Margie Quinn, Social Justice Intern

A few weeks ago, I attended the People's Institute Northwest's Undoing Institutional Racism workshop as part of the Housing Alliance’s anti-oppression efforts. The two-day workshop was held in the Rainier Christian Church basement. I was one of 40-some participants. Facilitators asked us to examine how systems of oppression play out in our day-to-day lives and what we can do to challenge these systems. Many participants in the room were local community, nonprofit, and education leaders. The Seattle Police Department was even represented.

I sat down with fellow attendee Tabitha Jensen, Teen Feed executive director. Teen Feed is an organization that offers case management, meals, and other basic needs to homeless young people in Seattle and Auburn. I asked Tabitha to further explore the question asked at the beginning of the workshop: Why is it important to undo racism?

M: Why is it urgent to undo racism from a youth homelessness perspective?

T: Approaching anti-racism work through the lens of an organization serving homeless youth is complicated. We are not only invested in racial equity as it pertains to the systems and institutions that a homeless youth encounters while trying to survive on the street, but also striving to impact the systems and institutions that may act as a barrier (or a resource) once housing instability is attained. Nearly every governmental and corporate system touches on youth homelessness in some way — education, housing, employment, criminal justice, healthcare, etc.

Each of us has abundant opportunity to made headway in racial equity work if we seek out community partnerships that focus on our own unique professional experience or field of subject matter expertise. I believe that half the battle is taking the first step and maintaining momentum even when the end goal of undoing racism feels overwhelming and intractable. The choice to look away and maintain the status quo just doesn’t feel like an ethical option, particularly for any white person drawing a salary from human services work.

M: What are some practical ways you see moving forward with Teen Feed’s anti-racist efforts?

T: Teen Feed is making efforts to examine how race impacts the lives of our guests, as well as those who work and volunteer for the organization. These conversations are a routine part of staff and board meetings, as well as shared email forwards or print articles. We consider a candidate’s commitment to anti-racism work as part of our hiring practices and seek to mirror the diversity of our client base in the faces of our staff, interns, volunteers, and board members. Teen Feed is an endorsing agency of the Washington CAN racial equity agenda for 2014 and plans to travel to Olympia in support of advocacy days and related ad hoc hearings. We are also conscientious of our role as a predominately white organization providing services within communities of color. Our meal programs, for example, are a great opportunity for Teen Feed to recognize and be mindful of how white people occupy space. Our staff feels comfortable redeploying volunteers away from the meal service line and working short-staffed if it means we’ve balanced the racial composition of meal times.

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M: What still resonates with you from the “Undoing Institutional Racism” workshop? What are you still chewing on?

T: A week after the workshop, I am still struck by the exercise where participants shared what they “like most about being _______,” filling in the blank with their standard racial categorization. For example, as a white person, I said that I liked getting way with breaking most traffic laws and presenting in a counterculture fashion (i.e. piercings, tattoos) without my professional credibility being questioned. When people of color shared what they liked most about being Black, Asian, Latino, etc., they most often referred to characteristics such as strength and perseverance, as well as cultural values, music, and food. What was disheartening about this exercise is that it was clear that all of the white people in the room, including those who appeared suspect of white supremacy, were able to clearly communicate privileges that they are routinely afforded simply by being white. I found this to be a very interesting study in cognitive dissonance.

Only a few weeks after the workshop, my mind continues to revisit the thoughtful conversations from the church basement. While learning about how systems of oppression impact people experiencing homelessness or housing instability, the task to undo these systems seems overwhelming. Facilitators asked, “Why is it important to undo racism?” And we in the room gave such responses as: “We are losing richness and power as a community.” “Because the youth we serve don’t have time for it.” “Because I don’t want my child to be a statistic.” One woman walked in late and after hearing everyone else’s responses, raised her hand and said, “It is urgent to undo it because we can undo it.”

The Housing Alliance believes that the movement toward providing everyone in Washington with safe, healthy, and affordable homes begins with dismantling systems of oppression. Like Teen Feed, we have taken on an anti-oppression initiative in hopes of better understanding how we can authentically do justice work in the state. In order to maintain integrity in our work, we must constantly ask ourselves, “what are we really willing to do to change this reality?” There's much work to be done, and we hope to hold each other and those in our communities accountable to do it.

For more information about People's Institute Northwest's Undoing Institutional Racism workshop: pinwseattle.org.

For more information about Teen Feed's work: teenfeed.org.

Stay tuned for more information about our growing anti-oppression initiative.