How the Lehigh Valley is contending with racism
Ending racism and guaranteeing equal opportunities for all remain among America’s biggest challenges.
Just consider what’s happened in recent days.
As Black History Month kicked off, 17 historically Black colleges and universities had to temporarily shut down because of bomb threats.
And Whoopi Goldberg said on national television the Holocaust was “not about race.”
Whoops.
If a Black woman who identifies as Jewish doesn’t know what racism is, it shows you how much work there is to do.
The Lehigh Valley is fortunate that we have people willing to tackle it, through a new plan unveiled Wednesday, “Color Outside the Lines.”
Community Action Lehigh Valley began work on the strategy more than three years ago, well before the Black Lives Matter movement that took off after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis.
The goal is to bring folks to the table “to have real conversations that most people are afraid to talk about for fear of being labeled,” Executive Director Dawn Godshall said at the program’s kickoff, held virtually.
Color Outside the Lines addresses racial inequities and disparities in housing, education, criminal justice, economic opportunity and employment, health, mental health, arts and culture and recreation.
“There is enough for everyone,” says the plan, drafted with participation from more than 300 people and dozens of local organizations.
“We all deserve fairness, equity, access, safety and belonging. By choosing to color outside the lines, we embrace the notion that the ways things have been done does not work for everyone.”
Input came from health practitioners, mental health professionals, artists, faith leaders, educators and others.
Some of the organizations include the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce; United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley; Lehigh Valley Planning Commission; Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.; Lehigh Valley Arts Council; PPL; Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley; Ortiz Ark Foundation; and Unidos Foundation.
Goals of the program include to: Increase affordability of housing. Add more people of color to the teaching and administrative staffs of schools, from pre-kindergarten to college.
Increase opportunities for business owners of color to win contracts to provide goods and services.
Encourage employers to take a stand and state that “respect for diversity, inclusion and belonging is a fundamental value,” with the belief that having diverse leadership will increase their net worth.
Provide workers access to higher wages, health care and opportunities for career growth, including paths to management.
Expand and increase reentry services for people leaving jails.
Diversify membership on boards of directors of nonprofits, philanthropic foundations and municipal commissions and authorities so they are representative of the diverse communities they serve.
Diversify arts programs and performances.
“Our goal is to tear down barriers that have hindered us over centuries,” said Kumari Ghafoor-Davis, director of racial and ethnic justice at Community Action Lehigh Valley, formerly known as Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley.
The goals are sound. But it’s easy to set goals.
Achieving them, and getting the whole community to buy in and recognize why they are important, is the hard part.
Some progress has been made. Allentown, where the majority of residents are Latino, elected its first Latino mayor, Matt Tuerk. Bethlehem City Council just added a Black member for the first time, Wandalyn Enix.
But many other minds need to be opened, as a dispute over books about Black people in the Northampton Area School District showed.
The Color Outside the Lines plan acknowledges change will take time. It outlines strategies for the next five to seven years.
Some successes have been achieved. Since June 2019, nearly 2,000 people have attended cultural humility/ implicit bias engagement trainings.
And on March 1, Color Outside the Lines will begin offering mental health services to people of color of low-to-moderate income.
“Mental health for some reason is overlooked,” said Quanesha Johnson, founder of BTG Counseling & Educational Services in Bethlehem. “Mental health is health and we can’t forget that.”
Participants will receive eight mental health sessions for free or at low cost. Eleven mental health clinicians from diverse backgrounds will provide the services, which are funded by a grant from Truist bank.
Inquiries about the program should be sent to mentalhealth@communityactionlv.org.
Color Outside the Lines is seeking input on the plan it released Wednesday. It is looking for volunteers to join committees that will review the plan and hold public input sessions in coming months.
More details about Color Outside the Lines can be found at communityactionlv.org. Those interested in participating can volunteer at COTL@ communityactionlv.org.