Signs made by Kelsey Wentling & friends for recent protests in Springfield, Holyoke and Northampton.
Black Lives Matter. The current protests represent the culmination of decades of unheard cries for justice. Valley Ultimate stands with the BLM movement in their quest for justice for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others. As an organization based on community and youth development, Valley Ultimate believes in the power of outreach and investment in community programs to improve the lives of its inhabitants and supports the re-allotment of city and town budgets to prioritize such programs. Valley Ultimate encourages it’s community to educate themselves on terms and topics like anti-racism, implicit bias, racism, white privilege, Black Lives Matter, and Defund the Police; to support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) owned businesses in a time of economic uncertainty; to donate to organizations doing the work; and to learn more about the platforms, policies and practices of your local representatives and authorities regarding social justice, equity and anti-racism.
Valley Ultimate’s mission is to promote and grow ultimate in Western Mass and the Pioneer Valley and to strengthen the ultimate community by documenting, encouraging and creating positive playing & learning experiences that embrace the Spirit of the Game. In the wake of this massive awakening across the United States, Valley Ultimate is examining our role in systemic racism and working to develop new methods to enact our mission in an anti-racist way.
To strengthen our community we must face the difficult truth that white supremacy is present in all parts of our culture.
- We must face this as individuals, as members of a broader community, as Board members, and as an organization
To encourage and create positive playing & learning opportunities for all we must examine the ways white supremacy impacts these opportunities.
- This includes both logistical items, such as where we host, how we advertise and how we conduct registration for games, youth leagues and workshops; and how we prepare coaches and workshop leaders.
To fully embrace Spirit of the Game, we must listen to and learn from BIPOC players’ experiences and dismantle even the most subtle ways that white supremacy presents itself in ultimate culture.
- We must encourage an openness to self examination in our white players and community to ensure that BIPOC players voices are amplified and supported, so that the mutual respect and joy in competition that spirit of the game embodies is applied to all who enter the ultimate community.
Acknowledging Valley Ultimate’s complicity in a culture of white supremacy is the first step in a long journey that can only be continued through action. We invite the community to hold us accountable as we rebuild our programs in the “new normal” COVID-19 creates for us. As with any process, we will make mistakes, but we hope that with your help we can learn from them. Please also hold each other accountable and support each other in learning from our mistakes, rather than getting stalled by them.
The newly formed VU Equity & Anti-Racism Task Force will not only be spearheading Board education on these topics, but also assessing our programs, releasing resources on our social media accounts and website, and offering community events. The current task force members are Kelsey Wentling, Amber Tanudjaja, Joe Costello, Lee Feldscher, Kyle Taylor and Terry Plotkin. Visit our Equity Resources page for our living document of resources. If you are interested in serving on this task force please fill out our volunteer form.
If you have questions about the Equity & Anti-Racism Task Force, email us at valleyultimateboard@gmail.com
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay spirited!