Throughout 2018, our board worked on streamlining the Coalition’s work so that we could focus on the most pressing issues confronting successful integration and inclusion. A well-defined plan and focus on the mission is critical to creating long-lasting change. The board and staff took a hard look at the results of the Coalition’s demographics studies along with the outcomes of our advocacy work and programs in order to define focused initiatives for at least the next year. All our committee work will be guided by these initiatives:
- Strengthen the community’s commitment to racial and cultural inclusion of all people of color by challenging the community power structures* to rectify disparities and by promoting the value of inclusiveness to the well-being of the community.
*municipal government, school system, realtors, businesses, arts and recreation groups, corporate and nonprofit groups, media, and key leaders and influencers
- Ensure the sustainability of racial integration in SOMA by both affirming and supporting the current population of Black people and by researching and developing strategies to increase the rate of Black in-movers.
Why are we focused on these initiatives? Our demographic research shows changing residential patterns that affect racial integration at the neighborhood level—and consequently in the elementary schools--and changing in-mover patterns that affect our future diversity. In response during 2018, we began new targeted marketing efforts that will be critical to attracting people of color to the towns; we participated in engaging the community in the school district’s efforts to integrate the elementary schools; we continued to advocate for classroom integration, support for student success, and staff diversity. We also supported the establishment of a police community board in Maplewood and worked with both police chiefs on addressing bias in policing issues. We sat at the table at many leadership meetings, brought compelling voices to talk to the community about school segregation, racism, social injustices, and the future possibilities of integrated communities.
In 2018, we held nearly 50 dialogues, trainings, and celebrations that reached over 3500 people. We saw a rise in engagement with new community members, inquiries from other communities about what we do, and an increase in the number of people of color who attend our programs. For all of this, we are proud to be carrying on the mission in new and focused ways in the coming year. For the full report, click on the link for 2018 below.
To view our 990 report, click on the link below: