Starting in 2016, members of The Maria L. Baldwin Community Center recommitted to the organization’s long and winding journey of addressing institutional and structural racism. Inspired by informal conversations and common goals, a working group was formed to steward our internal team’s reflection on MLBCC’s impact on and engagement with our community.

Where we’ve been…

(Click here to Learn More)

• 2017 
  • grant received from Community Health Network Area 17 (CHNA 17) to attend learning community workshops
  • Anti-Racism Stewards set initial goals, establish communication agreements, begin to collect resources and create a tool of key terms to facilitate discussions with staff
• 2018
  • Anti-Racism Stewards begin holding spaces for all staff, program leaders, and administrators to discuss personal reactions to key terms
• 2019
  • leadership staff begin to attend trainings and workshops centered on racial equity
  • teachers lead an effort to update afterschool library
  • board of directors invited to join in antiracism work
  • staff begin conversations around sustainability and self- and community-care, share resources for further learning
  • children’s programs site directors lead conversations around race and equity in OST settings
• 2020
  • community member introduces proposal to change neighborhood name due to Agassiz’s theories on polygenism and their roots in white supremacy
  • COVID-19 pandemic forces organization to go into emergency operations, operating food pantry delivery service and taking on case work to support hardest hit community members and address issues of access to essential services and resources
  • board of directors vote to begin efforts to change the agency name 
• 2021
  • agency staff hold space for neighborhood council, local residents and local government to address neighborhood name change (learn more here and here)
  • children’s programs and Maud Morgan Arts Center begin new framework to deliver essential childcare programming 
• 2022
  • curriculum planning for staff
  • MMA Afterschool social justice curriculum elevates youth voices
  • agency hires consultants to facilitate listening sessions among smaller communities within the organization’s staff, including members of the board
• 2023
  • identifying and supporting points of growth and learning opportunities for staff and community
  • community-wide announcement celebrating organization name change and new leadership model
  • consultants report on assessment findings and offer learning opportunities
  • organization hosts first BIPOC staff affinity space
• 2024
  • consultants offer range of services to staff, ranging from trainings to facilitated conversations
  • Anti-Racism Stewards engage in deep internal work and reflection

Where we are going…

• Ongoing learning and dialogue opportunities for our staff
• Sustaining Equity and Access Scholarship Awards for program participants
• Learning and adopting restorative practices within our community, uplifting joy, resilience, and belonging

Donate Today! [select anti-racism designation in drop-down menu]

Who we are…

Anti-Racism Stewards
Allegra Fletcher
Maria LaPage
Phoebe Sinclair
Ashley Yee

Past Members
Kelsey Chaplain
Eric Delisle, Read “Remembering Eric Delisle” on p. 11 of the February 2019 Whistler 
Micah Eglinton-Woods