In recent weeks, white supremacist stickers have appeared in Mercer County and their message was disturbingly clear, “Reclaim Your Nation. Reclaim Your Heritage.” We at YWCA Princeton want to assert that we remain dedicated to our mission- to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.
Like any agency with a nearly 100-year history, we have endured and weathered the changing attitudes of society as a whole. We have also been witness to the effects that racism has had in the communities we serve. We do not and will not tolerate racist messaging, as it is in direct odds with the advancement of our mission.
In 2007, with the now-dissolved YWCA Trenton, we cofounded Stand Against Racism, which is now a signature campaign of YWCA USA. Stand Against Racism’s purpose is to build community among those who work for racial justice and to raise awareness about the negative impact of institutional and structural racism in our communities.
This year, we innovated Stand Against Racism to make it meaningful for all of our community members throughout the year through a range of civic engagement activities. As part of Stand Against Racism, this summer we proudly hosted an open for all summer series featuring three distinguished speakers who held discussions around difficult and often times ignored topics, such as racism in higher education, racism and mental illness and the black immigrant experience.
We will not let these racist stickers overshadow the hard work of our staff, supporters, allies and most importantly, children and families served by our programs. We have an English as a second language program that serves over 300 students each year, including free United States citizenship classes for individuals undergoing the naturalization process. Our child development centers promote diversity and inclusivity in the classrooms and our bilingual nursery school in Princeton supports bilingual preschoolers. Our breast cancer resource center has an initiative to provide support and services for women of color recently diagnosed with breast cancer as well as breast cancer survivors of color.
We are committed to any and every person that walks through our doors to always stay true to our mission and we urge our community to Stand Against Racism with us.
— Judy Hutton
Hutton is CEO of YWCA Princeton.
