At CSSP, we recognize the long and devastating history of racism and discrimination in our country. Despite advances in civil rights, public policies and institutions often reflect or repeat this history, contributing in large and small ways to perpetuating a system of unfair advantages for some and disadvantages for others.
For the past 15 years, CSSP has an intensified focus on racial justice and equity, LGBTQIA+ rights, the rights of immigrants and all historically marginalized groups. We are committed to holding anti-racism and social justice as core values–values which has kept us on an active journey towards becoming an anti-racist organization. That journey has required us to prioritize internal work to challenge our own implicit biases and to actively educate ourselves on what anti-racism requires of us as individuals and as an organization. This challenging internal work is mirrored in our external work, which includes resources, tailored technical assistance, and a variety of outreach efforts designed to share knowledge and build capacity throughout the country.
As we move forward on our journey, we continually recommit ourselves to challenging racist policies and practices, to closing equity gaps, and to naming and exposing the root causes of disparate outcomes for children and families. We promote an anti-racist intersectional frame—an action-oriented frame—that critiques society’s structures and its treatment of people and communities while providing a guiding approach for how to work towards a more just and equitable society. We work in partnership with communities and systems to ensure that equitable policies and practices are in place that allow full access to the opportunities and supports needed so all children, youth, and families can thrive.
Four Strategies for Embodying Equity in Our Work
As part of our journey to becoming an anti-racist organization, CSSP has identified four core strategies that define what we mean by embodying equity in all of our efforts:
Glossary of Terms
Developing a shared language for thoughtful discussion about equity is critical for all of our work. This glossary of key terms includes many words and concepts that are foundational and relevant to CSSP’s work.
This is a living document. Just as our work has evolved over our history, so too does language and thinking on race, equity, and justice evolve over time. We will update this document as our thinking in the field changes, and will note any time that we have made changes.
