Our Equity Statement
We at Presence Collective hold ourselves accountable, as board members, staff, leadership, and partners, to diversity, racial equity, and anti-racism.
Through the lens of social justice, we are actively creating an internal culture that is responsive to the needs and experiences of people from diverse backgrounds. This includes commitment to weaving equity into all aspects of our work, humbly acknowledging our areas of growth, and aspiring to deliver programming and content that is trauma-informed and accessible to all.
This is a dynamic, ongoing, developmental process that we are committed to for the long-term.
June 2020
Collective grief. Collective anger. Collective longing for justice.
The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless others are rooted in historical and ongoing racism, white supremacy, inequity, and systemic oppression.
We need collective action.
At Presence Collective, we are committed to anti-racism and social justice in every facet of our organization. To borrow the title of Rhonda V. Magee’s powerful book, we are committed to The Inner Work of Racial Justice and larger structural change. When taught as inseparable from social justice, mindfulness can give rise to healing, compassion, empathy, altruism, healthy relationships, and a wise heart. It can create empowered schools and communities within which students can thrive and experience safety and true belonging with one another. We are dedicated to realizing this vision for all, particularly for Black, brown, and Indigenous communities.
Racial equity and social justice are central to our core values. And, as a white-founded organization, we have much more learning and growing to do. Our work and commitment will not go away when the current protests die.
There are many ways to participate in antiracism. Here are a few of the teachers we have worked with and learned from directly:
As well as other teachers whose work has deeply impacted us:
This is the beginning of a long list of teachers who use mindfulness and social justice in powerful ways. We encourage you to support their work, learn from them, and share them widely!