June 2025

Side by Side is committed to honoring the fullness of who our youth are by cultivating a space that recognizes and focuses on their complete humanity. In order to do so, we affirm that we must commit to the continued acknowledgement of historical and ongoing racial inequities and serve as disrupters of systems, acts, and people that perpetuate racial inequity to impact change. With a specific focus on prioritizing the needs of black and brown LGBTQ+ youth, this commitment will be the lens in which we build our organizational structure, perform analysis, and develop policies and advocacy processes.

We continue to commit to:

· Listening to both racial equity scholars in the community and to Black LGBTQ+ youth to understand the nuances of what Black LGBTQ+ youth need.

· Working intentionally to create a representative organization that reflects the racial diversity of Virginia’s LGBTQ community.

· Creating space for Black LGBTQ+ youth, which includes naming the historical and systemic nature of racism, leveraging organizational influence, and engaging in intentional outreach and recruitment that not only breaks down the dominance of white culture, but also celebrates other cultures and experiences.

· Seeking funding opportunities, on an ongoing basis, to uplift Black LGBTQ+ youth.

· Collaborating with organizations who serve, support, and affirm Black youth, to ensure that Black LGBTQ+ youth have multiple safe and affirming spaces in which to flourish.

· Increasing access to our programs and services by building relationships in Black communities consistently through long-term engagement.

We acknowledge that these objectives are but a start to a long journey filled with consistent reflection and action in response to the ever-changing sociopolitical landscape that disproportionately impacts communities of color. We are committed to being partners in the work and agents of change in order to help shape a brighter and more equitable future for Virginia’s LGBTQ+ youth.