Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
As The Listening has grown over the years, we believe that a diverse, inclusive and equitable environment is one where all participants, whether volunteers, board members, staff, students, or members of the public who attend our programming and events feel safe, seen and respected. Our mission statement, which is to engage, change and save lives with the performing arts through community engagement and youth programming. There are no qualifiers, because we believe that the transformative power of the performing arts can impact all of our lives. At the same time, we do recognize that the arts can too easily become co-opted into an ornamental fixture of our culture, at times, silently complicit in allowing micro-aggressions.
Whatever their gender identity, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or other-ability, we aspire to model brave spaces for all, and are committed to growing in this practice. We commit ourselves to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for employment and advancement in our events and programming, and we center ourselves on the very thought that drives our mission: all voices and stories hold inherent value and deserve to be heard.
In that same vein, we commit ourselves to centering voices and stories often unheard from historically disenfranchised communities, which includes but is not limited to Indigenous Americans, African Americans, Immigrants, Women & LGBTQIA+ community members, as well as the intersection of these identities. We are committed to modeling diversity and inclusion as a part of the local arts industry of Lynchburg’s nonprofit sector, and to maintaining an inclusive atmosphere with equitable treatment for all.
This is not a performative commitment. To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, The Listening strives to:
See diversity, inclusion and equity as inherent elements of our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our staff and volunteers, as well as the creative community we are a part of.
Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and service, and continually update and report organization progress.
Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.
Advocate for and support board-level thinking about how systemic inequities impact our organization’s work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.
Help to challenge assumptions about what it takes to be a strong leader at our organization, and who is well-positioned to provide leadership.
Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.
Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, committee, and advisory bodies.
Lead with curiosity, respect and tolerance. We expect all staff, volunteers, and board members to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.
The Listening also abides by the following action items to help promote diversity and inclusion at our events and in our programs:
Honor Native Land by opening all events and gatherings by acknowledging the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of that land. In that, we pledge to counter the “doctrine of discovery” with the true story of the people who were already here and doing so with reverence and respect.
Pursue cultural competency throughout our organization by creating substantive learning opportunities and formal, transparent policies.
Generate and aggregate quantitative and qualitative research related to equity
to make incremental, measurable progress toward the visibility of our diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts. Once the content is curated it will be added to our website so others can access.Improve our cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the diversity of the City of Lynchburg.
Pool resources and expand offerings for underrepresented constituents by connecting with other (local and national) arts organizations committed to diversity and inclusion efforts.
Develop and present sessions on diversity, inclusion, and equity to provide information and resources internally, and to members, the community, and the arts industry.
Continue our alignment with Community-Centric Fundraising in a manner that centers the community of our fundraising efforts.
Develop a system for being more intentional and conscious of bias during the hiring, promoting, or evaluating process. Train our hiring team on equitable practices.
Include a salary range with all public job descriptions when applicable.
Pursue partnerships and collaborations to enrich the lives of community members, with respect to multiculturalism and true diversity
Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity.
Challenge systems and policies that create inequity, oppression and disparity.
Do you have any additional concerns or thoughts about how we can better serve community members like/unlike you? Share your idea in the comments section below!