Art+Feminism User Group/Anti-Racism Policy

The ongoing development of this policy is meant to create space for continued learning and growth as an organization. Any report of racism will be used as a way to integrate new ways of being equitable to prevent and repair racial harm against anyone in our community.

Purpose of Policy

This anti-racism policy is an important [first] step in bringing Art+Feminism into compliance with the mission, vision, and values by recognizing that race, gender, and other forms of identity oppression are tied together and cannot be tackled as distinct issues.

The purpose of this policy is to establish standards and procedures to address, repair and prevent racial harm within the Art+Feminism community. We recognize that this is emergent work and we commit to holding ourselves, the Art+Feminism community, accountable to this policy and to set a cultural shift within the organization.

What is Art+Feminism's Definition of Racism?

We recognize and define racism as micro and macro acts of harm, power, and violence against Black, Indigenous, and other non-white people across the globe. As a colonial system, centered in maintaining and protecting whiteness, racism permeates our societies through antagonism, exclusion, and disenfranchisement – acts and processes that reduce quality of life and produce premature death.

Anti-Black racism is racism directed towards Black people, people of African descent, or people with darker skin in all societies, including non-whites ones.

Principles and Values of the Anti-Racism Policy

Art+Feminism embraces the following principles and values in our work to make our organization more accessible, equitable, and transparent. Anti-racism is at the core of the work that we do. Although Art+Feminism originated with a focus on gender inequality, all of the other means of identity oppression, especially racism, are interconnected and cannot be tackled as distinct problems.

• We believe racism and white supremacy are global systems.
• We believe in taking a self-critical stance on being a U.S.-based organization working on a worldwide scale, to decentralize our work from a United States context.
• We believe in making the Wikimedia Movement more equitable for all persons by giving ourselves the time and space to learn, make mistakes, and evolve.
• We believe in our words aligning with our efforts.
• We believe that feminist thought and actions must be grounded in anti-racism
• We believe that creating braver and safer spaces that are caring, equitable, pro-Black, queer and trans-affirming requires us to intentionally address the needs of the most vulnerable people in our community.
• We believe in creating and operating an environment free of racism for anyone who shares our values and principles, regardless of their racial and/or ethnic backgrounds.
• We believe in anti-racism and equity being ongoing efforts for all stakeholders connected to our organization.

Procedure for Reporting Racism at Art+Feminism

At Art+Feminism, the following procedure is used to report racism under the Anti-Racism Policy:

I. Staff, lead co-organizers, board members, regional ambassadors, contractors, network organizers, and attendees shall write and send an email to safety@artandfeminism.org (which goes to all members of the leadership team) concerning any racism that they have experienced. The email should include (if applicable): What happened, When, Where, Who was involved/present, in whichever language is most comfortable, for internal purposes.

A. A response from Art+Feminism’s Executive Director or member of the Leadership Team shall be sent and received to acknowledge receipt of the email and to request information about their immediate needs within one business day from the initial email.

B. A member of Art+Feminism’s Leadership Team shall complete an internal Anti-Racism form to inform the leadership collective and document the report.

C. A member of Art+Feminism’s Leadership Team shall offer to initiate a voluntary restorative process and/or full conference with the person who experienced racial harm. (See “Breaches” for restorative process)

D. Any person reporting racism shall be protected from all forms of retaliation that may put them at risk of professional harm, including harassment or loss of employment or appointment.

E. If one or more members of Art+Feminism’s Leadership Team are implicated, the other members shall contact a third party consultant and restorative justice practitioner.

F. If all members of Art+Feminism’s Leadership Team are implicated, the Board shall contact a third party consultant and restorative justice practitioner.

II. If Staff, lead co-organizers, board members, regional ambassadors, contractors, network organizers, and attendees witness an act of racism by another member of Art+Feminism, whether directed at a specific person or not, the following protocol applies.

A. The person who witnessed the act of racism should consult the person who suffered the harm (if applicable) prior to moving forward with the process outlined in section I. (C)-(F) (above).

1. If the person experiencing the harm consents to the witness reporting the act, the witness can do so with anonymity of the harmed person, their own anonymity or the anonymity of both the witness and the harmed person, a form is available in lieu of sending an email. Anonymity here is an opportunity to document an act regardless of whether the harmed person would like to move forward in addressing the matter.

B. If the person who witnessed the act of racism does not know how to address the issue, contact a member of the Art+Feminism leadership collective for orientation.

C. A member of Art+Feminism’s Leadership Team shall complete an internal Anti-Racism form to inform the leadership collective and document the report.

D. The remaining procedure outlined in I. (C)-(F) shall be followed.

Breaches of This Policy

1. Any violation of this policy will be handled in compliance with Art+Feminism’s restorative justice protocol, if it is safe to do so. The restorative justice protocol consist of:

a) Being a voluntary process for all parties involved.

b) Restorative dialogue with the person harmed facilitated by a Restorative Justice practitioner designated by Art+Feminism.

c) Restorative dialogue with the person who committed the harm by a Restorative Justice practitioner designated by Art+Feminism.

d) Restorative conference with all parties involved, if it is safe to do so, facilitated by a Restorative Justice practitioner. A member of Art+Feminism’s Leadership Team and/or Board shall be present, unless the parties involved requests otherwise .

e) A written and signed agreement between all parties involved and present for the restorative conference. This agreement stipulates the commitments accepted and to be fulfilled by all parties.

f) Concluding the conference, harm is acknowledged for closure so that the organization can move forward in an equitable way.

2. Any decided accountability will include the opinion of the person harmed, if they feel comfortable and safe to do so. Otherwise, accountability shall be determined either by Art+Feminism’s Leadership Team and/or Board with consultation of a third party at the request of the person harmed.

3. The accountability for any violation may vary depending on the quantity and severity of the harm(s) committed. Including, but not limited to, in no particular order:

a) Formal written apology

b) Public apology

c) Written commitment on how harm will be repaired

d) Termination