Alta is committed to challenging systemic racism. We, like many others, could not remain silent in the face of the callous murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless Black and brown people killed by police. This moment has prompted us to clarify our commitment to advance racial justice, and what it means for us and our work. We recognize our responsibility to fully integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into our company culture and project work and to assess where Alta is in our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work, process and growth while being honest and transparent.
Our work should improve people’s lives. It should provide safe and affordable access to jobs and schools and services, improve health and well-being, and serve everyone who lives in a community. Our work must aim to support just outcomes and repair past harms, and not ignore the realities of how racism, harassment, and racially-biased police enforcement do disproportional harm to communities of color, particularly Black people.
Improving communities and solving problems is why we are active transportation professionals, and we often say how fortunate we are to be able to work on these projects. But that comes from a place of privilege. There are many who cannot move freely without fear when walking and bicycling, and who suffer from decades of disinvestment due to structural racism.
If public spaces are not safe for everyone, our work is not done. Creating transportation choices and vibrant streets is a footnote if Black communities and communities of color cannot access them as equals. Alta has an organizational commitment to actively work for racial justice. We believe we must play a role in breaking down systems of racial inequity.
We take this commitment seriously, and are taking a systematic approach to the hard work we have to do to make progress happen.
As an organization we commit to a process of lifelong learning about how racism has impacted every facet of our society, and embrace how inclusion advances democracy and our own workplace experience.
We affirm the need to listen to other people’s truths and patterns of experiences. We need to do so in a way that respects the energy and strength required to tell that truth, and with a willingness to hear the call to action that may be within it.
We will take action. We will continue to invest in our internal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion task force and in organizations and partnerships who are aligned with racial justice. Day to day, we will acknowledge privilege and intersectionality, and model an attitude of continual learning and growth.
Our commitment is internal — as a company, an employer, and as individuals — and external, as a participant in community work across the country and as part of an industry. We recognize our own systems and platforms and our role in sharing power. As we move forward, we will ground ourselves in the years of hard work, advocacy, research, and change that Black, Indigenous, People of Color have already led. We will continue to seek out and sit with hard discussions, elevate the voices of those most impacted, and be a collaborator in naming and working to change systemic failures.
We stand firm in our mission to improve the lives of all people, and we stand together with the Black community. We are committed to doing the work to change the world, and to change ourselves.
