Community Update: Anti-Racism Accountability Check-in
November 9, 2019
As we complete our first year as IDC, we return to our mission: Raise the bar. Eliminate Harm.
We believe that accountability is an important part of harm reduction. To do this, we are taking time to share with you our actions to respond to feedback from our community, and specifically in response to the We See You WAT demands. We make this statement, not to center our efforts, but to root our actions in transparency as we work to build trust and accountability within and for our community.
Intimacy direction/coordination has the potential to reshape problematic power dynamics in regards to scenes of intimacy for the advocacy of all practitioners, but this cannot be done if disrupting racialized systems of oppression and dismantling white supremacy are not a part of this process. We acknowledge that IDC has not done enough to attend to the mounting feedback from people who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC): that they do not feel welcome or safe in the spaces we are building to practice intimacy direction/coordination. We sincerely apologize.
To address this in our actions, we have come together as a company to interrogate our relationship to each other and this community. In collaboration with David ‘dstew’ Stewart and Sarah Lozoff of Production on Deck, we worked for six months to intentionally define our Core Values and are committed to the ongoing work of weaving these values into the fabric of our company, as well as in specific initiatives within our organization.
We have named Anti-Racism as our first core value. We realize that this does not erase past harms, nor absolve us from the work needed to repair those harms. We name this value first to signify its importance and our deep commitment to the ongoing work required to uncover and remove white supremacist structures within our organization and prioritize Anti-Racist practices in all of our work moving forward.
To this effort, IDC will continue consulting with Production on Deck and other specialists as we take the time to actively address our internal and systematic issues, using our core values to guide our pedagogy, policy, and business practices. This is a long and imperfect process. We aim to work with grace and humility, take responsibility for hurtful actions, and continue to find ways to do better and seek repair.
As a part of accountability, we would like to share with you the actions we have taken and will continue to take in direct response to the We See You WAT demands.
IDC is committed to the following actions as a start to this journey:
Anti-Racism explicitly named and defined as a Core Value of IDC, signifying our commitment to regular, ongoing work and prioritization of Anti-Racism at the core of our organization, and our relationship to this community.
The intentional and explicit disavowing of white supremacy, both in our words and in our actions.
Ongoing collaboration and consultation with EDI specialists and a budget line to support this continued development.
All IDC executive team members have completed Anti-Racism training from at least one of the following sources: Racial Equity Institute, Art Equity, and Nicole Brewer’s Anti-Racist Theatre course. We will participate in continued training from these organizations and other Black-owned/led organizations at a minimum of twice per year.
Bi-monthly staff meetings exclusively meant to address, support, and implement Anti-Racism efforts within business operations, external initiatives, and the intimacy pedagogy we create and teach. This space is an opportunity to synthesize, practice, and put into action the training above, and the continued education done individually.
Training from one of the organizations listed above has been mandated as a part of all certification and recertification requirements for intimacy professionals within IDC.
Financial compensation for all internship positions.
Increased early registration opportunities for individuals in the BIPOC community
Mentorship opportunities by and for BIPOC intimacy practitioners
Scholarship opportunities and reserved spaces for BIPOC individuals
The implementation of land acknowledgment statements at the beginning of every IDC event to honor the indigeneity of the stolen land on which IDC operates, as well as to acknowledge the current impacts of colonial violence on indigenous communities and our responsibilities in ongoing reconciliation and repair.
We’d like to specifically thank We See You WAT for publishing their demands. We are grateful for the gift you have given us with actionable steps towards repair and harm prevention. Additionally, IDC thanks those in our community who have generously given their energy and time by writing to us, speaking to us, and calling us to action, both publicly and privately, both inside IDC and outside. We acknowledge your great labor and we are working to prove that we are worthy of your trust.
IDC is committed to this effort and welcomes the work required to do so. We will continue to share our efforts for transparency and accountability within our community.
In advocacy,
IDC Professionals
IDC is committed to listening to our communities, colleagues, and leaders of color and doing our best to support their needs, requests, and demands, without prior assumption or asking for justification. If you would like to share your experience or offer feedback, please reach out to us at info@idcprofessionals.com. If for any reason you do not wish to be identified, please feel free to use this anonymous Google Form to reach us. This form is read by the IDC executive team, including Jessica Steinrock, Marie Percy, Alicia Rodis, and Sasha Smith. Thank you.