Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
This page includes our:
Land Acknowledgement
Community Action Pioneer Valley expresses gratitude for the lands and waters where we make our livelihood and home, and acknowledges that both rest on the unceded homelands of Nipmuck, Nonotuck and Pocumtuc Nations. We want to recognize these communities and the lands where they continue to live, recognize that they are connected. We pay respects to every member influenced by the colonial violence to which we owe our wellbeing.
The Nipmuck, Nonotuck, and Pocumtuck Nations are all members of the Algonquin-language speaking group of Native American tribes who have lived in the Western Massachusetts area for over ten thousand years. Their homelands stretch across both sides of the Kwinitekw (Connecticut) River, central Massachusetts, Northeastern Connecticut, and Northwestern Rhode Island. These Nations shared an intimate knowledge of ecologies, a wide network of trade, and rich inter-tribal relationships that have come to represent a deep relatedness with this land.
Centuries of colonization by English, Dutch and French pioneers has killed or displaced many of the Nipmuck, Nonotuck, and Pocumtuck people. Deadly conflict, disease, and efforts to erase their culture through forced assimilation has eroded their population in the areas where we work.
We express gratitude to these lands and waters, to the people who have protected and cared for them for millennia and the legacy that they have built in spite of colonization.
Equity, Belonging, Inclusion & Justice Alliance
The Equity, Belonging, Inclusion and Justice Alliance (EBIJA, pronounced eh-BEE-zha) works within Community Action to create a welcoming, respectful, appreciative, anti-racist, anti-bigotry environment inclusive of all people’s experiences and identities.
As an anti-poverty agency, our goal is to be a proactive organization that opposes oppressive forces and institutions and provides services with cultural humility and evolving awareness. We do this by nurturing continuous learning and open dialogue.
We want to be transparent about the work we do. Equity is important to us as an anti-poverty employer. Being aware of people need’s as an employer, Community Action strives to provide a welcoming inclusive and belonging environment. We hold space for Black, Indigenous and People of Color to come together and share experiences, learn together in a trusted-safe space that the agency has provided. By this, we aide a culture that is committed to engaging the voices of all people. Collaborating with Voices of Global Majority, EBIJA meetings are a space for collective understanding.
Because of EBIJA, the following subcommittees have evolved:
History work group highlights events around equity and diversity.
Peer dialogue explores different equity and diversity topics. The main intent is to educate.
Partnership for intersectional Inclusion, practicing LGBTQIA+ focuses and developing gender-affinity workplace
Voices of the Global Majority
Voices of the Global Majority believes that all staff should feel accepted and appreciated in their workplace so they can confidently be the best they can be.
Our mission is to provide a safe, cultural space for all CAPV employees who identify as People of Color (People of the Global Majority). This includes those who may not identify as being of Color, but whose ancestry is multi-racial and includes African, Caribbean, Asian, Latinx, Middle Eastern and/or Indigenous descent. We know what it is like to have some combination of these identities and yet work daily in a predominantly white space amidst the racial insensitivities and microaggressions that frequently occur.
Here at Voices of the Global Majority, we welcome you to join us in a culturally rich supportive environment to relax, laugh, share a snack, speak freely, discuss work challenges, and learn more about issues that concern us all. With your insights and experiences, we hope to continue to make a positive impact on CAPV's stated desire to uphold its core principles of valuing "workplace practices based on mutual respect, inclusion, transparency, and leadership development for all staff," as well as "everyone's right to live with dignity and to be treated with respect.
DISPLAYING OF FLAGS
Community Action Pioneer Valley hopes to be a workplace where our colleagues and clients are and feel respected and safe. The symbol of these flags demonstrates Community Action’s commitment to understand and celebrate our shared humanity and diversity. We wish to convey the message that all are welcome and belong to CAPV, especially those who are marginalized populations.
We are committed to listening, learning, and advocating for equitable services for all. We are grateful to be part of a community that stands untied in its commitment to continue working for equity for all.
