“JUUstice Washington is committed to the increasing, measurable manifestation of our valuing of equity, diversity, and inclusion in all of our work.” (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Position Statement 2018)
JUUstice Washington recognizes that gathering together across issues and social groups will inherently involve power differentials and that we will have varying degrees of awareness of those dynamics. We want to connect, communicate, and work together in ways that are less oppressive of those of us who are targeted by systems of privilege and oppression. So we ask everyone who participates in any kind of JUUstice Washington gathering to follow these guidelines and to help others follow them, too:
- Open by acknowledging the traditional Native inhabitants of the land on which your gathering is held (e.g., native-land.ca)
- Learn ahead of time about complexities, conflicts, and histories related to issues
- Stay engaged—even when you feel uncomfortable or challenged
- Cultivate an attitude of humility and be open to learning new things
- Do not try to fix the discomfort or pain of others
- Use “I” statements to express your own experience, thoughts, and feelings
- If you typically speak a lot at meeting, speak less and listen more; if you typically speak less at meetings, we welcome your voice
- Listen with the intention of understanding
- Allow for cultural interpretations and misinterpretations
- Practice becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable
- Center people of color when discussing privilege and oppression and their impacts (e.g., focus on how an issue, law, policy, … impacts people of color)
- Include intersecting identities and impacts of systems of privilege and oppression
- Focus on your impact rather than your intent, especially if you have made a mistake, caused harm, or not achieved your intentions
- Own and correct any mistakes (an honest “oops” is a good beginning)
- Accept admonishment with grace (accepting someone’s “ouch” is a good beginning)
- Expect and accept non-closure
- Protect confidentiality: bring lessons with you, but leave specifics at the gathering
(Adapted from Singleton & Linton, 2006)
*Intersecting identities and impacts include, but are not limited to, those related to sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, language, race, color, culture, ethnicity, nationality, national origin, marital status, geography, immigration status, generation, religion, ability, age, and physical appearance.
This page updated October 2019