Affirming and Anti-racist Practice
Sanctuary is guided by the teachings of BIPOC educators, elders, and consultants. We strive towards an active anti-racist practice that acknowledges, challenges, and commits to action with accountability.
Acknowledging
We acknowledge that racism exists in this land we call Canada and that it is pervasive within our culture, communities, and systems. White supremacy and systemic racism conveys structural advantages and rights to white people above racialized peoples, both at a collective and individual level. Anti-racism is a lifelong practice which includes race-conscious policies to ensure we are just, equitable, and accessible.
We understand that it is not the job of racialized peoples to teach white people about their mistakes. Relying on the educational labor of racialized peoples is not a substitute for active, individual labor and education.
When we make mistakes, we admit where we went wrong and seek reparation and redirection. . While Sanctuary is a new organization, it is partnered with religious institutions with histories of oppression based on race, gender, sexuality, ability, and other forms of identity. Those historic wrongs inform and shape the experience of marginalized peoples who interact with them today.
Challenging
We challenge ourselves and our communities to actively practice anti-racism in the development, management, and growth of our programming. We are currently prioritizing the work of racialized creators by using the Journey Through the Radiant Citadel BIPOC multiverse in our Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, collaborating with BIPOC performers for Drag Communion, highlighting racialized writers in our Rainbow Reads discussions posts on the Sanctuary Discord server, and continuing to move beyond an open-door policy towards active invitation and community-building.
Committing to Action
We are committed to learning about anti-racism, educating our staff and community, and continuously working to be an anti-racist organization.
We are committed to disrupting and dismantling systems that perpetuate racism, especially within the institutions that host our programming.
We are committed to reviewing, revising, and developing our anti-racist policies to remain aligned with current research and best practices.
We will complete these actions by maintaining a regular review process, engaging in ongoing personal anti-racist education, seeking qualitative anonymous survey feedback from program participants, and consulting with paid BIPOC collaborators and advisers.
Creating Accountability
We are a new organization at the beginning of developing our anti-racist infrastructure. Our next step is to create a compensated advisory committee to provide ongoing accountability structure. These committee members will review our organization’s staff and volunteer facilitators to ensure that our anti-racist education is up-to-date, our policies are robust in the work of anti-racism, and that our practices reflect these values.
For hired and volunteer positions, we will prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in our hiring process. Upon entering the organization, all staff and volunteer facilitators will be required to complete anti-racism training, which will be updated on a biennial basis.