At United Way of West Tennessee, we are challenging ourselves and others to foster a community free of racism, bias, and ethnic discrimination. We continue to advocate for equity in West Tennessee through Uniting agencies in ways that improve each person’s access to health, education, and financial stability. We are committed to creating change so that everyone has equal opportunity to thrive.
We acknowledge that diversity, equity, and inclusion are the heart of Living United. We believe ALL people in West Tennessee should live in a thriving community. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are moral and business imperatives required for West Tennessee to grow and advance the common good in our communities.
The United Way of West Tennessee Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers will reflect individuals of different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences that make up our community. We recognize that bias can be conscious and intentional or unconscious and unintentional. We vow to purposefully identify, discuss and challenge issues of bias and the impact(s) they have on our organization, systems, and people. We are committed to challenging ourselves to understand and correct biases and inequities we discover and better understand ourselves during this process.
In all that we do, we are resolved to respect, appreciate, value, and not discriminate against anyone. We are committed to explicitly and publicly affirm our identity as an anti-bias and anti-racist organization. Our identity as anti-bias and anti-racist will be accomplished through a culture supported by policies, funding decisions, sponsored programs, and business practices. We will leverage differences and diversity by bringing together unique individual backgrounds to collectively and more effectively address the issues facing our communities.
We acknowledge the necessity of hearing the voices of those people who have been historically marginalized and the unique perspectives they bring. And we will do our part, working United, to make our communities the places that we need them to be – equitable, respectful and opportunity-filled.
— United Way of West Tennessee Board of Directors and Staff, updated August 11, 2020
