Accessibility
AWARE-LA welcomes people of all cultural identities and backgrounds, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, spiritual beliefs, family structures, ages, educational and class statuses, and mental and physical health and abilities.
We are actively working on making our organization more accessible and recognize we may not have provided all the necessary information. If you have any accessibility needs that we have not addressed, please contact us at whitepeople4blacklives@gmail.com.
As members of WP4BL, we commit to living out disability justice in our work, which also means accepting we will be imperfect at it. We commit to striving to get better and being humbly open to feedback. These disability justice values and principles are available here and should be used as a guide for planning campaigns and projects.
COVID-19 Accessibility
Dialogues, Meetings, Events, and Actions: All dialogues, meetings, events, and actions hosted by AWARE-LA/White People 4 Black Lives (WP4BL) are happening virtually via Zoom until it is safe for all of us to meet in person again. We hope you will join us virtually. If you have specific needs around accessing virtual meetings, please let us know. We want to support you in whatever ways we can, so you can be with us.
In-Person Actions & Events hosted by Solidarity Partners: WP4BL wholeheartedly feels it is up to each individual person to determine if they can go to an in-person action, and we understand that, in addition to folks with compromised immune systems and/or underlying health conditions, and caregivers of people at risk for acquiring the coronavirus, others may wish to stay home or express their solidarity in other ways. There are lots of ways to get involved in our work.
ASL Interpretation & Closed-Captioning
Closed Captioning is available at all meetings hosted by AWARE-LA/WP4BL, and we can provide ASL interpreters upon request. To ensure availability, please make your request at least 72 hours prior to the event you wish to attend by emailing us at whitepeople4blacklives@gmail.com.
Class Accessibility
We embrace the SURJ value of centering class, which we recognize is deeply tied to ending white supremacy. We welcome members from all class backgrounds, and prioritize leadership development for members from poor and working class backgrounds.
Some of our class accessibility measures include: carpooling to dialogues, meetings, and actions, transportation reimbursement (see details in next section), free communal food at dialogues and meetings, a class committee with class affinity groups (poor and working class & middle and owning class), and a glossary of terms to define terms and acronyms we use often.
To read about SURJ’s commitment to centering the leadership of poor and working class members, click here.
Transportation Reimbursement
We understand that the cost of traveling to and from dialogues, meetings, events, and actions within the greater Los Angeles area can be a barrier to participation for some folks. We are happy to offer reimbursement for gas and public transportation to anyone who needs it. Please refer to this document for more details about this policy and instructions on how to submit a request for reimbursement. Email us at awarela@gmail.com if you have any questions or need support submitting a request for reimbursement.
Child-friendly Policies
AWARE-LA/WP4BL recognizes that we are part of an intergenerational movement, and we honor and welcome our young members as the whole humans they are. We strive to make our virtual and physical spaces as accessible as possible, which includes welcoming parents and their children to attend dialogues, meetings, events, and actions online as their capacity allows. While we do ask folks to be intentional with their presence on screen, we understand that parents may need to turn their video off or split their focus at times in order to care for their children.
Childcare: If you need childcare at a dialogue, meeting or event when we start meeting in shared physical spaces again, please contact us.
Feeding Lil’ White People 4 Black Lives: Chestfeeding and pumping are welcome in all of our spaces. In virtual spaces, you are welcome to turn your video off if you prefer more privacy. When we are in shared physical spaces together again, chestfeeding and pumping are welcome in all of our spaces, and we can facilitate access to a more private space if you prefer. When we are in shared physical spaces together again, please check in with parents and/or caretakers before giving kids food. We have some lil’ WP4BL with severe food allergies.
Fragrance-free Policy
Help us make AWARE-LA/WP4BL accessible to as many people as possible by coming as fragrance-free as possible. We highly encourage you to avoid using scented products before coming to WP4BL in-person meetings, events, and actions. See below for more information about why we are fragrance free.
Why Fragrance-Free? We acknowledge the common chemicals in everyday products can harm all of us, some of us more than others. When exposed to synthetic scents, some people have symptoms like allergies, asthma, difficulty breathing, headaches, flu-like symptoms, and more.
When we come to AWARE-LA/WP4BL spaces having used products on our bodies or clothing that include fragrances or chemicals, those who are allergic or more sensitive are faced with the choice to stay and get sick or leave and be excluded. Help us make our spaces accessible to all by coming fragrance free.
Tips for showing up fragrance-free:
Wear clothes laundered in fragrance-free laundry detergent
Use fragrance-free soap, shampoo and hair products, and lotion
Avoid cologne, aftershave lotion, and perfume
Test products you use with your nose or ask a friend with a good sense of smell. Many products are mistakenly marked “unscented” or “fragrance-free” (but actually contain masking scents that can be very harmful)
For more information about chemical sensitivities and tips on being fragrance free, click here.