Introduction:
Neighborhood Partnerships has adopted a racial equity statement. We know that all of us need a safe, stable and affordable place to call home, and financial stability and security to allow us to reach our fullest potential. We also know that those are not yet available to all.
We choose to focus on equity across race and ethnicity because we know that racism has been baked into our institutions, and results in deep, pervasive, and systemic inequity. We know that groups and individuals are also marginalized because of their identities, including gender, sexual orientation, ability, age, and history in this country, to name a few. Those identities may also intersect with race. We will not neglect those by focusing on racial equity, but are aware that shifting the deep and historical structures of racism requires a direct and focused approach. Universalist or “race neutral” strategies have failed time and time again. Focus and specificity are necessary to forging real solutions.
A racial equity framework that is clear about the interplay of individual, institutional and structural racism, as well as the history and current reality of inequities, will crosscut other marginalized groups, and lead us toward a more equitable Oregon for all.
Neighborhood Partnerships Racial Equity Statement
Neighborhood Partnerships’ mission is to help create a better Oregon, one in which we all have access to opportunity, stability, and what we need to thrive. For us, this begins with financial well-being and a stable, affordable place to call home. Our work calls on us to engage all Oregonians: indigenous tribes; residents whose families have called Oregon home for generations; folks who arrived just recently—from elsewhere in the U.S. or the world. Whether we live in cities, small towns, or rural lands, we all need resources to build a better future for ourselves, our families and our communities.
The reality in Oregon today is that for generations, white people have structured and benefitted from institutions, policies, laws, and systems of oppression, while denying people of color power, resources, and access. At Neighborhood Partnerships, we see this history embedded into racist and inequitable institutions and systems for providing housing, economic stability, and prosperity. This historical and ongoing injustice is reflected in inequitable and disparate outcomes. Until we dismantle this structure, there is no way all of us—black, brown, and white—will reach our full potentials.
Neighborhood Partnerships will work to confront and disrupt the barriers and racism that are persistent and pervasive in our organization, our culture, and our public systems. We recognize that we are both late and new to this work. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the leaders, individuals, and communities of color who have been doing this work and who have helped show us the way forward. Neighborhood Partnerships’ work will focus on creating structures that will build a more equitable Oregon. We will share decision making and power with those impacted by decisions, and move resources to the communities that most need them. Together we can create an Oregon where all of us have the sense of belonging, stability, and the resources that we need to work toward our dreams today, and for generations to come…creating opportunity for all Oregonians.
Learn more about equity at Neighborhood Partnerships
