Zeta has developed Get Engaged, a Z-HOPE initiative designed to address the underlying issues that are contributing to the senseless killing of African Americans in the U.S. Our objectives are threefold:
- Drive individual and community engagement in the underlying issues that are destroying our communities and augment an understanding of the benefits and consequences of action or inaction.
- Empower citizens through knowledge sharing and fostering collective responsibility among community members.
- Cultivate a culture of mutual respect in our communities.
Get Engaged provides Zeta chapters with a strategic framework to foster citizen engagement and strengthen relationships among the community, elected officials, law enforcement and educators. The initiative will be implemented in collaboration with the NAACP as a series of quarterly Z-HOPE programs focused on justice, media diversity, public policy and civic engagement. For the greatest impact, chapters are asked to align their programming efforts within the outlined timeframe:
January – March: Justice
- Establishing trust between the criminal justice system and the communities served to ensure public safety is a civil and human right for all (Source: NAACP.org)
April – June: Media Diversity
- Examining the state of African American images in media, its impacts on public perception and policy, and the role that we play in driving change
July – September: Public Policy
- Educating our chapter members and communities on current policy proposals, and how these proposals could be implemented
October – December: Civic Engagement
- Raising awareness for political, educational, social and economic issues to increase engagement among African Americans in the democratic process (Source: NAACP.org)
Chapters are asked to contact the local chapters of the NAACP and/or other identified community advocacy organizations, like NOBLE or the League of Women Voters, to plan and execute Get Engaged programs. Notably, the NAACP has been given lead collaborator status due to its grassroots structure, proven leadership and commitment to the advancement of our communities.
The official hashtag for the Get Engaged initiative is #ZetasGetEngaged.