The epidemic of violence in this country is a public health crisis. It shatters families and impacts our sense of safety and overall health and well-being, including the ways we access food, physical activity, community, school and work.

KC Healthy Kids emphatically condemns and remains committed to confronting violence and oppression which create barriers for many who want to access the community-based solutions KC Healthy Kids promotes: youth advocacy, mental health, good food policy, local food, and active communities.

As we work to advance the health and well-being of kids and their communities, we strive to recognize and support the incredible resilience communities demonstrate in the face of violence and to remember to start by listening

Here are some things we’re doing now. We’ve provided links so you can learn more and take action too. 

• Teaching trauma-informed care. We support early care and education centers located in communities disproportionately impacted by violence by providing trauma-informed care education for staff and teachers. And provide stipends for parents to attend. Learn More
• Advocating for safe, equitable communities. We support BikeWalkKC’s advocacy efforts to decriminalize walking and biking, such as proposed ordinance 210100 in Kansas City, Missouri. Ticketing for pedestrian offenses like jaywalking and dirty bicycle wheels should end. Read the ordinance and testimony from various groups, including KC Healthy Kids. Contact Michael Kelley at  to learn more.
• Speaking out against “public charge.” We engaged advocates in defeating the public charge rule change which would have impacted food security and well-being in immigrant communities.  Learn more. 
• Using our words with care. We’re continually updating our editorial guidelines with up-to-date best practices for inclusive language based on these resources published by journalists and advocacy groups.  

We cannot advance the health and well-being of kids and their communities — our mission — if we do not address systemic racism and White supremacy culture.
 
This work starts within our agency. We understand that it is possible to do harm unintentionally, even when we believe we are doing good. Further, we understand that although our work has always aimed to further equity, we have also been complicit in systemic racism by, for example: failing to examine how the structure of our initiatives can privilege White voices and interests, failing to consistently and explicitly name policies and systems as racist when they have disparate impacts, and failing to challenge inequities in how nonprofits are funded. 
 
We want to do better. In our statement issued on June 6, 2020, we committed to doing so in at least 4 ways. In this, our second statement, we describe how we are following through on this commitment. We are preparing additional updates which will explore the many ways we are taking action in yet more detail. 
 
The urgency and impact of racial injustice in our work demands both immediate action and lasting efforts. We are therefore making a durable commitment to this work by evaluating and updating the guiding documents, including: Employee Handbook, Finance Manual, Strategic Plan and others to include specific policies, methods and goals for building an anti-racist agency culture and improving racial equity within our agency and through our initiatives. 
 
This is not a one time commitment; it includes annually defining the tactics, milestones and frequency for strategies outlined below. We will complete the first round of this process by year end, 2020. 
 
Learn: Increase staff and board knowledge and skills, and build an anti-racist agency culture committed to advancing racial equity.

• Require participation in regular trainings provided by experts, including those who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), no less than three times annually.
• Support participation in cultural competency coalition(s) and trainings in the community. 
• Encourage participation in organizations which provide training, resources and accountability for racial justice. For example, Showing Up For Racial Justice
• Invite staff and board members to share relevant resources and information at staff meetings and through all-staff communications. 
• Ensure that our contracting practices, including for trainers, advance racial equity and center BIPOC leaders.
• Create safe spaces for difficult conversations. We can and must do difficult things. 

Assess: Conduct self-assessments and accountable evaluations to understand, monitor and adapt our efforts at advancing racial equity.   

• Engage staff in completing an annual equity audit, such as this one at We Are Beloved.
• Identify methods for evaluating initiatives through a racial equity lens, including how we will engage staff, board members, contractors, partners, stakeholders and clients (including people who are BIPOC) those efforts. For example, completing the National Farm to School Network Equity Assessment Tool and encouraging partners to do the same. 
• Identify tools for individual self-assessment for use by staff. 

Action: Identify short- and long-term actions for us as an organization, and in our initiatives which: 

• Seek equitable engagement and leadership of people who are BIPOC in our initiatives and governance.
• Ensure initiatives and communications advance racial equity and identify racist policies and systems as such.   
• Improve our accountability. 
• Encourage our partners and supporters to engage in this work in their own agencies and as individuals. 
• Build anti-racist culture, such as creating safe pathways for feedback.  

 
Although some of this work will take months to complete, and nearly all of it will be ongoing, we have already begun to take action. Here are a few highlights about those efforts, which we’ll expand upon in forthcoming articles. 

• From the very start, the food and agricultural systems in our nation have relied on land theft from, and economic and physical exploitation of those who are BIPOC. This remains true today, and harms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent recession and policy responses are even more acute for the BIPOC workers who grow, harvest, process, prepare and serve our food. As we pivot to address these challenges, we are seeking advice and leadership from BIPOC communities and BIPOC-led organizations confronting racism in the food and agriculture system. Read 6 Action items for racial equity to learn more and take action.
• We’ve always sought to oppose policies that create health and economic disparities. As we have begun to examine our initiatives with fresh eyes, we are finding ways to do that more effectively. This includes explicitly naming policies as racist when they are at odds with racial equity. It also includes examining how to ensure that our initiatives help others to identify racism in systems and policies. With this in mind, we have begun to update youth advocacy tools to help kids see connections between racism, policies and health disparities, and will equip them to speak out for changes that improve health outcomes not just for their own community but for every child in Kansas City. 
• As a core partner of the National Farm to School Network, we completed their Racial and Social Equity Assessment Tool for Farm to School Programs and Policy. The tool was designed to advance the network’s racial and social equity priority by increasing our understanding of the work in the context of structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism. As a result of that process, we increased engagement of BIPOC communities in the program.  

We invite our partners and supporters to join us in this journey by using the links included in each of the preceding actions, and staying tuned as we post additional progress updates and calls to action. Our collective progress and growth is essential to our ability to advance equity.  

KC Healthy Kids shares the sadness, frustration and outrage expressed by protesters over the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis Police custody, as well as other Black people who have met similar fates throughout the nation, including in our community. These events are not isolated; they are part of four centuries of violent and systemic racism in our nation. We stand with civil rights leaders in calling for significant reforms needed to achieve racial, economic and health equity.
 
We know that words of sympathy and solidarity are meaningless without concrete action. In order to confront and dismantle pervasive racism, we must adapt and grow, as an agency and as individuals.
 
We are looking at all of the ways we operate our agency, our programs and our policy efforts. Each member of our staff is being encouraged to give input based on their unique roles and perspectives. Then we’ll take time to thoughtfully evaluate what is needed in our organization and what we are well-positioned to contribute amidst the current crises and going forward.
 
In the following week, we’ll post an article detailing ways in which we are taking action to match our words, and will identify actions our partners and supporters can take as well.
 
Here is our commitment: We will…
 
…Seek out and listen to the advice, perspectives and leadership of people of color and ensure effectiveness and accountability as we continue critical self-assessment.
…Continue to foster a culture where staff can respectfully discuss racial equity and hold each other accountable, while recognizing it’s not the job of team members who are Black or People of Color to teach White peers how to be better.
…We’ve always fought against policies that create health and economic disparities. Now we’ll explicitly identify them as racist.
…Encourage our partners and supporters to make a similar commitment. We say to you: your progress and growth is essential to our collective ability to advance equity. Let’s make this a part of every project we enter into together.
 
We are working to be better. For those who want to do the same, here are some excellent resources:
 

• Black Lives Matter 
• NAACP: We are done dying
• Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ)
• 5 Anti-Racist Actions for White People to Take During COVID — 19
• Activism & Allyship Guide Prepared by the Black@ Airbnb Employee Resource Group

As 2019 comes to a close, we want to say thank you for giving your time, lending your voice and donating to KC Healthy Kids. Your investment makes a lasting difference in the lives of children and families across the bi-state region.

The Mid-America Regional Council will hold its 20th Annual Regional Assembly on Thursday, June 9, 2016, from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the Downtown Marriott Muehlebach Hotel, 1213 Wyandotte Street, in Kansas City, Missouri.