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Reflections on racial equity work

On April 3, Everyday Democracy, along with 322 other organizations and a total of 29,000 people in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut participated in the YWCA's "Stand Against Racism" event. Following the event, Jon Abercrombie, one of our senior associates, shared his thoughts and reflections on his racial equity work. We're sharing his reflections with you here on DemocracySpace.

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"Below I will summarize some of the thoughts and feelings I have collected about my own work and about our work together on racial equity and white privilege.  These thoughts have been with me for some time, actually, since our last conversations on race.

"First there are gifts that come to mind.

• The strengths of our relationships and our staff.  My life has been touched by all of our staff, and particularly touched and changed by colleagues with whom I have had a chance to work more closely around the country.  I walk away from our work opportunities grateful for unusually gifted people even when they plant bats in my suitcase, almost get me arrested in North Dakota, and try in other devious ways to shorten my aging life.
• The strength of the team members who have worked so hard and so well in developing the racial equity guide and navigating our relationships with funders.  Carolyn and Sue, for example, have produced a guide that will grow with us well over time.
• An organization that gives leadership across the country in deliberation that takes seriously the malicious influence of racial prejudice and racism in a variety of public issues. Martha’s stature in this field of work and her commitment over the years is why this issue has remained central to what we do.

"Secondly, the wishes and the things I hope for. 

• That we will maintain our commitment to the principles that we have learned and effectively employed in this work.  Our power comes from creating safe places for conversations about racial equity, white privilege, improved schools and a range of important civic decisions.  We will have the political right criticize us for advocating too much and we will have the political left criticize us for advocating too little.
• That we will continue to allow communities to go as far as they can given their resources and the particular conditions in their community.  I have worked with several powerful foundations and have watched them move from helping communities set their own goals, to deciding which goals are acceptable.  In time the foundations, with good intentions, decreased local choices and increased their own control.  Oddly an interesting thing happened: as foundations have dictated the acceptable outcomes, creativity decreased and real change decreased.  It is a path that is subtle.  It is driven by foundation goals and foundation deadlines that are often incompatible with community needs and community change.
• That we will continue to push for racial equity while holding onto the overarching goal of human equity.  In our own work I have observed the pressure from some activists to take harder positions.  In Austin, TX, a leader from one community group said, with understandable anger that she did not plan to talk to white people who did not apologize first.  'They need to feel the pain first.'  It is easy to comprehend the feelings that drive this, but in public deliberation we know this is a dead-end street.  Another person wanted us to start the conversation on racial equity by opening with "naming the sins."  Blame and fear increase the possibility that our efforts will not succeed.
• That our own conversations about racial equity and white privilege in Everyday Democracy will build on the principles that have been effective.  Our stories are all different and powerful.  If we each feel that our own stories are important, we will have deeper relationships to each other. We will also have greater commitment to each other and to the work we do.  Then we can better model how these types of conversations will work in the communities we serve.  I wish together we could spend more time using our own race guide.
• That we can find enough time for our own productive conversations.  I look forward to our work in early June.  I know that we are having gifted leaders to help us in the process.  I also know that it is easy to fill our time with important instruction when we need adequate time to bring our conversations to more effective stopping points (the conversation never ends).
• That I can learn how to bring my whole story, without defensiveness or self-blame to the table.  It is not others who keep me from bringing my whole story to the table.  It is my own inner monitor, well educated by many encounters and painful training opportunities. 

"In the end I know what I want for myself.  I want to learn better how to use any advantages I have to change the ways that racial privilege, racial prejudice, racial fear and blame undermine our world, our country and our local communities.  When I lead dialogues on transportation in Atlanta and in Georgia, decisions are made that are based on race.  When I sit with school boards to help them open up their work to the voices of the entire community, their responses are shaped by race and the barriers that have been created for many decades.  I want us to explore the ways that we engage theses issues when communities use our race guide, and I want to find ways to engage these issues even when there are other pressing needs in the community.  

"Finally, I want us to be clear with each other about what we know and feel.  It is the greatest power we have. 

"Thank you for your patience. Life and the powers that be are still trying to improve me."

Abie

Stand Against Racism this Friday!

If you live in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, consider joining the YWCA’s “Stand Against Racism” event this Friday, April 3. Stand Against Racism is a movement that aims to eliminate racism by raising awareness through this annual event. Everyday Democracy is hosting a private event for staff and associates to deepen our understanding of racism and its impact on deliberative democracy. Come back to DemocracySpace.org after April 3 to read about our experience.

Learn more about the event at http://www.standagainstracism.org/index2.html

To sign up as a participating organization or individual, go to http://fs18.formsite.com/ywca/form792769482/index.html

SHADES OF YOUTH, Youth Speak On Racism, Power & Privilege.

coAction is pleased to announce the release of their new film,SHADES OF YOUTH, Youth Speak On Racism, Power & Privilege.

“Shades of Youth demonstrates the power of film to highlight the concerns and wisdom of young people, in a time when their insights and energy are desperately needed. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to issues of racism and social justice. I applaud the young people who made their voices heard in this film, the folks who put it together, and all those who I know will be inspired by the truth it tells.” Tim Wise, Author, Antiracism Presenter

Special "New Release" Price is available through December 5, 2008. Watch the new extended trailer here!

SHADES OF YOUTH is 26 minutes in length, filmed primarily at The White Privilege Conference Youth Institute with 100 high school students from across the United States.  It comes with a guidebook and is formatted into seven chapters making it ideal for classroom use and community dialogue:

• Introduction
• Youth On Racism
• Youth On Their Experience
• Youth On White Privilege
• Youth Look At Power
• Youth On Taking Action
• Speak Up!

For further information or to find out about upcoming film screenings and workshops, visit the website: www.shadesofyouth.com or e-mail: coaction@antiracism.com.

Reflections from the Facing Race Conference

The “Facing Race” Conference sponsored by the Applied Research Center took place in Oakland, CA, on Nov. 13-15.  Billed as “the largest gathering of racial justice advocates in the U.S.,” the conference brought together a racially diverse crowd of people just a little over a week after the election of Barack Obama. 

There was a palpable feeling of excitement and energy as participants gathered for the opening keynote by American Indian author Sherman Alexie.  Alexie’s keynote was his usual mix of irreverent and biting humor, or what he calls “serious humor,” to illustrate hard truths about racism, oppression, poverty, and stereotypes.  Alexie told about his experiences growing up in poverty on the Spokane Indian Reservation and ultimately leaving the reservation to attend a “100% white” school, a journey that he chronicled in his book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  He described himself as a “cultural schizophrenic” who can glide easily between the worlds of “Sherman,” the urban Indian, and “Junior,” the “rez” Indian.  At first, he said, he felt vaguely uncomfortable about his success as an author, but then he had a moment of epiphany during a book tour when he realized that “I travel the world telling stories—how f----ing Indian is that?!”  He also caused a stir among conference participants when he asserted that poor white people have less privilege than “rich” (by his own admission) people of color like him and said that he believes that affirmative action should be based on class, not race.

To get a little taste of the conference, here's Riku Sen's address at the Facing Race Conference opning:

I realized I was white at the Facing Race conference

I realized I was white at the Facing Race conference in New York two years ago. Now, I was pretty old to be figuring that out. The fact I could get by with not facing my identity for more than five decades resulted from the privileges I get by being white. The Mirrors of Privilege film screened at the conference, small-group dialogues, and gritty sessions opened my eyes.

As a white woman, I’m pretty sure I was in the minority at the conference. I was surrounded by all kinds of people deeply engaged in racial justice work – people not shy about airing tough issues. I went to my room one night, and wrote the poem below. I’m not proud of what I reveal there. But I’m grateful to the people I met at Facing Race who pushed me into and beyond myself to join in this hard work.
If you can attend one more conference this year, go to Facing Race in Oakland, Calif., Nov. 13-15. Registration is open.

“This presidential election has created an opening for dialogue about racial justice that we haven’t seen in decades,” conference organizers say. “Questions of racial justice dominate debates in academia, government and the media.

“Facing Race is our chance to cut across the color line, claim this moving moment, and gather people of different races from across the country to discuss a myriad of issues and to outline a vision for the future of racial justice.”

Find out more about the schedule, speakers and how to register at www.arc.org/facingrace.

Here’s my poem.
I am white

I don’t think this when I wake
or see a mirror shine my face.
I don’t think it ever, really.
I am white.

I smile at dark-skinned strangers,
pat myself for being nice,
slap the thought before it sticks.
I am white.

My family’s laughed in private
at a shameful joke.
That’s mighty white of you, we’ve said.
I am white.

It takes ‘til 57 to write this down,
don’t have to now if I don’t want.
It’s my choice.
I am white.

Food will be on my table.
I’ll always have a bed.
Things just seem to work out.
I am white.

College was never in question.
I’m always hired for the job.
My loan was approved when credit was bad.
I am white.

I can serve a soup line
or wait in line with “guests.”
Either place, I’m welcome.
I am white.

I can’t help your people.
I can’t talk to mine.
I can’t turn back now I see
I am white.

'Doing nothing' isn't an option

Even though everyone in Burlington, Vermont, wants the “same” thing for our children, Janice Fields, a facilitator for the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, notes that “sameness means mixing it up.”

This is exactly what the Burlington Boys & Girls Club did on Thursday, September 11. Led by nationally renowned moderator Dr. William Hyman, about 50 community members representative of all ethnic and professional backgrounds participated, including youth, parents, non-profits, local government, grassroots organizers, law enforcement officials and the State’s Attorneys office.

The most impressive turnout was youth. In fact, Dr. Hyman said the representation was the best he’d seen in four years of working with the Boys & Girls Clubs, and he hailed the “wonderful blend of young folks and adults.” The youngest in the group were Joseph Baker and Brianna Sibley, each 11 years old.

Mary Alice McKenzie, director of the Burlington Boys & Girls Club, credited much of the high turnout success to Wanda Hines, director for the City of Burlington’s Social Equity Investment Project. The SEIP supports existing and emerging Vermont leaders from diverse backgrounds to help provide the necessary tools and training to be effective.

Dr. Hyman encouraged the Burlington community to develop a partnership with youth in order to answer, “What have we gotten into?” He said NOBLE’s primary goal is to help provide equity justice to the community, which means “uncompromising integrity and having the integrity to do the right thing when no one is looking.” He taught the group to identify partners, including among community police officers. “You have to help the police department, if you want quality of life for all youth,” he added.

Dr. Hyman, made reference to the “broken window” theory as he asserted, “Crimes tend to happen in dirty, ugly, run down places. When you show you care and question ugly behavior in the neighborhood. The ugly behavior will move to another ugly neighborhood.” Youth leader Ricky Stewart added, “Crimes do not have color.”

Earlier in the process, local television station WPTZ interviewed Mary Alice of the Boys & Girls Club. “We want one issue we can do something about and do something quickly,” she said. “So in 60 to 90 days, we want to see improvement. We have to be wise in the issue we pick and put together a realistic work plan to work as a group.”   

Divided into three groups, participants identified drugs as the number one issue. By consensus, the group created a three-point action plan to tackle the challenges. The Peers, Parents and Police action plan consist of 3 tiers:

•    Coordinated Community Response (CCR) will include targeting police patrol, neighborhood watches and increased sharing 
•    Peer Outreach Leadership (POL) will focus on youth teaching youth and parents teaching parents
•    Brochure specific to this community’s identified drug issue and the action plan.

So, what’s next? The Burlington Boys & Girls Club Peers, Parents and Police action plan committee will meet Wednesday, September 17, at the Club to recap the event, renew newly found partnerships and commence a journey united in vision. NOBLE facilitator Janice Fields articulated the community’s journey best, “We did not come over in the same boat, but we are on the same boat now.”

In closing, Burlington is a community “just like many across our great nation” and everyday I became more and more inspired by this one specific community embedded in the beautiful landscape of Vermont’s Green Mountains. Right now, I’m most enthused by the leadership of the Boys & Girls Club as they decided months ago that “to do nothing” is not an option.

Here's one video from last week's event, showing moderator Dr. William Hyman, Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling and Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan talking about how to engage the community against drug abuse. You can view more here, and click here to read an earlier post about the NOBLE meeting in Burlington.

Our youth: a NOBLE cause

“It’s important as a black person.  My voice will be heard and I will not be left out. Also, this is a way to get more people involved in the community and an opportunity to voice our opinions.”
- Maria Twitty (at right), Parent and Community Leader, Burlington, Vermont, speaking about this week's community engagement program on youth quality of life. Read on to learn more ...

When people think of Vermont, diversity isn’t usually what comes to mind. But Burlington, the state’s largest city, is in the midst of big changes. Already impacted by increasing ethnic and cultural populations, the city is a major refugee resettlement area, and Burlington High School
students speak nearly 50 native languages. About 20 percent of the district’s children are from communities of color, and half of the district’s pupils receive free or reduced school meals.

In the context of this rapid demographic change, the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington has received from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) a grant to conduct a community engagement process. The process is designed to help diverse community leaders identify an issue that is affecting the quality of life of youth. NOBLE’s mission is to promote a holistic community-wide approach to the reduction of crime and delinquency.

The much anticipated gathering – set this Thursday, September 11 - will include NOBLE’s introduction to community engagement planning, tools for building partnerships and solving problems, and strategic planning presented by nationally renowned moderator Dr. William Hyman.

As director of the City of Burlington’s Social Equity Investment Project, I was called in to be sure that this process would be responsive to and reflective of the current population. At SEIP, our goal is to identify and support leadership in the community to facilitate sustainable and effective social change. In all we do, we aim to showcase the value of building effective bridges across cultural barriers and challenges, and we believe the NOBLE event will be a big step toward making and strengthening those connections.

The 25 committed community members planning to attend the event include leadership from responsive and representative demographic changing populations, parents, youth, law enforcement, government representatives, business leaders, and local advocates who will work with an engagement specialist and identify the challenges facing impacted youth in our community and form a plan to effect positive change.  Here’s what a few of them – in addition to Maria, above - have to say about this opportunity:

“The engagement process will identify and support activities for youth who are at risk. Vermont is changing and people need to see that and so are our needs.” 
- Trista Miller: Parent and Imani Youth and Family Center, Director of Services

"I believe that this engagement process represents an opportunity to further community dialog about reducing crime and disorder and bringing specific focus to the ideas and experiences of one of our most important populations, our youth."
- Michael  Schirling, Chief of Police, Burlington

"The Community Engagement Process funded by the NOBLE grant is so important to our neighborhood, because we need to develop the tools to pull together to make our neighborhood safer and more welcoming for our youth and their families. We live and work in one of the most diverse areas of this city and yet we often don’t know how to talk to each other. We need to learn."
- Mary Alice McKenzie: Director, Burlington Boys and Girls Club

“The city of Burlington is at an increased ethnic and cultural population crossroad which all too often social transformation challenges accompany that change. The process will provide new and existing leadership the necessary tools to develop sound solutions to more effectively address the challenges and issues that impact all youth.”
- Wanda Hines: Director, Social Equity Investment Project 

“So the kids can get what they need. I’m hoping the process will help the police take crimes against black youth more seriously.”
- Pam Stewart, Parent and Community Leader

Friday digest-open thread 9/5/08

Registration opens today and ends September 19 for the fall round of Common Ground, Memphis' new community-wide initiative aimed at bettering race relations - and already, 400 people have expressed interest in the 600 slots available. As co-coordinator Wendi Thomas reported here at DemocracySpace, more than 270 participants and facilitators took part in the first discussions this spring. (See a video and read the lessons that organizers learned.)

In a story today on the fall sign-ups, coordinator Lisa Willis told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that spring Common Ground participants have begun work to put their ideas into action. This round will offer more location choices, and Thomas said organizers will be reaching beyond the "low-hanging fruit - "people who were already sensitive to the issues of race relations in Memphis" - to fill the 600 slots. Common Ground Memphis has a goal of having 60,000 people go through the program over the next three years. Click here to see the new Common Ground website and get more information.

A few million eyebrows went up among people watching the Republican National Convention on Wednesday when not one, not two, but three evening speakers slammed Democratic nominee Barack Obama's work as a community organizer. Organizers - being organizers, after all - swung into action Thursday to create a website to tell America that, yes, "community organizer" is an actual job title involving real responsibilities. (See Community Organizers Fight Back.) At the Daily Kos blog, essayist "billmon" questioned whether the anti-community organizer comments represented a coordinated effort to use racist code language against the first African-American presidential nominee from a major party, while Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Center for Community Change, released this statement:

When Sarah Palin demeaned community organizing, she didn't attack another candidate.  She attacked an American tradition --- one that has helped everyday Americans engage with the political process and make a difference in their lives and the lives of their neighbors. 

All across the country, in every state and every community, there are community organizers helping people find shared solutions to the shared problems they face.  The candidates for President and Vice President should be working to solve our shared problems, too, rather than attack others who are trying to do the same.

From winning living wages to expanding affordable housing to improving the quality of public schools to getting health coverage for the poor and elderly, community organizers have made and will continue to make our communities and our country better for all of us.

The values that community organizers and grassroots leaders represent are not Washington values or Wall Street values but American values, that we care for each other and look out for each other and know we're all interconnected and have a valuable role to play in making our country work for all of us.  Candidates should be courting these community values, not condemning them.

Finally, hip-hop video blogger Jay Smooth questions the GOP's decision to dis organizers in this clip. (Hat tip to Nick and RaceWire.) After all, plenty of community organizers are conservatives, as he notes starting about a minute-and-a-half in.

Leading for health equity

Everyday Democracy program director Gloria Mengual has been selected by the Connecticut Health Foundation to join the 2009 class of its Health Leadership Fellows Program, which equips leaders to work on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities and promoting a health equity agenda for Connecticut.

Over the next year, Gloria will be trained and coached to advocate for health equity. She’ll participate in retreats and monthly leadership seminars to gain a clearer grasp of the problem, and will be given skills and techniques to help her identify leadership strengths and build upon them. She’ll get coaching and mentoring to work on a leadership goal she chooses.

Gloria says, "I'm honored to have been chosen by the foundation. Once this election has been decided, the potential for conversations about universal health care will be much greater. I expect that this fellowship experience will give me a greater understanding of the national situation as it relates to health care inequities and provide Everyday Democracy with valuable resources and a staff member better equipped to develop a guide to help communities work together to address the issue of access to health care in this country."

The 2009 Leadership Fellows class represents the foundation’s fourth year of its five-year commitment to the fellow’s program. With the installation of Gloria’s class, there will be 78 fellows dedicated to promoting health equity in Connecticut and beyond.

Gloria has been a staff member at Everyday Democracy - formerly the Study Circles Resource Center - since 2003. Before that, she provided marketing, media relations, and writing services to various nonprofit organizations in the health care and social services arenas, including The Connecticut Hospice, Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center, Middlesex Hospital, the Hispanic Health Council, and the Village for Families & Children. She also has covered events related to the Hispanic community as a correspondent for The Hartford Courant.

Congratulations to Gloria!

LBJ's civil rights legacy

In this week of landmark dates in civil rights history - Tuesday's 88th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote and Thursday's 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech - another date stands out. One hundred years ago today, Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on a farm in central Texas. He is remembered for America's involvement in Vietnam, but also for the wealth of civil rights legislation that he and the Congress passed during the 1960s. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 - introduced by John F. Kennedy (before his death) to outlaw racial segregation -  and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 both became law during Johnson's presidency.

Without these acts, spurred by years of organizing by Dr. King and other civil rights leaders, it's unlikely that Barack Obama would be making history this week as the first African American nominee of a major U.S. political party. LBJ also introduced legislation that created Medicare, took aim on poverty, boosted education, attacked diseases, spurred urban renewal and highway beautification, advanced natural resources conservation, and addressed crime and delinquency.

Yet Johnson always maintained that, in a democracy, it wasn't enough to pass laws; that people had to be empowered to actually live by them. A quote on the LBJ100 website reads: "We must open the doors of opportunity. But we must also equip people to walk through those doors." This is a paraphrase of a charge Johnson delivered during his 1965 commencement address at Howard University, when Johnson told the graduates:

Freedom is the right to share, share fully and equally, in American society--to vote, to hold a job, to enter a public place, to go to school. It is the right to be treated in every part of our national life as a person equal in dignity and promise to all others.

But freedom is not enough. You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: Now you are free to go where you want, and do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please.

You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, "you are free to compete with all the others," and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.

Thus it is not enough just to open the gates of opportunity. All our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates.

This is the next and the more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity. We seek not just legal equity but human ability, not just equality as a right and a theory but equality as a fact and equality as a result.

The LBJ Library and Museum on the University of Texas campus in Austin are celebrating today with free birthday cake, as well as the kickoff of an exhibit called "To the Moon: The American Space Program in the 1960s." (As Senate Majority Leader, LBJ co-sponsored the legislation creating NASA.) Other observances planned today include the Opening of the Texas White House at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park and a birthday celebration at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site. (Another fitting way to honor LBJ's legacy would be attending the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation's conference, which happens in Austin October 3-5.)

For further reading, you might also want to explore the website of a symposium on the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, held  in 2004 at the University of Texas at Austin. Of course, Everyday Democracy has resources for communities that recognize that our national journey toward racial equity continues today.