Longfellow Community Council is excited to announce that we’re looking for candidates to apply to our Board of Directors!
Historically, governing boards have not been accessible spaces for everyone. It’s a volunteer position that continues to operate under antiquated ideas of how a neighborhood Board functions – monthly meetings with formal rules that create space that is largely dominated by White, home-owning, affluent voices. How do we build systems of change focused on equitable engagement and expand the possibilities for our community when the beautiful diversity of our community isn’t fully at the table?
As the neighborhood organization for the Greater Longfellow Neighborhood, Longfellow Community Council’s Board of Directors should reflect our neighborhood – queer, disabled, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, working-class, young folks, immigrants, renters, and unhoused folks. We know that we can’t increase involvement with LCC without making some sweeping organizational changes, including who is on our board and how they operate. It also means making changes to how we operate as staff and as committees to minimize barriers of participation and focus on how we can show up and support our community. There are people in our community who need rental assistance and a food shelf within walking distance. We want to be able to connect unhoused people and encampments with the resources they need. We want to support our immigrant neighbors, and help empower them to organize around those issues. We want to address the environmental, housing and racial injustice in our community.
Our board is made up of dedicated members of our community who volunteer their time with our organization. We are immensely grateful for their service and all the time and energy they have dedicated to our neighborhood. This year, in making a call to our community for new board members, we want to let you know who we need at the table. We need members who are committed to the idea of equitable representation – we need change makers who are committed to working on behalf of the community. We need to do away with the historically classist and prohibitive models of engagement. We need to advocate and organize for our community in ways that bring real and meaningful change to people’s daily life.
If you’re interested in running, we have open seats in Howe, Cooper, Hiawatha, and Longfellow, as well as a couple of community seats and a business representative seat. Find the application on our website (longfellow.org/our-board) or email Executive Director Rachel Boeke at rachel@longfellow.org for more information.
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