Commitment Level: .25

Volunteers Needed Per Shift: No limit

Skills: Cultural Humility, Passion for Community, Passion for Arts

Color Outside the Lines: Color Outside the Lines is a 5-7-year initiative which seeks to engage the Lehigh Valley in a conversation about race and ethnicity that eliminates barriers to fairness and opportunity, strengthens our community, and leaves no one behind. A comprehensive plan is in development to examine where such barriers exist, determine the most viable strategies for tearing them down, and operationalize those strategies. You have the opportunity to contribute to the implementation of this plan!  

Vision of the Quality of Life Sub-Committee: The Quality of Life Sub-Committee of the Color Outside the Lines Initiative is dedicated to ensuring equitable access to Quality of Life for communities of focus (Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and underserved communities) within the greater Lehigh Valley in the areas of Health, Mental Health, Arts & Culture, and Recreation. Our vision is that people, regardless of national origin, skin tone, gender, sexual orientation, creed or socioeconomic status, are ensured fair treatment, equality of opportunity, and fairness in access to information and resources.

Mission of the Quality of Life Sub-Committee:  This mission seeks to identify, examine, and challenge the status quo towards the elimination of racial inequity, intentional or otherwise, in the lives of all communities of focus in the said areas of Quality of Life.  By challenging the disparities caused by the inequities in these areas, as well as cultivating mutual respect for all people, it is the subcommittee's intent to engage civil rights and cultural advocacy groups in our region to work together and achieve authentic and cohesive Racial Equity as it relates to the Quality of Life for the Lehigh Valley.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.Collaborate with other task force members to draft and distribute a document summarizing best practices for promoting diversity, representation, and empowerment within arts and culture spaces for communities of focus.

2.Research and conceive of policies that can be implemented by arts and culture organization boards within the LV to diversify board makeup.

• Conduct research and gather data to build and distribute surveys that assess a variety of metrics
• Educating boards about removing barriers that have traditionally centered assimilation of whiteness for potential BIPOC board recruits
• Community wants/needs for arts and culture programming
• DEI policies and standards of board members of LV arts and culture organizations
• Best practices for implementing diverse, community need-driven programming and fair wage practices

3.Advocate for policies recommended by the Arts & Culture Committee to the greatest extent possible. Examples include serving on councils, leveraging personal and professional connections to create beneficial partnerships, and acting as an outspoken agent of positive change in the spaces which you occupy.

4.Contribute your unique experiences and perspective as a member of the BIPOC community to the execution of the Arts & Culture plan.

5.Report any new developments to chair/co-chairs of task force at regularly scheduled meetings.

Desired Qualities and Experience

1.An understanding of structural inequities which have been perpetuated by systems in our society going back centuries.

• A knowledge of the local history of the cultural community and its effect on the BIPOC community
• Empathy for the position of BIPOC individuals who have undergone generational trauma as a result of these inequities.
• A knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the local arts and culture community; ideas for what could be improved and how.
• A knowledge of Financial Sustainability; funding that impacts the BIPOC community  

2.Background in research, data collection, and/or community organizing as it pertains to the community of focus.

3.Connections to the local arts and culture community and a passion and knowledge for arts and culture programming.

4.A love for this community and a driving need to create positive change.

1. Availability to meet for regularly scheduled meetings (exact time and frequency TBD by task force).

Task Force Operations

Size: Task forces will vary in size depending on engagement, but will adhere to the following consistencies. Voting on ideas and initiatives will be an inevitable requirement for decision making; to avoid a stalemate, all task forces will be populated by an odd number of voting members. Task forces will be kept small in size to ensure all voices are able to be heard; suggested membership between five and eleven members.

Leadership: Leadership structure is flexible within the task force and can be determined by members to reinforce their desired governance culture. The leadership structure, once established, should rotate to ensure dynamic conversations, ideas and outcomes related to the Arts and Culture committee goals. This rotation should occur every six to nine months, exact time frame is at the discretion of the task force.

Frequency: Task forces should begin by meeting twice a month for the first three months after inception. After three months, task forces will meet once a month. Meeting times and dates are at the discretion of the task force.

Reporting and Note-Taking: Each task force should identify a note-taker to document meeting content, action steps, attendance, and accountability. The structure of this note-taking will be designated by the task force. Notes from task force meetings should be emailed to Candace Moody, Racial and Ethnic Justice Organizer, every three months. Candace will be the point person for all Arts & Culture; Color Outside the Lines related needs. Their email is [email protected].