Steps ahead: Becoming a more welcoming and anti-racist organization
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Maya Angelou
Like so many organizations across the country, BBP was deeply affected and challenged by the murder of George Floyd, after so many others, on May 25, 2020. Like so many other organizations, BBP put out a statement shortly after. And, like so many others, BBP has been taking steps ever since to grow as an organization and to examine our own role and responsibility in addressing systemic racism in our community. It hasn’t been easy, we haven’t reached the “finish line,” and we expect many more challenges to come.
Our Journey
After releasing our original Hope and Action statement (which was a collaborative, emotional, painful, and exciting process), one of the first steps BBP took was to begin meeting with our bicycle nonprofit partners across the country. Through a series of meetings, BBP built a framework that revolves around the WTF Cycle Industry Pledge and created a road map broken into 4 main categories.
Training For Staff & Board
How can we prepare ourselves to grow together as we embark on this ongoing journey?
How is DEI related to our Mission and individual job responsibilities?
Evaluation & Feedback
Who’s missing in “Everyone is Welcome and All Bikes Belong?” And why?
How are we working with program participants to measure effectiveness of programming and programming experience?
Increased Representation & Diversity Throughout
How can the organization’s makeup (Board, Staff, Volunteers, Supporters) better reflect the community we serve?
Reporting & Communication
How are we communicating our journey and what we’ve learned?
How can we use our platform to better empower those typically left out?
With these 4 buckets / areas of opportunity in place, we began to strategize in each area. And by strategize, I mean we started learning while doing: following the guidance of our BIPOC community leaders and implementing short-term efforts while exploring long-term solutions.
The sense of urgency at the beginning was overwhelming, maybe dysfunctional at times—and, in more than one instance, we likely left some people behind. We realized early on that everyone was willing and excited to move forward. But while some were sprinting down the road, others were still trying to figure out where to start.
The complications of navigating this important process were amplified by the challenges of operating, existing, and serving the needs of the community during a pandemic. Those challenges still exist. And we’re still moving forward.
To be clear, we at BBP don’t have this figured out, but we know we can’t sit idly by when there is so much work to be done. Our commitment to you is to follow the advice of Maya Angelou and continue to do our best until we know better. And when we know better, we will do better. And we will share what we’ve learned.
Our Steps
Training for Staff and Board
June: Idaho Coalition Dismantling White Supremacy all-staff training
July: Bicycle Race books purchased for staff
August: Bike Lanes, Gentrification, and Anti-Blackness Training
Sept: Unconscious bias workshop with Idaho Partners For Good
October: 1st annual Safe Space training for staff
Next Steps:
Inclusive Nonprofit Leadership Training for board and executive staff
Additional training for staff related to the intersection of bicycling and racism
2021 League Cycling Instructor training with newly incorporated equity lens
BBP is reserving 4 spots and providing full ride scholarships for community centers at Duck Valley and Fort Hall Reservations
Increased Representation & Diversity Throughout
July: Program development for future apprenticeship positions with input from refugee lead organizations
August: 3rd-party HR consulting for an equity focused Employee Handbook and new hiring and recruitment strategies
August: Four new employees hired based on newly defined strengths and job qualifications
Next Steps:
Strategic planning process to begin in 2021
Focus on building diversity throughout the organization with an emphasis on leadership positions
Commitment to all future goals be established through a lens of equity
Evaluation & Feedback
July: WTF Pledge signed and corresponding staff evaluation of shop rules
August: WTF and shop survey sent to board and staff
August: Draft of new shop rules approved by staff
Sept: Idaho Partners For Good performs 360 assessment of organization, discovering need for HR Consulting, a new comprehensive Strategic Plan in 2021, ongoing investment and training for staff
Next Steps:
3rd-party consultants to help gather extensive stakeholder feedback for 2021 strategic planning process
Reporting & Communication
July: Hope and Action anti-racism statement
June - July: Weekly Boise and National Bike Org anti-racism discussions
June - Current: Increased efforts on social media/newsletter to highlight BIPOC bicycling community and BIPOC nonprofit partners
October: Focus on diversity in bicycling in film choices for Bike-in-Movie
October: One-on-one discussion with the Director of the League of American Bicyclists on enhancing anti-racism efforts at the national level of bicycle advocacy
Next Steps:
Continue to take input and communicate new policies, efforts, and steps at monthly staff meeting and bi-monthly board meetings
Provide an end of year report to the community at-large and publish 2021 goals/future steps in our Annual Report and January Newsletter.
