ELIMINATE RACISM

At the 1970 YWCA national convention, Dorothy Height, the first National Director of the YWCA’s Center for Racial Justice, led the charge to adopt the YWCA’s One Imperative: The elimination of racism wherever it exists, and by any means necessary. 

 Today, our intersectional mission to eliminate racism and empower women demands that we recognize our responsibility to use our voice and platform to push for action and long-term legal, economic, and societal change – to forge a more equitable Richmond.  YWCA Richmond continues to commit ourselves to the ongoing work of confronting our bias as we challenge these systems.  This also means working harder to engage and amplify women of color as voices for solutions, and strengthening partnerships with organizations throughout Richmond that do the work against violence and systemic racism, so together we can drive change.