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In the United States, creating a better society does not depend solely on the decisions and actions of elected officials and other government leaders. As in perhaps no other country, the ways we live-our opportunities, our fears, our conflicts, our hopes-are strongly influenced by those who exercise power in a wide variety of areas, from employers to journalists, from investors to judges, from talk show hosts to clergy. This is part of the strength of America, since when no one sector of society dominates, more voices can be heard. However, this is also a challenge, since working for any single goal (for example, providing access to health care to all who need it) requires the persuasion, cooperation, and work of leaders from often disparate arenas, each leader a stakeholder in a different universe, each one acting on behalf of-and responsible to-a different constituency.
The National Conference for Community and Justice of Metropolitan St. Louis (NCCJSTL) works to create a more just society, so that all people will have access to our nation's opportunities and be included in its promise. We are dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry, and racism by promoting understanding and respect among all races, religions, and cultures. This broad-based rather than single-constituency approach makes NCCJSTL unique, and we work against all forms of group discrimination and bias. We promote our vision through advocacy, conflict resolution, leadership development, and education, with the goal of transforming communities to make them more just and inclusive.
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NCCJSTL works with established and emerging leaders from a diversity of backgrounds and spheres of expertise. Today, NCCJSTL's outstanding board members, professional staff, consulting staff, and graduates of institute programming number over 1,000 leaders in the St. Louis Region. These influential leaders break down barriers and build more inclusive institutions that reflect and strengthen communities today. We use programming (doing the hands-on work), research tools (documenting the need, mapping results), and advocacy work (spreading the word) to empower leaders with the skills and values that will help them to oppose discrimination and open minds-their own and others'. These empowered leaders:
- Acknowledge their own personal biases and work to correct them.
- Have a sense of urgency around the importance of issues of diversity, inclusion, difference, and access.
- Break through barriers that divide people.
- Take responsibility for connecting to "others."
- Create opportunities of access for others.
- Recruit, hire, and promote people from diverse races, religions, ethnicities, cultures, ability statuses, genders, and sexual orientations.
We focus our energy on established, emerging , and potential leaders. These leaders - newly informed and equipped to value and respect differences - are then empowered creators of change. They work to make their organizations and communities more open, diverse, and inclusive.
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