At the Shoreline PTA Council General Membership meeting held on November 22nd, 2021, our membership voted to endorse the WSPTA Resolution 2.26 which is entitled “Dismantling Institutional and Systemic Racism.” The following are some notes from the FACE/DEI team’s presentation at this meeting. Our intent was to summarize the resolution, highlight that this is a call to action for all PTAs in our state, as well as offer information about how Council is intentionally striving to take antiracist actions in accordance with this resolution.
Resolutions seek to address problems, situations or concerns which affect children and youth and which require action for solution. Formally, a resolution is a statement about the will or intent of the association. Resolutions are a call for action by the state PTA and its constituent bodies (areas, councils or local units).
To summarize this resolution, we picked out a few statements that we felt are most meaningful in considering what committing to this means to our PTAs.
WSPTA Resolution
From the Whereas section:
Whereas, systemic and historical dehumanization of Black, Indigenous, and people of Color (BIPOC) communities is deeply embedded in every aspect of our society, including government, healthcare, our economy, housing legal and justice systems, and our schools;
Washington State PTA’s vision is that every child’s potential becomes a reality, which can only happen in a just society that places equal value on every person’s well-being, education, and safety. Every child means just that, every child;
Whereas, PTA recognizes that it can either be a racist or acti-racists association, as there is no neutral space, and therefore must be committed to dismantling the systemic and institutionalized racism faced by BIPOC students and families and increasing authentic engagement with BIPOC families;
Whereas, the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee states “gaps are not due to our students’ and families’ failures, but rather the failed responsibility of our system”
The “whereas” section acknowledges the existence of systemic and structural racism and that it is the responsibility of the systems, not the individual students and families, to change in order to better serve and educate all children. It makes clear the PTA’s commitment to being antiracist in action, in order to create a more just society in which every child can thrive.
The resolution essentially offers PTA organizations a task list to direct their DEI work:
Be it further resolved that Washington State PTA and its local PTAs and councils commit to being anti-racist and look within to end practices that adversely affect our BIPOC students, families, and communities by:
Resolutions seek to address problems, situations or concerns which affect children and youth and which require action for solution. Formally, a resolution is a statement about the will or intent of the association. Resolutions are a call for action by the state PTA and its constituent bodies (areas, councils or local units).
To summarize this resolution, we picked out a few statements that we felt are most meaningful in considering what committing to this means to our PTAs.
WSPTA Resolution
From the Whereas section:
Whereas, systemic and historical dehumanization of Black, Indigenous, and people of Color (BIPOC) communities is deeply embedded in every aspect of our society, including government, healthcare, our economy, housing legal and justice systems, and our schools;
Washington State PTA’s vision is that every child’s potential becomes a reality, which can only happen in a just society that places equal value on every person’s well-being, education, and safety. Every child means just that, every child;
Whereas, PTA recognizes that it can either be a racist or acti-racists association, as there is no neutral space, and therefore must be committed to dismantling the systemic and institutionalized racism faced by BIPOC students and families and increasing authentic engagement with BIPOC families;
Whereas, the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee states “gaps are not due to our students’ and families’ failures, but rather the failed responsibility of our system”
The “whereas” section acknowledges the existence of systemic and structural racism and that it is the responsibility of the systems, not the individual students and families, to change in order to better serve and educate all children. It makes clear the PTA’s commitment to being antiracist in action, in order to create a more just society in which every child can thrive.
The resolution essentially offers PTA organizations a task list to direct their DEI work:
Be it further resolved that Washington State PTA and its local PTAs and councils commit to being anti-racist and look within to end practices that adversely affect our BIPOC students, families, and communities by:
- Practicing anti-racism, equity, and inclusion in all decision-making; dismantling discriminatory practices and systems; and individually and collectively recognizing and addressing unconscious bias, belief gaps, and prejudice in our leadership, governing structure, and local PTA and member support
- Prioritizing and partnering with BIPOC consultants and compensating them for their intellectual capital, time, and expertise
- Conducting training and providing resources regarding anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and unconscious bias at all levels of PTA
- Conducting anti-racism and equity audits to review association policies and practices to remove implicit or explicit bias, institutional racism, and discrimination
- Actively recruiting, sharing power, and promoting full participation and authentic engagement of BIPOC families in PTA membership and leadership
- Promoting language access by providing printed and/or digital PTA resources translated in multiple languages; and removing language barriers during meetings (online and in-person) and with other oral communication practices
- Creating safe, welcoming, and healing-centered opportunities and environments for courageous conversations and listening sessions with historically marginalized BIPOC families as part of educating ourselves on their histories, cultures, experiences, and identities
- Creating partnerships with BIPOC community organizations, who have trusted relationships with families within our school community, to work with and among PTAs
- Creating and sustaining anti-racism, equity, and inclusion committees