September is typically spent bringing the MLQ season to a close, however, September 2020 was, instead, a time for building foundations.

Based on feedback from the BIPOC Town Halls held earlier this summer, one major theme was making sure our staff and volunteers do not run out of steam when it comes to addressing DEI issues and implementing change. With respect to that goal, we are both continuing public-facing projects such as our commemorative month highlights and creating framework for future seasons of MLQ.  

Before we get to our update, we want to remind everyone of the seven pillars for our DEI work: equity, inclusion, leadership, learning opportunities, recruitment/retention, spotlight and safety. These pillars help guide and define the focus areas for action items being taken. For more information, check out our July update.

Now it’s time for our September update.

PEOPLE OPERATIONS AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION DEPARTMENTS
As MLQ continues to seek out a permanent DEI director, MLQ Lead DEI Strategist Christian Barnes will assume the role of interim DEI director. Barnes started at MLQ as the 2018 MLQ Championship volunteer lead. Following a positive experience at championship, Barnes joined MLQ year-round as the officials manager. In 2020, he added New York Titans manager and lead DEI strategist to his resume.

The MLQ Equity and Culture Audit is complete. The audit consisted of three parts: a media and policy scan, a survey and in-depth interviews. The results have been shared with the commissioners and Interim DEI Director Barnes. Follow-up questions are now being compiled and a presentation will be scheduled with the MLQ director team and the MLQ DEI team.

“The MLQ Equity and Culture Audit reflects a number of issues faced in quidditch at-large. How these issues intersect with MLQ has been an ongoing conversation within the DEI team and across department leadership. I’m happy to say that many of the suggestions within the audit results have either been tackled within the three months our team has existed or are in the process of being addressed,” Barnes said. “Looking toward the future: we will be compiling ways in which we can help franchise teams continue building community and ways in which we can connect the DEI values of MLQ as an organization with each individual stakeholder, whether they partake in competition, support or simply spectating.”

Additionally, as promised in our August update, we have added the racial demographic breakdown of our staff and volunteers to our DEI page. We will be adding gender in the month of October. This page will be updated periodically.

Each month our DEI team selects an organization to highlight that you can give time or money to in order to increase DEI within our larger society. This month we’re highlighting the Columbia Renegades quidditch team.

The Renegades have started a GoFundMe to raise $25,000 by summer 2021. The funds will be used to create a quidditch scholarship at Columbia for a 2021 BIPOC freshman. The recipient will be determined by the team’s executive board–financial need and leadership qualities exhibited during the fall and during high school will be taken into consideration. The player chosen will receive a $500 per semester academic scholarship.

“In the wake of the George Floyd protests, the quidditch community has been working on creating a more inclusive space for black, indigenous, and other people of color,” said Tad Walters, coach of the Renegades quidditch team, on the scholarship’s GoFundMe page.

Want to donate to this scholarship or help the Renegades spread the word? Check out their GoFundMe.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT
The MLQ Athlete Advancement Program is still seeking donations for our BIPOC Grant.

The finances necessary to engage in a quidditch season have been an active barrier to players in the sport. This barrier is one that, in addition to the likes of legitimacy and perspective of the sport, have contributed to the lack of racial diversity across the league. This grant is meant to lessen the barrier by opening the door for more players to find their place in quidditch. It is meant to make quidditch a possibility for more BIPOC athletes by lessening the financial impact on their lives. 

If you would like to help fund the MAAP BIPOC Grant, you can fill out this form.

GAMEPLAY AND EVENTS DEPARTMENTS
To continue developing an atmosphere for top-level quidditch competition across the U.S. and Canada, MLQ has been working on the creation of an anti-bias module for all officials. Spearheaded by DEI Lead Strategist and Interim DEI Director Barnes, with the support of former Gameplay Project Manager Josh Mansfield and DEI Strategist Tawfik Abbas, MLQ’s anti-bias module for officials will be the next step in fostering a community of high-ranking officials for all competitions. The module–using feedback from players, coaches, managers and officials throughout the sport–will utilize in-game situations to establish a foundation for rooting out implicit and explicit bias that has been exhibited in the sport to date. 

“Although the initial call for anti-bias modules focused on officials on pitch, we have decided to expand and create modules for coaches, officials and volunteers/staff,” Barnes said. “The creation of three separate modules that focuses not only on general anti-bias knowledge but also uses situational awareness will develop a better lens across more stakeholders.”

MLQ Events Director Emily Hickmott, Assistant DEI Director Ema Shiroma-Chao and DEI Strategist Dana Dixon will be presenting at the 9th Annual Harry Potter Conference, a non-profit academic conference hosted by Chestnut Hill College, in mid-October. The trio’s piece is entitled “Creating an Equitable Pitch: Gender in Quidditch and Next Steps for Improved Equality.” The session will take place virtually on Saturday, Oct. 17 from 3:10 to 3:20 pm ET in the Raven Zoom Room. You can check out the conference’s website to learn more.

MARKETING AND DIGITAL MEDIA DEPARTMENT
The MLQ DEI and social teams have identified commemorative days and months to highlight in an effort to honor the cultures and identities of our diverse community. If you are a current or recent MLQ athlete or volunteer and would like to share your experiences or connections in relation to a commemorative day or month, please complete this form and we will touch base with you in the near future. This past month we highlighted MLQ Designer Jane Arnett for Bi Visibility Day.

The release of our Black quidditch athlete highlight reel will be delayed to October. As mentioned in our August update, our plan is for our first DEI blog post on intersectionality in our sport to accompany the release. The authors have requested more time to compile their piece.

Finally, MLQ’s creative, DEI and marketing departments are entering a new stage for the Boston franchise’s rebranding. Three new options were presented to the Boston community via a marketing research study. The results from this survey are currently being used by MLQ’s designers to sketch out visuals. MLQ’s aforementioned departments will reconvene this week to discuss next steps and land on a final deadline for launch.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
MLQ, as an organization, wants to foster a welcoming community within quidditch as well as society as a whole.

Today we want to draw your attention to a petition to join Athlete Ally, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the American Civil Liberties Union as they urge the NCAA Board of Directors to ensure a discrimination-free environment at all NCAA events.

In late March, Idaho enacted House Bill (HB) 500, which bars transgender athletes from participating in athletic competitions consistent with their gender identity, and subjects all female athletes to the possibility of invasive genital and genetic screenings. Idaho’s law is so egregious that a judge intervened to prevent its enforcement.

The NCAA issued a statement calling out HB500 as discriminatory and, in 2016, promised to ensure all championships would be held in a discrimination-free enviornment. However, Idaho is still slated to be the location of the 2021 NCAA Championships.

Learn more. Sign the petition.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Feel free to contact our DEI team at [email protected]. If you’d like to get involved in MLQ’s DEI department, check out our openings.