Our History 

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As in our larger society, members of the Sharon Community who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) experience both systemic and episodic racism. In April 2019, Black Sharon High School students and Black residents of Sharon shared their personal experiences of marginalization, othering, and racism in a publicly broadcasted school committee meeting. The Sharon Racial Equity Alliance (SREA) was founded in response to these instances of racism and with a focus on leading active anti-racism work within the Sharon community. 

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SREA intentionally uses the term BIPOC to recognize that all communities of color experience racism and that Black and Indigenous people experience unique and insidious forms of violence and marginalization due to the histories of colonization, slavery, and White supremacy in this country. Because of the intentional, ongoing, and incessant attack on Black lives in this country, the particular ways in which racism is experienced and propagated in Massachusetts, and the current experiences of racism by Black members of the Sharon community, SREA believes it is important to focus on centering the issues faced by the Black community in Sharon, while also understanding and addressing racism experienced by all communities of color. 

SREA recognizes that individuals hold multiple identities and experience the inseparable intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia, and other forms of oppression. SREA is committed to ongoing self-education and local, collaborative education and advocacy so that Sharon can become a more equitable and just town. As such, SREA will work to identify, examine, and challenge interpersonal, institutional, and ideological racism in Sharon.

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Our Work

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Vision

Racial equity and belonging in Sharon.

 

Mission

SREA is an anti-racist organization whose mission is to fight for racial equity, justice, and belonging in Sharon, Massachusetts through education and advocacy that centers the experiences and voices of members of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities within Sharon.

 

Core Values

SREA’s core values are forged by our commitment to the highest ethical standards, and drive our priorities and organizational decisions. These core values guide our behaviors, judgments, and how we accomplish our mission.

 

Centering Black Experiences

We believe it is important to focus on centering the issues faced by the Black community in Sharon, while also understanding and addressing racism experienced by all communities of color.

 

Intersectionality

We recognize that individuals hold multiple identities and experience the inseparable intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, classism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of oppression.

 

Humility

We believe that White members of SREA should remain personally and organizationally humble by being aware of the power of individual and collective Whiteness, actively listening to the expertise of the BIPOC community, continuously educating themselves, and understanding that being anti-racist is a baseline quality of decency in a human being and that they should not seek recognition or approval.  

 

Integrity

We operate and do our work in an honest, ethical, and transparent manner.

 

Excellence

We constantly challenge ourselves to the highest levels of learning and performance to achieve greater impact. 

 

Courage

We strive to prioritize taking anti-racist action over inaction for fear of making mistakes.

 

Community

We believe there is strength in collaboration and building long-term relationships with community partners.

 

Optimism

We strive to see the best in ourselves and each other and believe that tomorrow holds endless possibilities.

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