This year has been an extremely critical one – where there have been extreme tensions surrounding the topic of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - especially on the topic of race relations in society.  This has revealed fractures in our community – fractures that have yet to heal – especially when coming from the COVID-19 pandemic where we mostly communicated with each other through a screen and not face to face. As we have started to venture out – into our local scenes and as the national competition circuit starts to open up- we must be more cognizant of how we include others, how we treat others and to both act and speak on our values.

 

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program is derived from our value statement - and is one significant step working towards a diverse environment where all people are treated equitably with dignity, courtesy and respect.  Prior to Wild Wild Westie 2021, we have published what we hope to be a yearly publication about the "State of DEI at Wild Wild Westie".  In this document, we conduct a self-audit on our staff diversity to see where we've been.  We look to this year's event, where will have 1) a DEI focus and workshop led by Deon Harrell and Dr. Stevie Dawn Carter, 2) a self-report survey to assess our attendee and staff diversity with the intention to set future goals and roadmap and 3) our partnership with SwingDiversity on a national DEI scholarship announcement as well as our partnership with MoveTogether on our DEI goals. 

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Please take a read on our past, present and future! 

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