Recognizing Juneteenth

Clearwater is a credit union that was founded by 8 Missoula police officers in 1956. Today we are governed by an all white Board of Directors and managed by an all white Executive Team. We serve a predominantly white membership in the predominantly white state of Montana. We know some will ask us to just stay in our lane. We know some would prefer we sit this out.

We also know that silence is not ok. Black Lives Matter to us.

We are anti-racist. We acknowledge the long-standing, systemic, and institutional racism directed toward black people, Native American people, and other people of color throughout the United States. We recognize that our own industry – banking and financial services – has been complicit in this racism. We do not tolerate racism in our own organization and we will fight it in the communities we serve.

On this Juneteenth – a day that represents a critical moment in black history – in a small step toward accepting responsibility to address racism, we pause to celebrate the countless contributions black people have made to this country, especially with respect to the struggle for freedom and justice. To all the black moms, dads, children, poets, musicians, soldiers, veterans, doctors, volunteers, preachers, teachers, athletes, politicians, lawyers, workers, and artists: We are listening. We know we have a lot to learn. We know we have work to do.

Jack Lawson
President & CEO

 

Current Action Being Taken

• Our 2020-2024 Strategic Plan, commits us to drafting and adopting a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan in 2020.
• We believe in being inclusive. Membership is open to anybody who meets the eligibility guidelines. We have developed fully remote account opening options to facilitate membership. We also partner with IRC and Soft Landing to provide education and facilitate membership for our local refugee population.
• We commit about 5% of our annual net income to philanthropy. We focus on funding organizations that are committed to empowering people, protecting the planet, and building inclusive economies. Salish-Kootenai Housing Authority, Soft Landing, IRC, and the American Indian Governance and Policy Institute are a few examples.