Ethnic and Racial Diversity Recruitment Advisory Group
Summary Report
September 2021
As far back as 2000, Pilgrim Place residents and Administration began calling for more racial and ethnic diversity on campus, among residents and staff alike. The desire to be more inclusive arose with the development of a strategic plan. Diversity quickly emerged as an institutional priority, A committee consisting of residents and board members was formed to begin talking about how to attract more minority members to the community. Subsequently, a consultant was hired to facilitate discussion about the process.
Thirteen years later, in 2013, a group of Pilgrim Place residents reaffirmed their conviction that “our largely Euro-American community would benefit by the greater presence of residents from Indigenous, African, Latino, and Asian backgrounds.” The creation of a new “working group” be created to explore steps toward greater diversity. As a result, the Town Meeting Executive Committee (TMX) and the Pilgrim Place Board of Directors created the “Working Group on Ethnic and Racial Diversity,” out of which emerged the present=day “Ethnic and Racial Diversity Recruitment Advisory Group” (ERDRAG).
Now in its seventh year, ERDRAG continues to work towards accomplishing the mission of making Pilgrim Place a more inviting and welcoming place for individuals whose racial, ethnic, religious, non-religious, sexual orientation, and otherwise diverse cultural backgrounds do not conform with the historically dominant Northern European Christian culture of Pilgrim Place. Comprised of residents and administrative staff, ERDRAG has established the following Task Forces that continue to meet regularly to accomplish its multifaceted goals.
1. Circle of Chairs – Established as an interracial dialogue between Pilgrim Place residents in cooperation with leadership comprised of Pomona representatives from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), the multi-year effort has resulted in developing mutual working relationships and friendships dedicated to promoting increased interracial understanding and cooperation. Responding to renewed focus on police relations with Black youth, and the killing of George Floyd, recent dialogue has been informed through the work of Black Lives Matter, resulting on recent Circle of Chairs sessions with local active duty and retired police officers from the Cities of Pomona, Los Angeles and Upland.
2. Cultural Competency Training – Under the auspices of Multicultural BRIDGE (Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups through Education), with training and coaching provided by Gwendolyn VanSant, Pilgrim Place entered into a contract providing a series of cultural competency training available to all Pilgrim Place residents and staff. Thus far, approximately six training sessions with attendant follow-up dialogues (all via Zoom) have been accomplished. Well over half of all residents have attended multiple trainings and dialogue sessions. Training with Pilgrim Place staff, including sessions with residents, has been postponed due to the ongoing Pandemic. Resident-facilitated sessions between fellow residents are scheduled to continue with greater emphasis placed on listening for deeper understanding of ongoing tensions and concerns arising from such discussions.
The Advisory Group is committed to working with Administration toward achieving training and development needs for all staff with the adoption of its training workplace program “Be Best.” The BRIDGE consultant has reached out to formally align the Cultural Competency training with the goals of the Be Best training.
3. Tongva Ancestral Project – Concerted effort has been directed to highlighting the original ancestral Tongva tribal lands upon which Pilgrim Place residents presently reside. By building personal relationships with present tribal members, projects such as the Blanket Exercise at Pilgrim Place Festival as well as a newly established Tongva Interactive Pathway Map have been created to increase awareness and visibility. Signage and other educational proposals are presently under development.
4. Diversity Study Group – Members meet regularly to read books on antiracism, the Black experience in America, the treatment of NativeAmericans and indigenous peoples, and the history of Asian exploitation, exclusion and internment. Studying the role of the “Doctrine of Discovery” in discounting all claims of land ownership, or cultural autonomy, but Catholic or other European Christian peoples, was an insight holding particular relevancy for Pilgrim Place residents. A significant step toward demonstrating heightened awareness and embracing antiracist action has been the recent display of the Black Lives Matter flag on campus, along with placement of BLM lawn signs and a motorcade display of support for the movement.
Additional activities directed toward educating the general population of Pilgrim Place residents about historical social injustice has spontaneously come about through monthly displays in the lobby of Norton Gardens and at Porter Library. The displays serve to highlight the controversies surrounding such issues and enliven our commitment to mitigating their harmful effects.
5. Enhanced Outreach and Recruitment Strategies – In close collaboration with staff, ERDRAG resident volunteers have engaged in developing a variety of strategies aimed at targeting recruitment outreach efforts to presently underrepresented populations residing at Pilgrim Place, including African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Pacific Islanders, faith communities other than Christian, and other diverse groups. At staff level, strategies now include professional input from Admissions as well as Marketing staff, collaborating together to achieve greater diversity among residents. A significant step toward signaling our commitment to achieving these goals would be the appointment of a Director of Diversity to be an integral member of the Administration team.
6. Financial sustainability and affordability is central to the vision of creating and maintaining a culturally diverse and more inclusive living environment. In recent years, Pilgrim Place admissions policy has embraced the policy of developing plans to subsidize occasional worthy applicants whose assets may be insufficient for regular admission. Expanding upon this idea, ERDRAG has proposed establishing a channel for solicitation of gifts for additional “gateways” to such entrance-free admissions. One would be aimed at persons whose ancestors were slaves in the U.S.; a second “gateway’ would be to open to descendants of the people from whom land was taken for European settlement; and a third would be offered to first generation immigrants to the U.S. The proposals have been submitted in early form to Administration. Consideration has also been give to options for residency for long-term staff members who wish to retire to Pilgrim Place.