We Are Your Neighbors.
Chroma Core Document, Signed March 1st, 2026
Vision: Love in the margins
Mission: We exist to cultivate a culture of collectivity and develop rhythms of mutual aid within anti-racist and queer affirming frameworks.
Project Description
Chroma is a community-led mutual aid initiative started by minority individuals within the Wheaton College community. We exist to cultivate a culture of collectivity and equip each other with tools for self-love. We strive to develop rhythms of mutual aid within anti-racist and queer affirming frameworks. We meet each other’s needs through engaging in community building events (ie. movie nights, field trips, open mics, etc.), and educating each other through weekly lectures and discussion based sessions, and sharing our material resources.
Chroma is not affiliated with Wheaton College, although we seek to serve the Wheaton College community as well as the town of Wheaton. This community includes prospective students, current students, former students & alumni, faculty & staff, and anyone in the Wheaton area who is committed to our values and to participating in our cause. Chroma welcomes all, with the expectation that attendees abide by our shared community commitments outlined in our “Community Statement”, which delineates expectations around hate speech, anonymity, and a spirit of self & neighborly love, amongst other things. We are not affiliated with a religious belief system, but are ready and willing to support Chroma’s ideals from a Christian perspective.
We exist to build self-empowerment and self-enrichment within minority communities in light of injustice experienced within or beyond Wheaton. We define “minorities” as anyone who experiences structural disempowerment within or beyond Wheaton. This includes people of color, ethnic minorities, non-white individuals, women, all members of the LGBTQIA+ community—including gender-expansive, non-conforming, and trans individuals—religious minorities & non-religious individuals, political minorities, language minorities, class minorities, individuals with disabilities, individuals who experience neurodivergence or mental health issues, and any group of people who are in the minority and/or discriminated against within or beyond Wheaton College. We acknowledge intersectionality within minority identities, and both celebrate and respect the nuances of identity.
Chroma looks to sustain itself through the support and participation of community partners, alumni, and supportive faculty and staff at Wheaton College. Chroma’s mission is co-facilitated by the Chroma community and its Cabinet, dedicated to learning and propagating best practices for community organizing and social justice work.
Goals
Meet community needs through rhythms of mutual aid and a culture of collectivity.
Train community members to equip each other with knowledge and skills in order to spread awareness and advocacy to our environment.
Strengthen a sense of community and hope among minority students at Wheaton College.
Create an understanding of the history and impact of our movement in the context where we seek to create change.
Guiding Values and Structural Commitments
These are the shared values which guide the decisions and actions of the Chroma community. While we do not require every member to adhere to every facet of these values, we expect that members will respect the commitments while acting as a member of Chroma. Our structural commitments can be amended only with the complete consensus of the community.
Intersectionality and Inclusion
We acknowledge that no form of oppression exists in a vacuum, and that different forms of discrimination and privilege are constantly intersecting with each other, creating unique challenges and opportunities based on more than just one identifying social marker. Additionally, while we acknowledge the experiences of sexual minorities, we challenge our community to honor the lived experiences of racial minorities, who experience very different forms of discrimination in their daily lives.
Since oppression is more than individual acts of discrimination, but systemically and societally active, we refuse to take a posture of passivity. We are committed to actively fight oppression internally and externally: ideologically and materially.
While many Chroma members are Christians, and we are ready and willing to support Chroma’s ideals from a Christian perspective, we are not affiliated with a religious belief system. We welcome people from all religious and non-religious perspectives to join in equal community with other Chroma members.
Transparency and Accountability
We steward this organization, which exists through the hard work of many people. We steward the money people send us because they believe in the work. We take being accountable seriously, which means doing what we say we are going to do. We strive to avoid over-promising and under-delivering. This means we have to be realistic about how much we can do and say no when we can’t do something, rather than saying yes and then not coming through. We also strive to give grace and space to those who need it, understanding that life doesn’t always go as planned, and we sometimes have to prioritize other things in our lives. We invite leaders, community members, and community partners to ensure accountability through our set of practices and principles we are all continually engaging and developing together. It means being open to feedback, acknowledging mistakes, and cultivating humility and compassion for ourselves and each other.
All cabinet members, Chroma members, and community partners should understand what the work is, what the budget is, how things have worked in the past and what is being proposed for the future. At no point should anyone be held “in the dark” regarding our processes, our decisions, and the way we do things.
Consensus-Decision Making
We are committed to an anti-hierarchical approach to self-governance that values everyone’s voice. We aim to be both leaderless and leaderful. We reject hierarchical structures or bureaucracy that dictates our every move and are committed to the inclusion of all voices. Therefore, people can’t be out-voted. Even if an issue or concern only affects one person, it matters. We reject the idea that majority rules since our organization is made up of people who have been told we don’t exist or don’t count because we are too different or too few.
Shared Purpose and Commitment to Each Other’s Leadership
We don’t “block” every decision that is not exactly how we want it. Instead we share our concerns but are willing to let things go a different way than our favorite way. We build trust with each other so we know that if we are expressing a strong concern, people will listen and work on addressing or resolving it before moving forward. Our shared values, such as racial and gender justice, community building, and leadership by the most impacted, are guides in this. Participating in this group should mean being less reactive and individualist than we are all trained to be in this society. It means being open to other people’s wisdom and perspective and listening deeply.
Responsibility Sharing
While we all have our distinct roles and responsibilities, we are committed to a non-rigid approach to our systems that allows for flexibility and support. Asking for help or support is never punished, but should occur earlier rather than later depending on our individual abilities and situations.
Chroma Members and The Cabinet
Power differentials should not exist between the cabinet and Chroma affiliated students, community partners, or alumni. Chroma Members include students, alumni, community members, or community partners who have signed our community agreement. The “cabinet” is a group of Chroma Members committed to being involved in advocacy and work beyond that which is discussed and delegated at All-Member Meetings. Any Chroma member committed to attending cabinet meetings and contributing to our work is welcome, and cannot be blocked by existing cabinet members. Our actions are not directed by procedures or cabinet power, but values, consensus decision making, and communal leadership. Our cabinet and community exist to hold each other accountable to our shared values.
Proposals, Initiatives, and Changing the Constitution
Proposals for initiatives can be brought forward at our monthly All-Member Meeting, and Chroma Members present will be given an opportunity to bring up objections if they believe the initiative does not align with Chroma values. Once consensus on the initiative has been met, it will be allowed to proceed. The person(s) proposing alongside anyone who wants to engage in the planning of the new proposals may want to attend one or more cabinet meetings in the following weeks.
Proposals for changes in the constitution can be brought forward and discussed at our monthly All -Member Meeting. If consensus on the change is met among those present at the meeting, the changes will be sent out to Chroma members digitally for further review. Consensus will be tested again at the next All-Member Meeting, with allowance for thoughts and decisions to be submitted digitally prior to the meeting from those who cannot attend.
Initiatives
Core Initiatives
Equip - Weekly educational lecture or discussion group on a topic related to our history, social justice, and advocacy.
All-Member Meetings: Monthly meetings with all Chroma members to make group decisions, assess initiatives, and delegate responsibilities; occurs in place of weekly Equip.
Cabinet Meetings: Weekly meetings with Chroma Cabinet, which is the body of people committed to taking on extra responsibility and tasks; open to Chroma members who attend All-Member Meetings.
Online Educational and Promotional Content: Newsletter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Website.
Fluid Initiatives
Hang-Out and Homework: Weekly evening to gather, hang out, do homework, or chill in the comfortable safe of one of our member’s apartments. Modeled after Wheaton College’s “in-nights,” but safe.
Movie Night: Monthly gathering to watch a movie centering minority voices or experiences.
Field Trip: Once a semester group trip into Chicago to visit neighborhoods, museums, and cultural sites.
Trans Christian Book Club: Bi-Monthly meeting to share experiences of being transgender and Christian through discussion of the book Transforming: the Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians by Austen Hartke.
Community Statement
Chroma is a student-led community organization. We exist to cultivate a culture of collectivity and develop rhythms of mutual aid within anti-racist and queer affirming frameworks. In order to create a safe space, we ask each member to commit themselves to the following:
Respecting Privacy
Respect the anonymity of both members and leadership.
Do not repeat or share information surrounding members’ sexuality, gender, religion, political or personal beliefs—unless given explicit consent.
Do not share the location or other unpublicized details pertaining to meetings, protests and any other group activities.
Refraining From Hate Speech
Do not engage in any form of hate speech, slurs, or derogatory language.
Do not engage in stereotyping or micro-aggressions.
Respecting Personhood & Loving Others
Respect members’ preferred pronouns.
Treat others with respect and kindness.