Simpson Housing Services Racial Justice Taskforce

The purpose of Simpson’s Racial Justice Taskforce is to strive for racial respect and understanding.

We expect to address broader issues of culture through the lens of race and/or racism. We hope to foster an environment that promotes dignity, inclusivity, diversity, and trust for all staff, volunteers, interns, and participants. All persons associated with the agency are encouraged to challenge their own and others’ biases, assumptions, prejudices, and gaps in knowledge.

We acknowledge that we are approaching race within the context and perspective of the U.S. and our work is specific to our environment.  We believe that race is a social, political, and economic construction.

Definitions
Prejudice: Adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts
or
Irrational suspicion or fear of a particular group/race/religion.  These prejudgments are formed from minimal experience and generalized to a larger group.

Race: A socially and politically construct that attempts to categorize people based on physical characteristics, common history, nationality, genetics, language, etc.

Individual Racism: Is the belief in the superiority of one race over another.

Institutionalized Racism: A system of power and privilege, it can be manifested in people’s attitudes, but is rooted in society’s structure and is reflected in different advantages and disadvantages that groups experience based on their location in the societal system. Margaret Anderson and Patricia Collins.  2001. Conceptualizing Race, Class and Gender. Race Class and Gender, p. 71. 

Racial Justice: Fair treatment that promotes dignity, inclusivity, diversity and just share of benefits based on racial respect and understanding.

Inclusivity: Actively promoting and including diversity in the agency’s activities, policies, opportunities, attitude, and environments to enhance the richness of community and work for all.

Culture: Integrated patterns of human behavior that include thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of racial, ethnic and social groups.

White Privilege: Invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on one group, perceived to be white, from birth. Peggy McIntosh. Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.

Discrimination: Prejudice put into action. 

Affirmative Action:  Policies intended to promote access to employment or education for protected classes.

Whiteness:  A social and political construct that attempts to categorize people based on physical characteristics (especially pale skin color), common European history, nationality, genetics, language, etc.

Protected Classes:  Populations identified by the law generally defined as race, sex, age, disability and religion.

Employment

Board of Directors

Annual Report

Directions

HOME