The Young Storytellers Worldview
Guided by Equity and Anti-Racism
Young Storytellers believes in raising voices, particularly those that don’t often get listened to. We highlight resilient communities, people with bold, new ways of thinking, and ideas that build towards a kinder, more empathetic and equitable world. This is why we center equity and anti-racism, in everything we do, from our programs to the way we operate internally.
This was not always the case. When we began our work in Los Angeles schools two decades ago, we went into communities that were not our own, and we did not do the work to understand them first. Though we had good intentions and a desire to fill a need — a lack of arts education in LAUSD schools — we acknowledge now that our actions contributed to systemic and racial harm. Along with the positive experiences that individual students and volunteers had with Young Storytellers, we inadvertently perpetuated educational and political systems founded on inequity and oppression, rather than giving these communities the autonomy to express themselves in their own ways. We grieve the harm that we have caused, and through our path forward, strive to partner with communities with awareness and a commitment to equity, justice, and liberation for everyone.
But, times have changed, and so have we. First, we acknowledge that our work takes place on land that was stolen from indigenous people who continue to live, thrive, and maintain tribal sovereignty. In particular, the majority of our programming takes place on Tongva and Chumash land, which is now called Los Angeles. We stand against the violence committed against indigenous peoples in this country, from the land that was stolen from them, to the children that were forcefully removed from their families and placed in boarding schools, to the continued erasure of indigenous tribes and cultures.
Second, from LGBTQIA+ rights to Black Lives Matter to #MeToo to #StopAsianHate, we know that storytelling has taken on new meaning and even greater importance to create change in our society. As we have deepened our understanding of the world and our role in it, we have adapted and grown to better meet the needs of our communities.
At Young Storytellers, we are focused on how we can best equip young people to be the driving force in their own stories. We want our young people to see their identities -- made up of their unique background, culture, race, gender, sexuality, immigration status, geographic location, and economic status -- as powerful pieces of their own individual story. We also celebrate the unique perspectives and backgrounds of our volunteers, staff, partners, and broader community; these make our community a better, richer, and more equitable place. As we strive for a world where all people are treated with respect, dignity, and equity, we recognize the role we have to play in making this vision a reality.
In order to accomplish this, we need to go beyond simply facing our own personal racism, prejudice, and bias; we must fight against those same things in our systems, cultures, and communities. We recognize that we, particularly in the United States, navigate a culture and system founded on white supremacy, which causes far-reaching harm to our BIPOC community. Despite being a nonprofit organization -- an entity not usually associated with power or privilege -- we recognize that we are in a unique position to impact others. Until there is a world where nonprofit organizations no longer have to exist because societal systems of care are in place, we will strive to offset imbalances through reparative action as we embody our mission and values.
We’ve created tangible, living goals for 2021-22 within each of our internal teams, so that we are addressing equity in every part of the organization. They include:
Continuing to research and revise curriculum to integrate culturally competent social emotional learning opportunities and social justice standards, and to be centered in anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, so that our students feel respected and comfortable with expressing themselves.
Integrating equity and anti-racism conversations, trainings, and ongoing development at all levels of the YS community, including staff, volunteers, and Board. Starting in Fall 2021, these trainings will be part of the volunteer onboarding process.
Continuing to intentionally diversify our volunteers, staff, and Board in race, ethnicity, age, sexuality, and ability so that the voices guiding and representing our students are reflective of their communities and the world we live in.
Helping YS corporate partners — especially those who provide volunteer mentors for our programs — to understand our diversity goals and measures. We will work with them to recruit and train volunteers with our diversity and inclusion goals in mind.
Continuing to invest in our staff in holistic ways, including: team-wide Wellness Days, salary transparency among staff and in job postings, revisiting salaries regularly to ensure we are compensating people fairly and equitably, and providing individualized professional development budgets for each team member.
Prioritizing outreach for YS summer and fall intern cohorts to community colleges and universities in the geographic areas that we serve. We will continue to pay our interns as a part of our larger commitment to equitable wages for all, starting at minimum wage and increasing salaries as possible.
Restructuring the Board of Directors through the lens of equity and anti-racism, which includes recruiting and onboarding new Board members from the YS community, increasing accessibility and more equitable onboarding, and creating a more direct pipeline between all parts of the YS community and the Board, ensuring our community is centered in every decision that we make.
Building a new strategic plan spanning the next three years that has equity and anti-racism at its core.
Integrating equity and anti-racism into our fundraising activities, which includes valuing gifts of time and money equally, being transparent about our financial goals and growth points, inviting all members of the community to be part of our decision making processes, and holding our donors, partners, vendors, and funders accountable to prioritizing the good of our students and families. For more information, visit our Donate page.
Giving a percentage of our annual revenue to, and partnering with, BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving organizations that meet the full spectrum of needs of the students we engage as part of our commitment to reparative actions. In 2021, we gave financial Community Gifts to Dynasty’s United Youth Association, United American Indian Involvement, and Proyecto Pastoral, all nonprofit organizations based in Los Angeles.
Glossary
Anti-Racism: Anti-racism is a process of actively identifying and opposing racism, on individual, institutional, and structural levels. Being anti-racist means to continuously take action against policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and behaviors.
Belonging: This is the belief that originality and individuality are things to be celebrated, and the cultivation of a community where everyone gives of themselves and is able to speak fully from their unique perspectives.
BIPOC: BIPOC is an acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and is meant to be inclusive of non-white people. While meant to be inclusive, many say that by not naming other non-white people, this acronym creates hierarchy and division. We recognize that it is an imperfect and likely temporary term.
Diversity: Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ. It is all-inclusive and recognizes every person and group as part of the diversity that should be valued. A broad definition includes race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, physical appearance, ideas, perspectives, and values.
Equity: Equity ensures that all people with different identities are given access to the same opportunities, while taking into account the barriers and advantages that exist for different people. It is more than simply giving people the same things; it involves truly understanding people’s needs, obstacles, and strengths.
Inclusion: Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision-making in a way that shares power.
Justice: The fair treatment of people in situations of harm caused by oppression or an imbalance of power. It places decisions in the hands of those who have been most affected by harm, and is meant to repair harm, heal broken relationships, and address the underlying reasons for the harm.
Liberation: A framework of action that aims for justice by dismantling systems that oppress others in physical, mental, and political ways, rather than just finding ways for people to live within those systems. Liberation is a state of being in which one can freely exist, think, dream, and thrive with dignity and respect.
Nonprofit Organization: A nonprofit organization (non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution) is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit. Though the staff of nonprofits are paid, and many nonprofits maintain reserves of savings for operations and emergencies, they do not create profits for its staff, board, or constituents in the way that a for-profit company does. In the United States, nonprofits were created as a way for the wealthy to practice philanthropy while receiving tax benefits.
Reparative Action: Reparative action is a way for people and systems to be accountable for past harm, including slavery, colonialism, genocide, and oppression created through political and financial systems. By taking part in reparative action, one recognizes the part they play in perpetuating systems that oppress others, and begins to repair the harm caused.
Resilient: The ability to withstand or recover from difficult circumstances. It is not possible to create spaces or communities that are “safe” because we cannot control what people say or how they act; however, we can build people up so that they are able to overcome obstacles and thrive.
Social Emotional Learning: Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process by which we, both children and adults, learn and apply skills that help us to make sense of our surroundings, interact with others, and move through the world. These skills are self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, relationship skills, and social awareness. These skills should be taught through a lens of equity and justice, as we learn these skills in different ways according to our culture, race, and background.
White Supremacy: The idea or framework that white people and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of white people are superior to BIPOC individuals and their ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions. While most people associate white supremacy with extremist groups, white supremacy is ever present in our institutions, policies, and cultures, and might not immediately be noticed because the ideas and values associated with it are societal norms. White supremacy grants white people structural advantages and rights that other racial and ethnic groups do not receive. In this way, power and resources are maintained by white people.
*Definitions drawn from CASEL, Racial Equity Tools, Center for the Study of Social Policy, and Young Storytellers values.
