Alexander Hamilton Scholars’ Commitment to Diversity

Achieving Alexander Hamilton Scholars’ mission and vision requires acknowledging and doing our part to address the numerous challenges and barriers our scholars face as a result of institutionalized racism, sexism, ableism, genderism, homophobia, and more.

Why it matters

1. We have a societal role in DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) as a registered 501(c)(3) — “As a sector, we must center race equity as a core goal of social impact in order to fulfill our organizational missions” (ProInspire)

2. We want to model for our Scholars what inclusivity can look like and hold ourselves accountable by listening to our Scholars on how we can be more inclusive.

3. We cannot expect our Scholars to learn how to grow in the areas of DEI if we do not expect it from ourselves.

4. This commitment and our initiatives are our intentional pushback against the systems that oppress our Scholars.

5. This commitment and our initiatives expressly tie our dedication to life-long learning and growth back to our values as an organization.

Below you can explore the ways we’re advancing our commitment.

Each year, Hamilton Scholars are required to pledge their commitment to respecting fellow scholars as part of our Behavior Agreement.

Discrimination based on age, race, national original, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation, or religious beliefs will not be tolerated.

Looking to 2022 and beyond, below is how we’re fulfilling our commitment.

• Providing intentional opportunities for staff and volunteers to engage in DEI work:

  • The People’s Institute Northwest workshop: “an intensive workshop designed to educate, challenge and empower people to ‘undo’ the racist structures that hinder effective social change;” AHS staff attending Dec 2021.

  • Seattle Works Agent of Change Cohort participation; a cohort-based program hosted by to unlearn white supremacist norms and practices in the non-profit sector. AoC connects professionals, volunteers, and any folks looking to decolonize the non-profit sector through workshops on implicit bias, anti-racism, advocacy, and more.

  • Inter-office AHS staff book club, exploring titles such as So You Want to Talk About Race; How to be an Antiracist; and, The Color of Mind”

  • Engaging in quarterly equity meetings to apply learned ideas to our organization policies and put theory to practice.

• Providing intentional opportunities for our Scholars to engage in DEI work:

  • IDEA Series (2021-2022):

    • Race, White-Dominant Norms, & the School-to-Prison Pipeline

    • Feminism, Gender & Sexuality

    • Generational Wealth, Classism & the Opportunity Gap

    • Disability Justice, Ableism & Accessibility

    • Indigeneity, Decoloniality & the Anthropocene

    • Intersectionality & Social Justice.

• Increasing the accessibility of our application by updating racial identity question to be more inclusive of multiracial applicants and adding an accessibility accommodation question to ensure we meet the needs of our applicants.

• Increasing the accessibility of our website through an access widget, proper descriptions of images, and publishing content with an accessibility-first framework.

• Examining our hiring practices by including language in job descriptions that encourage applicants from all backgrounds, intentionally increasing our reach by posting positions in BIPOC candidate spaces, and actively inviting alumni hammies to apply.

• Increasing accessibility and transparency by inviting AHS staff to quarterly Board of Director meetings and intentionally continuing DEI conversations in that space.

Alexander Hamilton Scholars is building an anti-racist culture of belonging, where people can show up being their true selves, and is working to model anti-racist practices in our institutional and personal behavior. The racial grievance policy is to support people of color to feel safe in the Alexander Hamilton Scholars community and to actively address and interrupt microaggressions, harassment, racial discrimination, and other racial misconduct. Our racial grievance policy is grounded in the lived experiences of people of color and our commitment to addressing and reducing racial grievances in our community. Alexander Hamilton Scholars’ culture is growing to be truly more representative, so people of color in our community have organizational support and feel safe.

This policy ensures that:

• All perceived violations and complaints of racial discrimination and harassment are considered seriously and dealt with in a manner that is fair, urgent, and consistent.

• People reporting racial grievances feel that their grievances are addressed and taken seriously.

• People reporting racial grievances do not experience any retaliation or victimization.

The Racial Grievance Policy page includes further information on Reporting & Addressing Racist Incidents, as well as the Investigation and Grievance Procedure.