Equity Action Team
In 2019-2020 the Friendly Area Neighbors Equity Action Team has been focused on creation of a series of murals on the Dr. Edwin Coleman Jr. Center to honor his life and legacy. Learn more about this exciting project and Dr. Coleman here.
Black Lives Matter: As an institution created to represent our local community and neighborhood, the Friendly Area Neighborhood Association (FAN) stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. The killing of George Floyd is an affront to the safety of all people in our country. It is an unconscionable act of racism and lack of respect for human life. The unrest over the last few weeks in response to the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other tragic murders of black lives has been a wake up call to the differing levels of safety, decency, and humanity that are given to citizens in our country based on the color of their skin. In 2017, when our community saw a spike in hate speech, we created the FAN Equity Action Team to fight back against racist graffiti being scrawled across our neighborhood. The Equity Action Team charter states that we are: "Committed to the human right of all to be free from discrimination” and that “Discrimination against people on the basis of their national origin, race or ethnicity, religion, immigration status, language of origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or identity, socioeconomic status, housing status, or disability, should simply not be tolerated.” FAN recognizes the need to center the voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and of the young black people in our community, across the nation and the world, who have stood up and shared their stories, their pain, and the inequalities that their daily realities entail. We stand in solidarity with their struggle and their wish to create justice, peace, and equity. Neighborhood associations are a first level of government, they are laboratories of democracy, places where residents can have their voices heard and help to put into place the structural changes needed to create better neighborhoods and better cities. The Friendly Area Neighborhood Association will firmly stand in support of the dignity of each human life and commits to taking action. We have come together to state proudly that racism has no place in our community. We as FAN commit to keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open. We commit to keep learning, listening, and fighting for the rights of our black neighbors, our brown neighbors, and in this particular time in history to put the voices of BIPOC central to the struggle to make systematic change. With this in mind we encourage you to take some of the following actions that the local black community has identified: 1) Support Lane County Black Owned Businesses: https://lanecounty.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=167818202.) 2) Contact and contribute to these organizations doing significant work locally and nationally: Eugene Springfield NAACP: https://naacplanecounty.org/ Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/ Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/ 3) Sign in support of the Oregon Cares Fund for Black Relief and Resiliency: https://www.theoregoncaresfund.org/ July 3rd, 2018 the FAN Board unanimously approved the following:
Friendly Area Neighbors Equity Resolution: The Friendly Area Neighborhood Association is committed to the human right of all to be free from discrimination. Discrimination against people on the basis of their national origin, race or ethnicity, religion, immigration status, language of origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or identity, socioeconomic status, housing status, or disability, should simply not be tolerated. The number of hate crimes and bias incidents reported in Eugene has been increasing and no doubt many go unreported. FAN's Equity Action Team will work with residents and local institutions (schools, churches, businesses) to foster and sustain a neighborhood environment that is diverse, inclusive, safe, and welcoming; encourage the implementation of practices, projects, and events that help prevent such harmful incidents; and, effectively respond to hate crimes and bias incidents when they occur. Contact us via email at fanequity@friendlyareaneighbors.org.
You can help to stop hate from spreading in our neighborhood. There are things we all can do.
Please share this message with your communities. We should all know what to do to report hate and bias incidents. Sign
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