THE CENTER

Our Racial Equity Work

For our programming and service provision to be truly equitable, and for us to achieve our mission, we must recognize and respond to the long-term, pervasive effects of all forms of racism on our community members, partners, and staff alike. Queer and trans people of color are directly and persistently impacted by systemic racism and economic injustice. That includes The Center’s clients, the majority of whom are LGBTQ Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color (BIPOC). We acknowledge the intersectionality of our clients’ identities and experiences, and aim to dismantle the multiple systemic barriers and oppressions that BIPOC communities face.

WHY WE ARE DOING THIS WORK

Our current efforts are built upon the previous pushes for internal change and we would not be where we are now without them. Yet, prior attempts to address racial equity at The Center have been ad hoc and have not produced transformative, lasting results. We have since dedicated financial resources, allocated staff time, and built leadership buy-in to help lead us toward substantive, structural change. We have committed to embedding racial equity principles into all internal and external work, to ensure a shared and consistent understanding around what is needed to improve.

WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS

From October 2019 – July 2021, these initial steps have included:

• Forming a Racial Equity Steering Committee (RESC), comprised of individuals that reflect a cross-section of our staff, to lead the race equity efforts.
• Partnering with Change Elemental via a year-long engagement to help The Center build organization-wide capacity around racial equity.
• Providing coaching sessions and trainings by Change Elemental for RESC members and co-leads, the Senior Leadership Team, Executive Director, and Board members. 
• Launching a Board Racial Equity Working Group to steward the Board around how it engages in racial and gender equity work and develops equity knowledge and skills.
• Initiating racial identity caucus groups for Black, BIPOC, and White staff members to process, support one another, learn and unlearn, and heal together. 
• Conducting an organizational assessment (including internal and external interviews and focus groups, internal surveys, and data and document analysis) to identify areas where The Center can improve, and to help us develop a multi-year action plan to advance the changes we need. 
• Forming four race equity implementation teams to enact the aforementioned action plan, focused on organizational identity, communications, education, and reflection. The first one to begin work (in August 2021) is the identity team, because the organizational assessment illuminated the need to more explicitly establish The Center’s mission, vision, and values as a foundation from which we can make other forms of structural change. Without this, The Center will maintain a white-dominant culture internally and continue to prioritize the comfort of white community members externally.

THE CENTER'S HOURS

Monday-Saturday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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COFFEE PROJECT NEW YORK

Coffee Project New York is a coffee retailer, roaster, and education center founded in New York City’s East Village in 2015. They work to facilitate sustainable sourcing, community initiatives, stable career growth for longtime coffee professionals, and increased access to economic opportunity for marginalized identities.

Hours:
8 a.m-7 p.m.