Social Equity and Racial Justice Committee
Meeting Video
Minutes
January 4, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
- Simon called the meeting to order at 5:10
Attendance: Simon, Yamaguchi, Geraghty, Houston, Tyler, Mendel, Singh, Seltzer (staff liaison)
Absent: DuQuenne, Dahl
Guests: Fayvor Tipps SERJ applicant and Anyania Muse, Director of DEI at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and founder of Amuse Consulting.
- Seltzer read the Land Acknowledgement and Yamaguchi read the Labor Acknowledgement
3. M/S approval of December 2023 minutes Yamaguchi/Simon, motion passes unanimously.
- Public Input: none
- Welcome and Introductions
Simon welcomed guest Anyania Muse. Muse, a former SERJ member and Director of DEI at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and founder Amuse Consulting LLC was invited to this meeting to address IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity and access).
Muse stressed the importance of cultivating a culture of IDEA within the SERJ group. It is important to lean into cultivating the culture and ensure that the culture is not leaving someone out.
Key Pointes:
- IDEA is always a field in transition.
- SERJ needs to develop a framework to establish a culture to move the work forward.
- Examples of framework or systems include: targeted universalism and collective impact; belonging, collaboration and well being. These are the two frameworks Muse uses when she works with individual groups. There is not a blanket framework for groups. The group must tweak and adjust the framework for their group. Individuals all have different life experiences and groups must consistently reevaluate the frameworks to ensure that all life experiences are reflected in the framework. Does the framework match the vision/work of the group? Do people feel they belong? Do members embrace one another to bring the entire group forward.
- The work is a system change. It is structural change (policies, practices and resources), relational change (relationships and connections), and transformative change (mental models). Not everyone is starting at the same level…we can’t approach every employees the same, every SERJ member the same. What one feels is impactful differs from what another person thinks is impactful.
- Muse stressed the importance of SERJ members having a conversation and focusing the discussion on which framework (s) might be best for the group.
- Major take-away is SERJ moving from transactional to transformational.
- Transactional values linear thinking, “how it’s always been done”, overly focused on structure (does not accommodate fluidity) perpetuates very white able-bodied system of power. “I give you a thing, you give me a thing and we’re done.”
- Transformational values focus on the whole scope of work and require circular and relational strategies (vs. linear). The work is co-created, co-led and relies on organizing strategies.
SERJ will discuss frameworks and transitional work at upcoming meetings.
Meeting adjourned: 7:10 p.m.
