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Want an "Impeach Racism" magnet? Read to the end.
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John:
In the sobering wake of the disastrous 2016 election, the National Partnership has challenged each and every attack on women and families by Donald Trump.
We continue to be horrified by his brazenly racist policies, immoral agenda, relentless lies and impeachable corruption, and we have redoubled our efforts to stand strong and speak truth to power.
Together, we have fought back.
But there’s more to this story.
In addition to our external resistance, we started looking inward as an organization to grapple with the issue of racism — the pervasive, systematic and insidious reality of racism in the United States.
Racism is everywhere.
No organization is immune. And that includes the National Partnership, which has been led and staffed predominantly by white women since its founding in 1971.
For us, what began in 2017 as a comprehensive assessment of our organizational priorities and practices — to be the most effective advocacy organization possible in the Trump era — rightly transitioned into an intentional and intensive process to help ensure that the National Partnership promotes racial equity, centers the lives and lived experiences of women of color, and combats all forms of racism, discrimination and oppression.
That’s why we recently set a significant, six-year staff diversity goal, for all levels of seniority, and are improving our hiring practices in an attempt to build a more diverse pool of qualified applicants for each and every open position.
To be authentic, transparent and uncomfortably vulnerable, we invite you to walk alongside us on this journey. Check out the new Racial Equity page on our site and the "Why" document that explains why racial equity is a top priority for our internal and external work.
A few days ago, we printed a "Why" poster and encouraged staff to sign their name as an expression of commitment and solidarity. It now hangs outside our recently renamed “Dolores Huerta Conference Room” for all visitors and staff to see.
We are also engaging diverse new vendors and consultants, such as Freedomland Media, an amazing firm owned and operated by two Black women who produced this video.
I share this inside perspective because, while we have a long way to go, I’m encouraged that we are taking steps in the right direction to ensure we live and work by our values.
The work of advancing racial equity is ongoing, and it will take time.
We cannot ignore that our nation was built on white supremacy and that progressive movements have perpetuated harm by not working through a lens of racial equity and inclusivity.
We recently wrote about this complicated history when we decided not to celebrate Women’s Equality Day because the women’s suffrage movement betrayed Black women, indigenous women and other women of color.
To the best of our ability, the National Partnership is working to end our complicity in upholding the status quo.
We're interrupting our past behavior, and I am immensely proud of each and every staff member who is working to center women and people of color and doing so in an intentionally inclusive, anti-racist way. And I am so thankful for the trailblazing women of color on staff, past and present, who are helping us advance racial equity with integrity.
We will stumble. We may even fall down along the way. But we will keep forging ahead, together.
That's how we plan to do our part, and I hope you will join us.
With your help, let’s impeach racism ... once and for all.
With deep gratitude,
Debra Ness
President
P.S.
John, we’re thinking about creating an “impeach racism” magnet or sticker for 2020. Click thumbs up or thumbs down if you like that idea, and we’ll move on it if there’s enough interest. Thanks!
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