Our Commitment to Dismantle Racism and Other Systems of Oppression and Build a Just Society

As a social justice organization, our work is rooted in the firm belief that all people deserve respect, dignity, and self-determination at work, at school, and in their communities.

Structural and systemic racism—with the oppression of Black and Indigenous people at its core—and other forms of injustice shape the society and the civic, political and legal systems in which we work and live. All systems of oppression are interlocking and their impacts are compounded based on disability, ethnicity, gender identity, immigration status, national origin, race, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other grounds.

We, as products of this society, hold and exhibit biases that affect our everyday decisions and interactions. Those with greater power and privilege have greater responsibility to dismantle systems of oppression from which they benefit.

Unless we affirmatively counteract our biases, we enable and further these systems of oppression.

As the staff of Legal Aid at Work, we commit to:

• • work personally and collectively to un-learn and challenge these systems of oppression;
  • sit in discomfort, accept critical feedback, and grow;
  • develop and nurture an organizational culture that will dismantle systems of oppression and uplift the leadership of people from underrepresented communities;
  • create a workplace that is truly equitable and inclusive, in which all staff can bring their full and authentic selves to the office and excel;
  • center racial justice within the work of all aspects of our organization;
  • build and maintain genuine and equitable partnerships with communities we serve and respectfully ask to be held accountable by those partners; and
  • form equitable client relationships that honor our clients’ lived experiences, are responsive to our clients’ needs, and value their goals.