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 Care, the Arts, Youth Services, Mental Health 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.Integrate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) into all corporate culture by:

• Compiling a list of all local corporations and their DEI efforts
• Advocating for sensitivity training within corporate culture
• Advocating for DEI trainings to be a pre-requisite for applicants to receive funding
• Requiring DEI training for all board members

2.Train corporations on best practices for seeking out and funding diverse arts and culture programming

3.Assist corporations on how to talk to and train organizations to respond to the need for diverse arts and culture programming

4.Encourage corporations to identify and commit to DEI best practices by signing onto a pledge document

5.Provide leadership to corporations on the availability of DEI training opportunities

6.Track local corporations that have participated in DEI trainings, including details on the type and duration of training, as well as the long-term impact of trainings on revenue, sustainability, etc.

7.Leverage any connections within the donor sphere to encourage organizations to make funding partially contingent on program diversity

8.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.

9.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

2.Empathy for the position of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) individuals who have undergone generational trauma as a result of these inequities

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

4.A knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the arts and culture community in the Lehigh Valley; ideas for what could be improved and how.

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

6.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].