Standing Against Racism

Our Values

Here at Evergreen Habitat for Humanity we are rooted in the belief that everyone deserves to have a decent place to live. This extends beyond four walls. This means actively working to eradicate inherently racist structures and systems. This means elevating the voices of our neighbors and communities of color. It means using our platform to speak out in support.

We stand in solidarity as we fight against racism and white supremacy in our neighborhoods, our cities, and in nations around the globe.

We promise to continually work towards this. We will look internally at our structures and policies, we will evaluate our programs and services, and we will work to dismantle racism in our organization and our community. Evergreen Habitat is taking the current steps to do so:

Working directly with a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant on a monthly basis to facilitate internal conversations regarding racial equity foundation building organization wide.
Assessing our delivery model to help ensure we are breaking down barriers rather than creating them, or further exacerbating existing barriers.
Developing an equity lens from which to actively and consistently assess our programs, procedures, and practices.
Developing an equity charter to hold our internal equity committee and our organization accountable.
Acknowledge that as a home-building organization, we are building on stolen land, thus we must reckon with this truth, acknowledge the land we are utilizing, and develop meaningful relationships with local Tribes and Native communities.

Habitat for Humanity was founded on the principle of racial inclusivity, and we continue in earnest towards this vision. Please check back on this list to see how we are evolving in this work. When complete, we will publish our equity statement here by which our organization seeks to operate as well as our land acknowledgement.

Below are some resources that we have found helpful, as we all strive to learn, grow, and act. For those with privilege, please join us in using your voice and resources to help enact meaningful and lasting change.

Anti-Racist and Allyship Resources
8 Ways to Fight Racism Resource List – reading and educational resources
White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo
So You Want to Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo
Anti-Racism Resources from FightForBreonna.org
Systemic Racism Explained – YouTube Video by act.tv

Support and Get Involved Locally
Ways you can help via Black Lives Matter
“How You Can Make a Difference”
Vancouver Car Rally for Black Lives – Vancouver NAACP

Examining Our Role: Housing Discrimination & Racial Inequity

Housing is at the root of Habitat for Humanity. Housing, the belief in stability, the promise of economic mobility, and the accumulation of resources to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty–these are the things which drive the work of Habitat for Humanity affiliates around the globe. Evergreen Habitat for Humanity is no exception. For decades Habitat has tackled housing challenges in various ways, but always, at the core of our work has been affordable homeownership. The reason is simple: Homeownership is one of the fastest ways for families to build generational wealth. Putting it simply, sustainable homeownership provides equity, leading to the accumulation of wealth.

We also know that housing and homeownership policies on a federal, state, and local level are steeped in racism and the reverberation of these policies continue to keep Black families and communities of color in poverty. The truth is that policies such as redlining, segregated housing projects, and predatory lending, paired with practices such as white flight, and the subsidization of suburban mortgages were specifically designed to marginalize Black communities while investing in and aiding in the wealth accumulation of white families and communities.

As an organization dedicated to housing and economic viability of our community, it is absolutely crucial that we recognize our history and not merely promise to learn from it, but take the necessary steps to fix the damage. At Evergreen Habitat for Humanity we are committed to looking inward, utilizing our platform, and ensuring our work is sustained and ongoing. As a small and disproportionately white organization, we recognize our role in upholding racial injustices and perpetuating a lack of inclusivity. We have outlined several action items to become a more equitable and just organization:

Encourage and facilitate conversations within our board and staff to examine our privileges, and the ways we may be using these to inadvertently gatekeep, as individuals and as an organization as a whole.
Hire a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant to help us analyze our programs, procedures, and processes, and provide a roadmap to ensure these are developed and utilized through a lens of racial justice.
Implement processes that better allow feedback, leadership opportunities and perspectives from the communities which we serve.

We understand that this work is fluid and ongoing. These are the first of a much deeper dive, and we promise to be transparent in our actions and our learnings. Thank you for engaging with us and going on this journey by our sides.

Below are a few resources that we have found helpful as we continue our learning:

Housing Segregation in Everything – Code Switch, NPR

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

The Legacy of Redlining – Urban Displacement Project

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Gentrification Explained – Urban Displacement Project

A ‘Forgotten History’ of How The US Government Segregated America – NPR

Reconstruction In America – Equal Justice Initiative