On July 17, YWCA Lancaster was thrilled to host the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter to learn about PHRC’s mission, their work to prevent civil rights violations and provide support for individuals facing discrimination, as well as hear from community members in Lancaster about the issues that are concerning them. The event featured a presentation from Executive Director Lassiter, followed by a townhall style Q&A where community members could share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns directly with PHRC team members.

As Pennsylvania’s top agency for protecting civil rights, the PHRC is committed not only to making their services more accessible to all, but also to stay responsive and pro-active to emergent community needs, and launched a Statewide PHRC Beloved Community Tour hoping to make stops in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania.

Here are three quotes that resonated with us from the visit:

1. “No hate in our state.”

A simple creed, but one that is more necessary than ever. With nearly 75 active hate groups operating in Pennsylvania, it is vital to unite against hate–whether it is racism, anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry, antisemitism, and more–to build a collective culture of welcome in our state.

PHRC is committed to offering as many onramps as possible to allow community members to report ways that they have been the victim of racism, sexism, homophobia and more in their workplaces, housing searches, and community life. You can view their full PowerPoint with resources on how to contact the PHRC, file a claim, and more below!

2. “We come to every context with a pretext.”

Many of us–whether through lived experience, or through our work in the community–have seen the deep inequities that exist in Lancaster County. In order to tackle these issues at a systemic level, we also need to understand them at a human level. Creating intentional space for conversation and community is a great first step to build collective language around the issues facing each of us. We are all on an individual journey towards being better neighbors, community members, and residents to each other, so understanding and reflecting on our own personal growth areas is an important way to begin the work of understanding the challenges and opportunities before us.

PHRC offers multiple ways to engage, from personalized trainings, to Social Justice Lunch and Learns, to Diversity Speaks Series to build community with other folks throughout the state. They have also launched a Social Justice Ambassadors Program for community members to take a leading roll in their neighborhoods and networks to advocate for PHRC’s services and resources.

3. “We’re being as we continue to become…you are the experts.”

While PHRC works at the state and local levels to protect and prevent discrimination, their work–just like the work of YWCA Lancaster–is guided by the voices, insights, and ideas of the community.

During the Q&A section of the event, community members raised questions about the work being done on the availability of and discrimination in affordable housing, the PA Fairness Act, as well as the work being done to advance the findings of the Lancaster County Equity Profile, published by more than 10 local agencies this year. This input from the community is vital for helping to shape PHRC’s work, and assist them in responding to on-the-ground needs as they arise.

On a mission

The largest takeaway from PHRC’s presentation and tour stop remains that they are open and willing to support community members who are experiencing discrimination, as well as partner with any organization, business, or individual looking to build a more just community in their own backyard.

At YWCA Lancaster, our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women calls us to do the same. We are thankful for the opportunity to host statewide leaders in the movement for justice, and honored to have been in community with so many of you on the night. Check out the resources below to continue your learning, or get involved in our upcoming events!

	Download PHRC slides Includes an overview of PHRC’s work as well as relevant links for filing complaints. See more
	Read the Equity Profile Check out the first ever county-wide Equity Profile in PA See more
	Equity Profile Workshop and Talkback Join us August 10 for a workshop and community building around the Equity Profile. Learn more
	Join the Action Team Join a group of community members working to raise awareness and action on the Equity Profile Learn more

Join us on July 17 for a special opportunity to meet and engage with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission Executive Director and team!

The PA Human Relations Commission is our state’s first line of defense for civil rights, and is essential for our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.

As part of the PHRC’s Beloved Community Tour, YWCA Lancaster will host Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter for a townhall-style event to learn about the work of the

The PHRC created the Beloved Community framework to assist communities of the commonwealth to intentionally build a culture of peace, understanding and tolerance despite our differences within the context of an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.

Each listening session will include a presentation on the Beloved Community framework and an overview of the services and programs offered by the PHRC. Lassiter will then open it up for questions from the community!

We hope you will join us on July 17 and have your voice heard about the issues facing Lancaster County!

What part of the Equity Profile of Lancaster County speaks to you? What do you want to see change in Lancaster County to make sure we have a just future for us, our children, and future generations?

There is no one right answer, but YWCA Lancaster is committed to supporting our community as we work together towards solutions.

Whether you’ve seen the report in our communications, from partner organizations, or on the front page and editorial section of LNP, there is no shortage of energy, curiosity, and enthusiasm about helping our community meet the inequities highlighted in the Profile.

The Profile is not the end of the work: it’s a foundation to help us build a just future together. And because of that, what we do now is up to all of us.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by YWCA Lancaster (@ywcalancaster)

On February 16, 2023, we met with other community members who want to get started on taking action about the Profile. Together, we discussed the big takeaways from the report, amplify work already being done in these areas, and began to plan the next steps we can take as a community.

We plan to continue to hold space for anyone in the community who would like to join this meet-up happening every third Thursday at YWCA Lancaster from 6-7:30. We will be doing a mix of discussion, as well as meeting with local leaders who are working on different indicators highlighted in the profile to connect community members with people in the grassroots movement(s) to create change in Lancaster County.

All are welcome! We hope you will join and be in community with us.

Want to get involved?

On February 23, YWCA Lancaster had the honor of hosting “Ripening the Times”, a panel discussion featuring local Black leaders across generation, experience, and perspective to share some of talk about the past, present, and future of Black history in Lancaster County and beyond.

The result was a brilliant and engaging discussion featuring some of our community’s brightest minds and fiercest advocates for justice: Vincent Derek Smith of the African American Cultural Alliance of Lancaster, Dr. Amber Sessoms of Natural Inclination, Brian Graves of Lancaster Changemakers Collective, and Barbara Wilson of the Lancaster City Housing Authority. The discussion was moderated by our own Starleisha Gingrich!

Here are 5 quotes that stuck out to us from the more than hour long conversation. We hope you watch the entire recording below!

Click the play button next to the quote to hear audio

1) “We need to let [kids] know now that their voices are important and deserve to be heard.”

“The biggest thing for me is the voice of children we need to allow them space in these conversations, we need to allow them spaces and voices in the conversations that we’re having within our family dynamics. Because that child will one day be one of the leaders of that family, be one of the leaders of that community, be one of the leaders of whatever they decide to be a leader of. And we need to provide them with the affirmation and the validation that their voice is important now, at five years old, at ten years old, at fifteen years old, we need to let them know now that their voices are important and deserve to be heard.”

-Brian Graves

2) “Disrupt the narrative that we are just trauma.”

“I don’t get the funding because we have African American in our nameBut look at what it’s doing for the community and bringing people together and disrupting the narrative that we are just trauma, like that Black excellence and that Black joy is liberating all of us. So where are the dollars that we’re putting into people in this community who are doing that renaissance? I see it, it’s beautiful, but I’m finding that you’re not getting the money.”

-Dr. Amber Sessoms

3) “Being active in the community was something that was passed down in my blood.”

“That showed methe impact that they were providing to a community that people were living in. And what triggered me the most is, they were providing outlets in the community that they lived in…and as I grow older, we see that drugs is a trait that can pass down through generations, diabetes is a trait that can go down [through generations]. As I grew older I was like, being active in my community was something that was passed down in my blood. It might not have been what I wanted to do, but as I grew I looked back at the people and my family that have been involved in the community, being Black leaders, being role models for other Black kids and Black and brown people, now I see why I’m so passionate about it: because it affects me now.”

-Vincent Derek Smith

4) “What is the narrative that you are telling yourself that makes it okay with me to accept [racism]?”

“And stop and thinkwhen you look at that data, stop and give yourself a pause and think: what is the narrative that you are telling yourself that makes it okay with me to accept that and to move on with my life? That should keep you up at night, but you are telling yourself something that allows you to be like ‘that’s their issue’, because it’s ‘they’ vs. ‘me’. We’re all in this together so how are you looking at it, what are you telling yourself; change that narrative in your head that stops making you think ‘that is not my issue that is a Black and brown issue, it’s their fault’, uh uh. These are babies that we are harming. That destructing of our life taking off because of racism. Literally years off my life, simply because of something made up.”

-Dr. Amber Sessoms

5) “Not against you. For us.”

“It’s a new day.And people aren’t standing back. They’re coming out with what they believe, what they feel, and what they find is true. And not against anybody. It’s just for us. Not against you, but for us.”

-Barbara Wilson

Thank you to Brian, Dr. Sessoms, Vincent, and Barbara for being in community with us, and for sharing your brilliance with us. We’re proud to be with you on Lancaster’s journey towards a just future.

View the full recording:

Remember to register for the 2023 Race Against Racism!

Known as the refugee capital of the United States, Lancaster has long been a new home to resettled families from all over the world. But a new report on the state of equity in the county indicates that its residents of color face compounding barriers to reaching their full potential.

An Equity Profile of Lancaster County — released today by a coalition of the county’s civic organizations in partnership with the National Equity Atlas — is the first county-wide racial equity profile in Pennsylvania. It illustrates how ongoing inequities in Lancaster have fueled racial disparities in economic opportunity, housing, educational attainment, health outcomes, and civic power.

“There is a tremendous opportunity for all of us if we center the lived experience of marginalized members of our community,” said Deborah Wilson Gadsden, the board president of YWCA Lancaster. “We hope this profile helps illuminate the stories we already know, brings new questions to the table, and enables everyone to see themselves as part of a new opportunity to create systemic change in a county that is trying to live up to its branding: a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family for all.”

The report’s findings underscore how a combination of inequities in Lancaster has carried mounting costs for the entire community: The county misses out on an estimated $1.9 billion in economic activity per year because of racial economic exclusion.

Other key findings about Lancaster County, based on the most current data available, include the following:

• The majority of the county’s residents are white, but the area is growing more diverse as people of color increasingly move into the area for school and work. People of color, particularly Latinx residents (both immigrants and US-born) and Black immigrants, accounted for 88 percent of the net population growth in Lancaster between 2010 and 2019.
• Lancaster’s youth are much more diverse than its older generations. In 2019, more than 25 percent of young people (those under 18 years of age) were people of color, compared to seven percent of the county’s seniors (those 65 years and older).
• Forty percent of workers in Lancaster are employed in three industries: health care, manufacturing, and retail. These industries are experiencing high growth in jobs. Despite this growth, wages have largely stagnated or declined for workers with the lowest incomes.
• Nearly 50 percent of renters in the county spend more than a third of their income on rent. As a result, these families also face the constant threat of being priced out or otherwise displaced from their communities, while new housing developments in the county are largely geared toward higher-income earners.

“Making an honest assessment of where a community stands in terms of racial equity is a critical first step in planning for equitable growth,” said Abbie Langston, the director of equitable economy at PolicyLink. “This research reinforces that advancing racial equity in Lancaster is essential to fostering long-term economic vitality and shared prosperity.”

Local organizations are doing necessary work on the ground, but many continue to face barriers to accessing the funds and other resources they need to maximize their impact. Over the past year, YWCA Lancaster and the National Equity Atlas have partnered with a broad range of community residents, advocates, elected officials, and civic leaders to delve into the county’s challenges, document its assets, identify opportunities for meaningful change, and outline strategies to build a stronger Lancaster for generations to come.

“This is a vital coalition working to bring baseline data to light and inspire action,” said Samuel Bressi, CEO of the Lancaster County Community Foundation. “Our community can only be extraordinary if everyone has full access and the ability to pursue their dreams.”

Explore the full profile, including the data and tailored strategies, at equityprofilelancaster.com.

A new way of creating community

“True community is based upon equality, mutuality, and reciprocity. It affirms the richness of individual diversity as well as the common human ties that bind us together.”

-Pauli Murray

In order to create true change, you need to take lessons out of the workshop and into the community. Last month, in partnership with Franklin & Marshall College, we reimagined our traditional Racial Equity Institute to create a new, multi-disciplinary look at racial justice, equity, and how those principles can be–and are–applied to Lancaster County and beyond.

This new, multi-day approach was part workshop, part community immersion. The morning featured content from our  Racial Equity Institute curricula, where participants worked on developing a common language and understanding needed to dismantle racism and to communicate with others about its manifestations, while also developing working tools to identify and address racism within themselves and their everyday lives.

In the afternoon, participants partnered with local grassroots organizations that were embedded in this work to do service projects and to learn from leaders who were translating ideas into action on the ground in Lancaster. Thank you to Lititz Chooses Love, F&M Blackbirds, and Nelson Polite Jr. for their partnership!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by YWCA Lancaster (@ywcalancaster)

We are all connected

As our community continues to grapple with challenges from the pandemic, restriction of women’s rights, and the ongoing pursuit of racial justice, we need each other more than ever. Building understanding, shared language, and deeper knowledge around the importance of eliminating racism and empowering women in Lancaster County and beyond will help our entire community to thrive. Through partnership with community organizations and leaders, we can better learn from each other, and build solidarity around our shared future.

YWCA Lancaster, along with other community partners, is preparing to launch our County’s first Racial Equity Profile in fall of 2022, an interactive resource that can help us to better understand not just the obstacles we face as a community, but the rich opportunity available to us when we invest in ways to support all of our residents.

We’re proud to continue to partner with you, community organizations, and local leaders to learn together, and to build a just future.

Want to be part of our next Racial Equity Institute? Learn more here or contact Tess Feiler at TFeiler@ywcalancaster.org