Anti-Racism in HSDC Service Areas
Systemic racism is endemic in our society, and HSDC’s services are not immune from this reality. As leaders in our fields, we must acknowledge that we cannot achieve HSDC’s mission of inclusive and accessible communities without becoming an anti-racist organization.
Racism and a lack of diversity have been issues in the nonprofit world for a long time, and there is still much work to be done. At HSDC, it shows up in:
- Our services for Deaf and hard of hearing adults, when BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) clients struggle to find interpreters that match their needs or find advocates that they feel safe with.
- Our services for Deaf and hard of hearing children, as BIPOC families face barriers to early childhood education and their children face bias in the classroom.
- Our clinical work, where there are not enough BIPOC audiologists and not enough BIPOC speech-language pathologists.
Becoming an anti-racist organization will help HSDC to remove the barriers that BIPOC people face when accessing our services. It is only then that we can truly make this world inclusive and accessible for all.
HSDC has made 11 commitments to becoming an anti-racist and anti-audist organization. Read the full statement to learn more.
Anti-Racism & You
If you’re wondering what it means to be anti-racist, or you just want to learn more, you’re not alone! There are many fantastic resources online and in book form. Here are some starting points.
- Above the Noise answers the question, “What Does It Mean to Be Anti-Racist?“
- The National Museum of African-American History & Culture provides tools for thinking about how anti-racism might impact your life.
- As with the rest of America, systemic racism has been a part of our local institutions for many years. Seattle has a long history of racism, and so does Washington State. In fact, anti-racist reforms were proposed in Washington over 50 years ago.
- It’s never too early to talk to your children about race and racism. Parents.com has tips for raising anti-racist kids.
- Looking for more information? The University of Washington has a thorough list of anti-racist resources. The Seattle Public Library also has a list of recommended books about anti-racism.