Catholic Charities Addresses Ongoing Racial Justice Work

 8/25/2020 – Catholic Charities Addresses Ongoing Racial Justice Work

On June 17, 2020 Catholic Charities released a statement regarding the recent tragedies that brought to light the fears and injustices that Black Americans have faced every day for generations. In it, we stated our commitment to becoming a positive participant in addressing issues of racial injustice, both within our organization and in our larger community.

We have been meeting regularly with our staff to explore possibilities for how we can address racial injustice within Catholic Charities. All employees are invited to participate in he development of short-and-long term plans and goals for racial equity within our organization. With support from the Executive team and our Board of Directors, we have formed a work group to continue the discussion of how we will address issues of diversity, equality, inclusion and racial justice.

Goals outlined by our work group include:

- Educate staff on the historical context of current racial tension in the United States, including expanding organizational vocabulary to include terms relating to racial justice.
- Acknowledge and address systemic racism, and evaluate our policies and practices through an anti-racist lens.
- Examine our demographic data in our hiring process, board, and staff to more accurately reflect
the racial diversity of the community we serve.
- Look at stakeholder and collaborator relationships to ensure the inclusion and active support of
our Black, Indigenous, and POC* communities in all work we do.

We recognize that this conversation is ongoing, and that we are at the beginning of a cultural
shift. Our staff, collaborators, clients, and volunteers are vital contributors to this effort, and continue to provide
ideas and feedback about how we can improve our work. We commit to this work in an effort to Honor Human
Dignity, understanding that we cannot fully affirm the dignity inherent in every human life without recognizing
and working against racial injustice, both internally and within our community.

We welcome feedback from our community. To join the conversation, please visit
https://www.ccasfnm.org/feedback.html.
(*People of Color)
(Photo credit: Tara Armijo-Prewitt)

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