LU Statement on Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

Lawrenceville United has recently contracted with Just Collaboration to help us develop goals and hold us accountable to our values of diversity, inclusion, and equity. As the first part of this multi-year effort, we are engaging our membership and the larger Lawrenceville community and collecting feedback through a survey. Please read our purpose statement for why we’re doing this work below:

As an inclusive, non-profit organization whose mission is to improve and protect quality of life for all Lawrenceville residents, Lawrenceville United must face the many ways that our city, our community, and our organization have failed to build opportunities for all.

We acknowledge that while Lawrenceville receives accolades as one of the “coolest neighborhoods in America” and a “poster child for urban renewal,” many residents have not benefited from reinvestment in Lawrenceville. Many residents have been displaced, disproportionately affecting residents of color. Poverty continues to affect our neighborhood residents and we must address these disparities if we are to make our community a more equitable place.

 We acknowledge the history of institutional racism within our country and our community, and its continued existence today.

We recognize that Lawrenceville has been, and continues to be, a neighborhood of residents with diverse cultural, economic, and racial backgrounds that are integral to our community and have contributed much to its well-being, often without proper recognition and attention.

We face the fact that our organization has not been adequately representative or inclusive of this diversity in its Board, staff, and membership, especially residents of color. We further acknowledge that historically Lawrenceville United has perpetuated and failed to address racial disparities and discrimination.

Consistent with our newly adopted organizational values, we commit to working intentionally to eliminate these disparities and to actively build a more inclusive organization and neighborhood, where all residents are welcome, valued, and have access to opportunity. We commit to beginning this work with a specific focus on racial inequity, for the reasons described above; we recognize that there are many different forms of discrimination that affect Lawrenceville residents and we approach this work as part of our larger commitment to remove barriers to opportunity in all their many forms. Over the next two years we are undertaking a multi-year initiative to build a more diverse and inclusive organization. We ask that you join us in this work, support us in these efforts, and continue to hold us accountable.