Intercultural Speakers Bureau (ICSB)
Calls to Action for the City of Ferndale
January 2022
Download a printable copy of this handout below
Personal
- Undo your own biases
- Recognize that every human being has biases towards others
- Challenge your instinctive thoughts and assumptions
- Take initiative to overcome the biases you may not know you have
- Be open to continuous learning
- Exercise humility and be open to critical feedback, especially if it challenges your assumptions
- Listen intently
- Apologize if needed
- Avoid making excuses
- Hold yourself accountable to an even higher standard than you already have
- Be an Upstander (not a bystander):
- Acknowledge bias when you see it
- Speak up when you hear or witness bigotry
- Don’t allow the critique that you are being overly sensitive prevent you from continuing to provide feedback
- Practice providing feedback to those who need it
- Tailor it to the person you are speaking to, keeping in mind their unique background and identity
- Allow people time to process what you’ve shared
- Check in with colleagues who are experiencing bullying or bigotry, whether they are experiencing it directly or indirectly (Directly: bigotry towards them as an individual from another individual or system. Indirectly: members of their community experiencing bigotry or violence, which is traumatic to them by extension)
- Ask if they need support and in what form; be careful not to make assumptions
- Intentionally engage with people who are different from you
- Check the cultural calendars of different ethnic and religious groups for their holidays or significant days. Look for public events and attend as many as you can
- Initiate contact if you don’t already have friends from different groups
- Join community spaces to personally heal from the impact of bigotry if needed
- Volunteer for community organizations that counter bigotry
- Continue educating yourself about these topics
Institutional
- Promote cultural diversity education in your facility about the various groups in your community
- Continue conversations about the roots of racism in America and the impact it has had on various ethnic and religious groups. Learn the specific history and impact of racism in your area
- Start affinity groups in your city government offices that are modeled after corporate diversity initiatives
- Initiate racial and religious equity offices and efforts in your city government if they don’t already exist. For example: The City of Ferndale’s Racial Equity Action Team
- Create a community calendar of cultural and religious holidays and commemorations relating to social justice
- Provide incentives for employees to attend these events
- Initiate cultural competency certification in your department that can be achieved by attending events, training, club memberships, etc.
- Create a community calendar of cultural and religious holidays and commemorations relating to social justice
- Utilize tools from GARE (Government Alliance on Race & Equity) that are specific to government institutions:
- Hiring to advance racial equity: an opportunity to operationalize equity
- Contracting to advance racial equity: advance equity in government contracting and procurement
- Identify policies that have led to inequities (such as in housing, hiring, community outreach, policing, environment, transportation, etc.), and amend these policies
- Identify ways to dismantle institutional racism by partnering with community groups who can help inform you on how racism impacts them
- Allot funding for murals, statues, or other art projects to commemorate the history of historically marginalized communities
- Create a county or city-wide advisory committee of community members that can provide updates on the effects of pending legislation
- Stay informed on potentially unjust laws and policies.
- Keep abreast of current events that are affecting communities in your area; check in directly with any communities that are experiencing bigotry or hate
- Review and update your city’s values to reflect an inclusive culture and community that is sensitive to its most marginalized members and promote those values publicly. For example: The City of Ferndale’s Racial Equity Statement
- Respond quickly and publicly to hate crimes or bias incidents in your city
- Publicly denounce bigotry or injustice that occurs locally, nationally, or even internationally in your public communications (including in social media posts)
- Some Ferndale residents may have family members living in various parts of the world who might be impacted by such events
