LEARN ABOUT OUR
Vision For An Equitable Future
Our Mission
The Southwest Washington Equity Coalition advances racial equity through dismantling structural white supremacy, creating transformational action, and advocating for our community. We remain rooted in Re-Indigenization, Black Liberation, and the emancipation of oppressed immigrants and Ancestral Americans.
Our Vision
We envision a future where the people, organizations, and systems in Southwest Washington are interdependent, thriving, and support our mutual liberation. We envision a future in which leaders in our community are working together, rooted in values of racial equity, are driving economic prosperity, housing, education, environmental justice, community driven development, and a criminal legal system that is rooted in restorative, preventative and liberatory practices.
We see our community as a garden, where the individual people, communities, organizations, and systems we navigate are important components of the ecosystem. Just as Indigenous communities understood the collective power and functionality of the “three sisters” (beans, corn, and squash), we understand that the people, cultures, organizations, and systems in our community each serve a unique function, and each possess their own needs and beauty.
Our Values
Transformational Relationships – We are invested in our mutual liberation. The Ogalala Lakota Sioux people have a saying, “Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ”, which translates to “all my relations” or “we are all related”. The creation of race was used to divide members of the human species, and to concoct a hierarchy of values. At SWEC, we understand that this hierarchy of values is the root of white supremacy culture, which harms all of us.
Belonging – We live in a community that prides itself on being supportive and helpful toward our neighbors. At the same time, though, it’s not uncommon to see and experience both covert and overt racism, both on the personal and systemic levels, here in Southwest Washington. SWEC simultaneously believes in the innate and inherent value of each human being in our community while understanding that practices of colonization, capitalism, slavery, and nationalism have led to the development of a social system that places more worth on the lives of some than others. Therefore, we approach belonging by centering those who have been left out and whose cultures have experienced erasure and oppression.
Targeted Universalism – We support and develop policies rooted in targeted universalism, a policy-development strategy developed by john a. powell, that targets those most impacted and works to uplift them, along with others, in a universal manner. If we, as a human species are all connected, then our success is also connected; targeted universalism uses policy to set universal goals, and then strategizes how to best center and prioritize those furthest from the goal first.
Hope – Abolitionist and community organizer Miriam Kaba once stated, “hope is a discipline”, and we couldn’t agree more. We believe in the vibrancy and power that is inherent in our communities of color and culture*, and we also believe that a different kind of future is possible – a future in which our collective liberation is celebrated and valued.
OUR THEORY OF CHANGE
IF THESE ASSUMPTIONS ARE TRUE…
Generational Wisdom: Knowledge passed down to us from our ancestors, embodied knowledge, and inner knowing must be honored and celebrated. Generational wisdom is how we will chart a course towards liberation.
Adaptive Leadership: We must adapt and embrace change. Rooted in generational wisdom, we must shift and morph current social, political, white-supremacist, and neo-liberal systems into ones that are nurturing and supportive for communities of color and culture.
Solidarity Dividend: We understand that what is good for communities of color and culture is good for everyone. If we succeed, then everyone succeeds.
AND WE UNDERTAKE THESE STRATEGIES…
Leadership Development: We support emerging leader of color and culture in learning how to serve on municipal boards, commissions, and other leadership roles. Our sister 501c4 organization supports candidates for public office that are committed to morphing or dismantling oppressive systems while setting a path for a more just future.
Cultural Celebration and Liberatory Research: We invest in our communities of color and culture in ways that support and celebrate generational wisdom. Rooted in community practices and generational wisdom, we will conduct community-centered research to inform our approaches, build our collective power, and develop more liberatory policies, programs, and practices.
Transformational, Relational Learning: We work with and welcome, white-bodied groups that are committed to our mutual liberation and understanding to learn with us. Together, we will approach learning opportunities with curiosity and openness to move away from systems of oppression and towards liberation.
THEN WE WILL SEE THE FOLLOWING FRUITS OF OUR LABOR:
Elected bodies representing our communities will be reflective of the communities they serve – we will have representatives of color and culture who also value a just future on school boards, city and county councils, and in state and congressional offices.
Leaders in local non-profits, educational arenas, corporate leaders and civic policy – and decision-making space will be people of color and culture who have engaged in our leadership development programs.
White bodied leaders in our community will have engaged with our organiaiton, and will embrace a “solidarity dividend” mindset, moving our community towards a more just future.
Our communities will be deeply involved in civic engagement – government leaders will seek, value and implement feedback from communities of color and culture, and our communities will actively seek opportunities to engage with our leaders.
Global languages, cuisines, celebrations and traditions will flourish in Southwest Washington.
Our communities of color and culture will experience increased and equitable access to health care, housing, education and high-quality jobs.
Southwest Washington will be seen, regionally and nationally as an example of what is possible when people build power across racial, ethnic and class lines, while still honoring and celebrating the diversity that makes us all unique.
* “People of color and culture” is a phrase coined by Resmaa Menakem to describe all bodies who have experienced racialized or cultural trauma.
* “Solidarity Dividend” is a phrase coined by Heather McGee, in her book, The Sum of Us