WSLR+Fogartyville Inclusion, Diversity Equity and Access Policy
Adopted by Board: September 20, 2021
WSLR+Fogartyville’s commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility is reflected in our mission, vision, and values. As a media and arts organization, we work to address the inequity of existing privilege and to reflect the diverse cultures, issues, and life experiences of residents of the greater Sarasota area by:
- Providing equitable access to the media for marginalized communities.
- Lifting the voices of overlooked and underserved communities through our programming and presentations.
- Pursuing diversity in our content, Board of Directors, volunteers, interns and staff which reflects the communities we serve
- Broadening cultural understanding by exposing listeners and audiences to different cultures and communities through music and public affairs programming.
- Fostering an inclusive environment built on respect and dignity.
- Valuing and encouraging every person’s voice, as we believe that no one person can or should be called upon to represent an entire community.
- Improving accessibility to our programs and building facilities for all members of our community.
We define diversity as all the characteristics and experiences that make each of us unique, including but not limited to: age, race, color, ethnicity, culture, language, religion, national origin, geography, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, physical and mental difference, educational attainment, socioeconomic status, political views and life experiences.
We define existing privilege as the advantages of white, heterosexual, non-disabled persons in our society.
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“Serving the American public in all of its diversity is an important part of the mission of public media articulated in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. But the overwhelming consensus now is that the system has failed to live its values, that structural racism plagues our institutions and that diversity, equity and inclusion of people of color in leadership roles and in our audiences must be our top priority. How must public media change in order to look and sound more like the America we are supposed to reflect and serve?” (From Current.org – News for People in Public Media) – https://current.org/series/diversity?wallit_nosession=1
WSLR has an Anti-Racism and Cultural Inclusion Committee to reflect on that question. The Committee has established five main goals for the organization, some of which have been incorporated into our Strategic Plan.
FIVE MAIN GOALS:
Goal #1 – COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Develop stronger connections with all of the diverse neighborhoods and communities that our signal reaches.
GOAL #2 – LEADERSHIP AND STAFF: Expand the diversity of our listening base, programmers, staff representation, Board of Directors, Advisory Council and sponsorship base.
Goal #3 – POLICIES AND PROCEDURES: Use a participatory approach that includes BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) stakeholders to develop policies and procedures related to diversity, equity and inclusion that acknowledge the intersectionality of race, class, and gender.
Goal #4 – PROGRAMMING: Foster more diversity in programming and seek to address a broader range of community concerns and interests.
GOAL #5 – CULTURE: Build a more welcoming, inclusive, anti-racist organization.
Strategies for achieving the goals can be found here.