What tools and processes are you using to identify culture norms within your organization? What advice would you offer your peers to dismantling systemic racism in your industry?
Change is not an event, it’s a process! Starting the conversation regarding Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is the first step. We’ve done this here during the past few days. It’s up to you now to go back to your workplace, community and home and begin the process of reflecting about what role you play in gatekeeping the status quo and look for ways to begin shifting the lived experience for our coworkers and our community members.
Mid-West Region Home Ownership Leaders’ Summit: Past, Present & Future
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Key Terms •
Equity – is defined as “the state, quality or ideas of being just, impartial and fair. The concept of equity is synonymous with fairness and justice.
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BIPOC – Black Indigenous People of Color
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Internalized oppression can involve believing in negative messages about oneself or one’s racial group.
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Internalized privilege can involve feeling a sense of superiority and entitlement or holding negative beliefs about people of color.
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Institutional racism is racial inequity within institutions and systems of power, such as places of employment, government agencies and social services. It can take the form of unfair policies and practices, discretionally treated and inequitable opportunities and outcomes.
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LGBTQIA – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersectional, Ally
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Latinx - a person of Latin American origin or descent (used as a gender-neutral or nonbinary alternative to Latino or Latina).
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Race is a socially constructed system of categorizing human largely based on observable physical features (phenotypes) such as skin color and or ancestry. There is no scientific basis for a discernable distinction between racial categories. The ideology of race has become embedded in our identities, institutions and culture and is used as a basis for discrimination and domination.
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Racism – Prejudice, discrimination or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically on that is a minority or marginalized.
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R.E.D.I. – Race Equity Diversity and Inclusion
Mid-West Region Home Ownership Leaders’ Summit: Past, Present & Future
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