Should my organization commit if we are unsure that we will be able to achieve one or more of the proposed obligations?

Ultimately our goal is to encourage public conversation about how to collectively dream an anti-racist Jewish community.  There are a few options that organizations can approach our open letter:

• Share the letter to your organization and to others who would find it an exciting conversation starter.

• Sign the letter on behalf of your organization to indicate that you support putting anti-racism on the Jewish communal agenda.

• Issue a timely public statement expressing your commitment to building an anti-racist Jewish community by June 19th, 2020, in recognition of Juneteenth.  We understand that it will take time to create a thoughtful and creative strategy to make substantive change.  We only ask that you say out loud that you are committed to trying.

Our internal process doesn’t move fast enough for us to release a statement by the suggested June 19th reply-by date.

We understand that all organizations move at different paces.  We also believe there is an urgent need to build an anti-racist Jewish community.  We recognize that tension is difficult. Please consider using one of our example statements above if it will help accelerate your internal process.  

Where do these metrics come from? Are they based in science?

Recommendations with a lens of diversity and inclusion often propose organizational metrics that index against the population.  For example, if you run an organization and the area you operate in is 10% Black, then your board should be 10% Black.  However, when taking an anti-racist approach, the goal isn’t to just meet the population index.  The goal is to actively combat generations of discrimination and marginalization that have actively suppressed the advancement of targeted communities.  Therefore, an anti-racist recommendation involves looking at the population index and exceeding the benchmarks that would be implied by some diversity and inclusion lenses.  Our proposed metrics are based in an anti-racism framework and were calibrated specifically for the Jewish institutional community.  

I have a small organization with a tiny budget.  How can I possibly afford to make these changes?

First of all, thank you for your organization’s commitment to racial justice. Our intention is to provide a shared roadmap for any organization interested in joining the conversation. We encourage you to not let perfection stand in the way of progress. We hope you consider how your leaner structure may allow for agility and give you an advantage in adopting some of these initiatives. We also encourage larger funding organizations in your region to pitch in to help support you in building an anti-racist Jewish community.  

Are all of these recommendations in keeping with legal and anti-discrimination standards?

We are not lawyers.  And we do not claim to be offering legal advice.  But we do recommend that organizations commit to outcomes and practices that are consistent both with the substantive inclusion and representation goals identified in this letter and with anti-discrimination standards - including but not limited to federal, state, and local laws - that govern our behavior. We also recommend that organizations pledge to go beyond minimal compliance and achieve meaningful transformation of our communities and organizations.  

What does a “public statement” mean?

A public statement reflects the official perspective of your organization.  It should be visible and easily accessible.  The response does not have to be long or a comprehensive strategy plan, just an affirmation that you are committed to the work of trying.  Some great options for public statements for you to consider posting are below:

• We are committed to building an anti-racist Jewish community.

• We are working internally on a plan to build an anti-racist Jewish community.

• We are not sure how to build an anti-racist Jewish community.  But we believe it is important.  We are committed to paying Black Jews and Jews of Color to consult with us on how to begin this work.

• We have been engaging in the work of building an anti-racist Jewish community for some time.  But we are not perfect. We are happy to share some of our best practices.  We are also happy to share some of our key learnings and areas that we would love to receive support.  We are excited to be in dialogue with other organizations who would benefit from entering this conversation with us.  

• We read the open letter entitled, Not Free to Desist.  We need more time to issue a comprehensive public response.  We plan on issuing a response soon.  

But what about obligation number seven: “Engage in the development of a fully funded initiative to assist in our communal accountability”?

We understand that some organizations are designed to fund initiatives, and other organizations are designed around other objectives. Not all organizations will be able to contribute to this proposed entity exactly the same way.  That’s ok.  We are asking the Jewish community for teamwork.  The Jewish community has a robust history of galvanizing around important issues and pooling communal resources for initiatives that we care about and collaborating on the development of communal guidelines. 

We also understand that there are several organizations that are operated by Black Jews and Jews of Color who are already actively receiving investment from the Jewish community.  We think this is fantastic. This initiative should only function in addition to that funding and should serve to grow the pool of resources that is available to all JOC led initiatives. 

This initiative should be specifically designed to help the Jewish community hold itself accountable to agreed upon metrics for anti-racist practices.  An initiative created for accountability purposes should focus on both immediate and long-term anti-racism and inclusion goals.  A mandate for this proposed initiative could include:

• Conducting nationwide surveys to collect data on the landscape of organizational policy goals and implementation

• Conducting community-wide and organization-specific diversity audits

• Compiling and distributing best practices in anti-racism policy change and implementation

• Training Black Jews and JOC candidates for board positions

• Providing guidance for community-wide investment in professional development for JOCs

• Promoting collaborative networks of JOC leaders and organizations 

The above description is just one possible starting point for imagining the design of said initiative. There are several models within the Jewish institutional landscape that could provide a blueprint.  We support the creation of a JOC-led and majority-JOC advisory board made up of  funders, communal professionals and lay leaders to advise in its creation and provide oversight.