Racial Equity

The BIPOC subcommittee of the Domestic Violence Steering Committee of the greater Harris County area collaboration, supports the development of policy to combat racism and its effects. The subcommittee recognizes that the issue is a threat to the viability and health of staff, volunteers, and those we serve. Racism often manifests itself systemically, culturally, and interpersonally. The subcommittee is committed to engaging in actions that break down the walls of racial inequality. We strive for an environment where those we serve do not experience the barriers of racism. We further strive for all staff of partners within this collaborative to feel included, heard, and valued without the barriers of racism. Actions the subcommittee is proposing include but are not limited to:

1. Racial Equity Workgroup – The Racial Equity Workgroup is comprised of select subcommittee members from agencies across the Greater Houston Area. The purpose of the workgroup is to address the systemic, cultural, and interpersonal issues of racism, to make recommendations to the Steering Committee regarding partner agencies policy, and to establish best practice recommendations for the collaborative.

2. Host Partner Agency Conversations – The subcommittee is committed to offering strategic meetings where the partner agency teams are encouraged to share issues they are facing. The effort will include a cost sharing program where partner agency staff can anonymously report incidents of racism so this information is tracked and opportunities for accountability and change occurs.

3. Training – The subcommittee is seeking viable training for partner agencies’ staff as needed to include proposing a select microaggression video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ9l7y4UuxY as part of the onboarding process of all partner agencies.

4. Evaluate Internal Practices – The subcommittee is committed to continually evaluating internal policies and procedures to ensure a consistent eye is on racial equality in all aspects of the collaborative.

The BIPOC subcommittee recommends that each member organization of HCDVCC include the following language in their DEI policies regarding equity vs equality:

While the terms equity and equality may sound similar, the implementation of one versus the other can lead to dramatically different outcomes for marginalized people.

Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. Therefore, racial equity recognizes and acknowledges the oppression and subjugation of racial minorities and strives to achieve fairness depending on current status and need. Racial equity is intentional and provides the resources and opportunities needed for BIPOC staff so they can reach an equal outcome to their white counterparts.

In addition, ORGANIZATION NAME prioritizes racial equity for Black and Indigenous staff first due to their being the recipients of the most severe and ongoing oppression and thus discrimination and maltreatment.

“The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone justly according to their circumstances.”
—Paula Dressel, Race Matters Institute 1