Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion 

The founder of The Junior League, Mary Harriman, believed that we all bear the responsibility to learn about the world around us in order to be more effective in our desire to improve it. That we should really try to understand the “why” behind something, not just superficially give it lip service.

As we strive within our organization to live up to our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion, we honor and celebrate the struggles, the history and the leaders of our multifaceted world.

Progress is Plural

As The Junior League of Ocala, we stand united in our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. We will continue to speak out against organizations seeking to perpetuate ideologies that create an illusion of superiority rather than equity, that promote bigotry rather than inclusion, that foster hate rather than understanding and love. And we will always work to help lead our community forward through constructive engagement, open dialogue and finding common ground.

Looking at 2020-2021, our goals include the following: 

• Implementing Diversity and Inclusion themed workshops through our "Let's Get Loud" Series.
• Featuring speakers at our General Member Meetings who encourage self-reflection, education and action.
• Working with local community leaders and experts who can help bridge knowledge gaps and create stronger partnerships.
• Acknowledging important holidays and creating educational, meaningful content that shares resources and ways of involvement.     

VOICES OF CHANGE

As an organization, we are not alone in facing these big questions, and as we move through our diversity and inclusion journey, we look to other voices of change who also blaze this trail in the important work of diversity, equity and inclusion. Here are some of our favorites:

• The Racial Equity Institute
• Undoing Racism workshop by The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
• Anti Racist Alliance
• Cook Ross: Partnering with the world's most influential organizations to create inclusive leadership & cultures.
• BoardSource on Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity
• National Diversity Council

We recognize that a major part of our diversity and inclusion journey is personal education and reflection. These are some of our favorite resources that help frame this work:

• Love Has No Lines - Promoting Inclusion in Your Everyday Life
• The Trevor Project - Ally Training
• Verna Myers TED talk on "How To Overcome Our Biases"
• lookdifferent.org
• Harvard's Project Implicit
• Facebook: Managing Unconscious Bias
• Unconscious Bias @ Work Google Ventures
• Women in the Civil Rights Movement Timeline
• GLAAD - LGBTQ Accelerating Acceptance 

Books that can help you tackle the Diversity and Inclusion discussion:

• Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People - Mahzarin R. Banaji
• Moving Diversity Forward: How to Go From Well-Meaning to Well-Doing - Verna A. Myers
• What if I Say the Wrong Thing?: 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People - Verna A. Myers
• Under Our Skin - Benjamin Watson
• Crucial Conversations - Kerry Patterson
• White Fragility - Robin D'Angelo
• The Hate You Give - Angie Thomas
• Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly
• So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo

Podcasts that can help you tackle the Diversity and Inclusion discussion:

• Code Switch
• Revisionist History
• Between the World and Me
• Stamped from the Beginning
• The New Jim Crow
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
• Pushout
• Integrated Schools