Recognizing Black History Month
Today is the start of Black History Month and we are reflecting on our work to lift up and center Black lives, Black freedom, sovereignty, resistance, and Black people’s struggle for justice in the U.S. As a non-Black immigrant-led organization, we recognize our responsibility to be accountable to the Black community and take seriously our commitment to centering Black lives in our collective work.
For the past two years, we have been working to understand and incorporate an abolitionist framework throughout the entire organization. Here are just a few initiatives that we are working on:
During the 2020 uprisings for Black Lives that called to Defund the Police, Unite Oregon took an abolitionist approach to advocacy work and organized with partnering community leaders and organizations to put on the first Black Existence March and an educational Summit in early 2021 to bring staff, community members, and partners along in this work.
We are continuing to convene the Black Policy Table and are cultivating strong partnerships with Black leaders and organizations to pass policies that will work towards an abolitionist future.
We launched the African Women’s Leadership Cohort in Washington County, a civic leadership program for emerging African women leaders to build relationships, gain civic and political knowledge, and develop community organizing and leadership skills.
This month we’ll be sharing more details about each initiative and we plan to roll out more programming and events this year that will continue to highlight our efforts in organizing with Black community members. We know that shifting our work to more deeply reflect our values as an organization will ensure we continue to uphold our Six Pillars and mobilize a strong statewide base with political power and the capacity to advance racial justice in the state.
Follow us this month on our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn), and sign up for our e-newsletters to stay in touch!
