OUR Commitment
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion…
Our community is defined by a multiplicity of identities, histories, and ancestry. It is our responsibility, as members of those communities and as a community organization, to nurture, advocate for, and honor the many inter-dimensional identities we each hold.
Diversity in any system — from ecosystems to immune systems to human culture — fosters resilience. Urban Adamah commits to continuously cultivate a community that ensures equity, fosters inclusivity, and welcomes diversity of expression, thought, and identity.
Racial justice
Racial justice is integral to our mission
Our collective liberation relies on our taking bold steps and acknowledging the injustices in which we have been both complacent and complicit. At Urban Adamah we believe Black Lives Matter. We are committing to soliciting ongoing feedback about our work, supporting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) leadership, and actively participating in dismantling white supremacy in our organization. We will fight all forms of institutionalized inequality in hopes of building a more loving, just, and sustainable world.
In solidarity
In solidarity with Jewish organizations and organizers across the country, we signed the Not Free to Desist letter.
Spearheaded by a group of JOC (Jews of color) leaders. In doing so, we commit to engage in explicitly anti-racist hiring and compensation practices, invest in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) leadership development and board membership, and adopt anti-racist educational initiatives and curricula.
To ensure accountability and progress on these commitments, we have established a Change Committee, composed of board and staff members to prioritize racial justice at Urban Adamah and determine benchmarks and policies for institutional change. The committee will also work on developing stronger relationships with the greater community and fostering deeper rapport with BIPOC-led organizations in the Bay Area.
Equitable hiring practices
The diversity of insight, perspective, and experience brought by people from backgrounds typically underrepresented in Jewish institutions is invaluable to the collective power of our community.
We affirmatively seek to advance the principles of equal employment opportunity and invite applications from people of diverse religious, spiritual, and cultural backgrounds. This includes but is not limited to Black, Latinx, and Asian people, Black Jews, Jews of Color, Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews, LGBTQ, and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities.
The land we steward
The land on which Urban Adamah resides is in the territory of Huichin, where, for thousands of years the Lisjan Ohlone people have lived. This territory is now known as the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Piedmont, Emeryville, and Albany). Today, the Lisjan Ohlone continue to inhabit their ancestral homeland, fight for their sacred sites, and revitalize their cultural practices.
We invite you to join us in giving Shuumi, a voluntary tax to support the Sogorea Te Land Trust, an urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people. You can do so here!
