Washington Race Equity & Justice Initative

The first act of our independent Board of Directors was to reaffirm its dedication to the Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative.

We commit to:

  1. Work together with, take guidance from, be part of, and hold ourselves accountable to community-based movements in communities most affected by structural racialization and structurally racialized systems.

  2. Change structures, policies, processes, and practices in the law, legal profession, and justice system that allow harm and disparate outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and communities of color to continue unabated.

  3. Promote and support legal, systemic & public policy changes that advance race equity & racial justice, recognizing that differently situated groups may require different strategies to achieve more equitable outcomes.

  4. Continuously examine whether we and the organizations we work with operate in ways that align with the race equity and justice values and goals we support. This commitment includes ensuring that race equity is reflected in policies and practices for recruitment and hiring, work acceptance, priority-setting, governance, organizational culture, communications, and community partnerships and accountability, particularly with low-income communities of color.

  5. Continually explore how race and poverty intersect to make worse the impacts of racial discrimination.

  6. Expand and strengthen the REJI alliance to include diverse partnerships and the sharing of our resources with anyone who is committed to dismantling structurally racialized systems.

  7. Ensure our organizations invest in active, ongoing learning that will teach us to see, reveal, and transform structures that create racialized outcomes and push communities of color outside the circle of human concern. This commitment requires that we help members of our organizations and communities to actively and expressly challenge the use of racist language and behaviors, openly listen when we ourselves are challenged, and learn techniques and tools for reducing and eliminating implicit and explicit bias.

Learn more about the Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative.