Vashon Senior Center Statement Against Racism

The Board of Directors and staff of the Vashon Senior Center are deeply troubled by the injustices and racism against Black Americans that have been brought to the fore in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. We add our voices to the millions of people working to end the systemic racism that exists in our country. We know this is a divisive issue, but we hope that you will join us as we do the work to overcome inequities in our own organization and community. Racism has no place at the Senior Center.

Our Board of Directors revised our strategic plan in February and unanimously adopted diversity and inclusion as a strategic priority. We have never addressed these issues so directly, and we know we have a lot of work to do to implement this strategy and integrate these priorities into the fabric of the Center. We are energized to do the work ahead to ensure that our commitment to social justice and equity is at the core of everything we do.

Change starts from within, and we pledge the following:

We will work harder to be a community of inclusion, certain in the knowledge that we can always do better. We will examine our assumptions, unconscious biases, power, privilege, and judgements. We will not tolerate discrimination in our organization and will treat everyone equally, no matter the color of their skin.

We are committed to social justice and all it encompasses: respect for the dignity of every individual, and awareness, tolerance, and acceptance of our differences, be they race, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, political leaning, language, class, or socio-economic status. We fully acknowledge that the Center is lacking in racial diversity in our membership, in our staff, and in our board of directors – yet we can and will do better.

We are committed to leading by example and will begin an honest evaluation of our organizational and operational practices to ensure all voices are heard and reflected. As a first and foundational step, we will implement anti-racism training for all staff, board, members, and volunteers to better understand how systemic racism has created barriers to racial justice. We will ask ourselves the tough questions and seek to dismantle racism within our own organization. We will openly honor diversity and work to understand the core needs of our community in designing services and materials to meet those needs strategically.

Black Lives Matter. We encourage everyone to educate themselves on racism, to speak up, and to stand up for racial justice. #blacklivesmatter