The Board of Directors, staff, and members of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence join and support our partners in calling for an end to the discrimination and structural racism that underlie police brutality and state-sanctioned violence. It is our long-standing belief that all forms of violence and oppression are connected, and you cannot fight against one form of injustice and not fight against others. Today, we renew our commitment to pursue equity and inclusion. Our mission to end violence cannot be fulfilled until we identify our role in and dismantle the white supremacist systems and legacies that exist in our country. We understand that even though we are actively working on projects to foster and promote racial equity in Indiana, many of us at ICADV have benefitted from the structural racism that exists in our society and our movement. This issue belongs to all of us, regardless of race, and we all have a role to play in creating a solution. We, the Staff, Board, and Members of ICADV, are holding ourselves accountable both as individuals and as an organization in checking our privilege and moving the power we wield as an organization to end systemic racism. To ensure this commitment goes beyond words:
- We will work to create systemic change by reallocating funds and resources to center the voices of those who have been historically underrepresented and marginalized.
- We are re-aligning domestic violence services for the state of Indiana to be aligned with and supportive of communities of color.
- We will support and elevate the voices of Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)-led organizations and individuals doing anti-racism work in our communities.
- We will work to ensure our board, committees and personnel are more representative of the diversity of the survivors and communities we serve.
We know that undoing these structures and creating true equity in opportunity will take time and we are committed to being part of the change, within ourselves, our Coalition, our communities, and the state of Indiana. We will release our full Organizational Inclusion Development Plan at icadvinc.org/inclusion in the coming weeks. We invite our stakeholders to join us in creating their own Inclusivity and Accountability Plans, and to hold us accountable to our commitments. |
