Statements

In the Wake of Another Racially Motivated Mass Shooting, It’s Time to Change the Rhetoric

JACKSONVILLE – Following a mass shooting at Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida, where three Black patrons were killed, the national racial equity organization Race Forward issued the following statement: 

“Our hearts go out to the families impacted by the mass shooting this weekend in Jacksonville, FL. As this country grapples with another senseless, racially targeted shooting, we grieve with the families whose lives have been changed forever,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward. 

“That this shooting occurred on the weekend of the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, is a testament that this country remains racially divided and driven by white supremacist ideas. It is also a reminder and impetus of the urgency of the work that must be done to secure the dream the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of decades ago.” 

“The shooter indicated in a manifesto that he wanted to kill Black people and armed with a Glock and AR-15 rifle, he was able to terrorize a community with his ideology of hate. The shooting not only impacted the victim and their family, but also terrorizes communities of color across this country who are vulnerable to similar targeting.” 

“For all people who say that dialogue on racial equity and teaching about race and racism is unnecessary, this latest racially motivated attack suggests otherwise,” concluded Harris. “It is important for all Americans not only to know our history, but also learn how to overcome it and build bridges to advance a just multiracial society, where we can all thrive, prosper and live.”

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION RULING AN ATTACK ON EQUAL PROTECTION, FURTHER UNDERMINES DEMOCRACY

In the Same Way Our Ancestors Persisted and Prevailed, We Too Will Persist and Prevail

NEW YORK – Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, Race Forward, a leading racial equity organization, issued the following statement:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision on affirmative action makes clear the current U.S. Supreme Court is intent on undermining the Constitutional framework of civil rights by refusing to recognize and address the systemic nature of racism,” stated Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “By taking the position that only in the most extreme of circumstances can an institution directly address racial differences in a targeted fashion, the decision ultimately undermines the basic tenets of equal protection and ignores the reality that race shapes every life outcome, including access to higher education.”

Specifically, this decision reduces the question of racism to mere individual experiences, a direct attempt to subvert the historic promise of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause transforming the court from a protector of equality to an enemy of progress. The Court exploits the profound need to address discrimination of Asian students in order to reverse decades of civil rights and further create obstacles for redressing inequalities faced by Black and Latino students.

It should not go without notice that today’s decision leaves intact the advantages afforded to legacy candidates and children of donors - a stark system of racial inequality that advantages white applicants. “The only precedent the Supreme Court seems committed to upholding today,” noted Harris, “is its slide towards a cynical use of the law to maintain racial hierarchies.”

This decision will be utilized by the forces of exclusion to pit communities of color against one another. Leaders of an inclusive America however, understand that at its core this ruling seeks to negate the fundamental responsibility to address racism in all its forms. We remain committed to advancing a society where all benefit from tangible racial equity rather than suffer the consequences of the legalistic contortions of a renegade Court.

We also applaud the dissenting opinions and intellectual leadership of Justice Jackson and Sotomayor that recognize our deep and pervasive racial equity gaps across society. These dissenting opinions today must represent the court of our future with a jurisprudence with integrity that dismantles the systemic racism that affects all communities of color.

About Race Forward  
Race Forward has a forty-year history of advancing racial equity and justice towards a just multiracial democracy. We remain fiercely committed to this goal. Through our H.E.A.L. Together initiative, we have supported parents, students and educators working towards giving our children an honest and inclusive education, rejecting book bans, attacks on LGBTQIA+ students and other efforts to undermine progress. Our racial equity in government supports public servants at all levels of government in their efforts to change the way government works towards producing racially equitable results that improve systems for everyone. In the face of these urgent challenges making our work ever more complicated, we deepen our commitment and conviction to a just multiracial democracy. We must never cease to be part of the historic struggle for the democratic and inclusive governance we deserve, including courts that are responsive to all people.

RACE FORWARD HONORS THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF HARRY BELAFONTE

Race Forward Honors the Life and Legacy of Harry Belafonte, Singer, Civil Rights Activist, and Artist

April 26, 2023 — Race Forward sends condolences to and mourns with the family, friends and colleagues of Harry Belafonte on the loss of this iconic figure in American history.

Born in Harlem in 1927, Belafonte broke racial barriers in the 1950s through the power of culture and used those victories to advocate on behalf of civil, human and labor causes throughout a career that spanned six decades.

“The life and career of Harry Belafonte models the courage required of leaders committed to multiracial democracy. Even in the wake of physical harm and damage to his career he never faltered,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward. “As his star rose, propelling him to international acclaim, he remained true to and fought for values guided by racial justice and equity.”

Belafonte was deeply involved in some of the Civil Rights Movement’s most critical moments. He resourced the then-emerging movement through countless fundraising campaigns. A main participant in the March on Washington, his activism led to more Black performers joining in marches and using their talent for the movement.

Later in his career, Belafonte took his activism international, joining with future-South African President Nelson Mandela to fight against apartheid.

“Belafonte will be remembered as an incredible American talent and an ardent Black civil rights and racial justice leader—one to not only be admired, but to also be emulated,” Harris added.

RACE FORWARD REAFFIRMS ITS SUPPORT FOR TRANSGENDER PEOPLE ON TODAY, INTERNATIONAL TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY

March 31, 2023
 

On today, International Transgender Day of Visibility, Race Forward, a national racial justice organization, calls on people across this world to stands against transphobia and all legislation that denies the humanity and dignity of transgender people.

Race Forward believes that the struggle for racial justice is intersectional. Historically rooted in and utilized as a tool of white supremacy, transphobia marginalizes and oppresses those who do not conform to models of humanity that the heteronormative, white supremacist status quo finds acceptable. None of us are free until we are all free.

There have been 490 anti-trans bills introduced across the country, of which 23 have passed, 44 have failed, and 423 are still active. Many of these bills will prevent or limit transgender people, and many trans youth, from accessing medically-necessary, life-giving, gender affirming care. Many of these laws also enforce misgendering within school and therapeutic environments, or legalize abduction of trans children from affirming parents. These bills will heighten the psychological toll and trauma among a population that already suffers from disproportionately high rates of depression and suicide.

Racial equity analysis shows that black transgender people will be disproportionately impacted by anti-trans policies due to the effects of structural racism. Recent analysis by the National LGBTQ Taskforce shows that “anti-transgender bias coupled with structural racism meant that transgender people of color experienced particularly devastating levels of discrimination,” with Black transgender persons faring worse.

We stand by and lift up again the recommendations from our 2018 statement on support for transgender people as they are still relevant at this moment. We aim to apply these to our work, as we envision a future where transgender people are able to live lives free of oppression:

• Be racially explicit about the impact of anti-transgender bills on transgender people of color.
• Fight against the notion that transgender justice is a wedge issue. Affirming the full humanity of transgender people, particularly transgender people of color, leads us to a more just world for everyone.
• Lift up the leadership of transgender people of color, who have been and remain at the forefront of transgender and racial justice movements at home and abroad.
• Cisgender allies must educate themselves and listen to stories by trans people, such as Imara Jones’s The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: A Plot Against Equality.
• Amplify this issue through your networks and support groups, particularly those that are led by and for transgender and queer people of color. Such groups include, but are not limited to: Trans Women of Color Collective, Trans Equity Consulting, Louisiana Trans Advocates, TransLatin@ Coalition, Trans Justice Funding Project, Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Audre Lorde Project, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, Two Spirit Nation, Black Trans Advocacy, Southerners on New Ground (SONG), Black Alliance of Just Immigration, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, GSA Network, Trans Lifeline, Transgender Law Center.
   

For Immediate Release

Jan. 26, 2023

Contact: [email protected]

NEW YORK — Race Forward today decried the killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five Memphis Police Department officers. The organization released the following statement:

“Our hearts break for the family of Tyre Nichols. No family should have to bury a loved one due to reckless and inhumane treatment from those sworn to protect and serve,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “ We send condolences to Nichols’ family, and we simultaneously continue to call for police accountability and systemic changes to policing, particularly in communities of color.”

“Race Forward works to dismantle systems of inequity because we know racism is structured not only through skin color and ethnicity, but also through systems and structures of power,” added Charlene Sinclair, Chief of Staff at Race Forward. “In this country, racist power within policing allows those in these systems to make life-and-death decisions. These systems create environments of terror, violence, and oppression against Black people and people of color. When trauma and tragedy such as the killing of Tyre Nichols occurs, we must not only challenge person-to-person racism, but also the racism that is embedded within structures and systems.

“The immediate firing of the officers involved in Tyre Nichols death is not historically what we’ve seen. Typically, the officers are put on administrative leave, and later absolved. And while there must be individual accountability, this is bigger than the termination of individual officers. We must also demand change of the systems that permit the continued killings of Black people and people of color so there can be different outcomes.

“We not only want justice in this individual case, but we want to see a world where oppressive systems are eliminated and where the health and dignity of all people of color is upheld and prioritized. To ensure freedom for communities of color, we demand accountability and a completely transformed system.”

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Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, a national network of local governments working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

For Immediate Release
Contact: [email protected]

November 28, 2022 – Race Forward’s biennial Facing Race conference held Nov. 17-19 in Phoenix, AZ, provided a place where close to 4,000 racial justice advocates could heal, learn, and strategize about the future. “In this crucial period, we brought together racial justice practitioners from all over the country to generate, heal and share solutions for how to move the needle on racial equity in the U.S.,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward and publisher of Colorlines. “From our keynote speaker Dr Ibram X. Kendi to each panelist, presenter and contributor, this space was intentionally crafted with the goal of strengthening and deepening the movement for racial justice.”

In sharing the significance of Facing Race, Harris added: “While Facing Race has always been a homecoming of sorts for racial justice advocates, it has special relevance now as we think about confronting authoritarianism, white nationalism, and transforming institutions to create a future in which we all can prosper.”

The conference began Nov. 17 and went through Nov. 19. Accomplished professor, author and National Book Award winner Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, wowed the audience with a clear explanation on what it means to be anti-racist and why anti-racism should be the goal. His remarks inspired the audience to commit to a lifelong practice of being anti-racist.

In addition to the keynote, Facing Race featured breakouts and special sessions aimed at fueling the work of racial equity and refueling the hands and hearts that carry it out. It served as a touch point within the racial justice movement to expose advocates, storytellers, creatives, journalists, small business owners and concerned citizens to best practices to advance just and racially equitable policies and practices in their respective communities.

“The people who come to Facing Race come from all parts of the nation,” said Leslie Grant Spann, director, Facing Race. “Some live in areas where they feel isolated and like they are doing racial justice work in a vacuum. In this space, they will appreciate that they are part of a national movement committed to progress. Our goal is to inspire advocates to stay in the fight.”

During a Friday panel on education titled “The Freedom to Learn: The Fight for Honest, Equitable, and Fully Funded Public Schools,” Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, told the audience “You are here to learn and grow your racial justice muscle. We must reclaim public education as a common good, but we cannot stop there. We must transform it to a racially just system that prepares all students to succeed in a diverse world.”

The conference featured two and a half days of collaboration, sound therapy, drumming, music, art, artistic expression, and joy. Members of the Phoenix Indigenous community also participated. Organizers stimulated the senses and offered content beyond presentations and back-to-back workshops. For more information on panelists and breakout sessions, see https://facingrace.raceforward.org/program.

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Founded in 1981, Race Forward, which celebrated its 40th Anniversary last year, catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

Race Forward Announces Appointment of Long-time Civil Rights Organizer Eric Ward  as Executive Vice President

Conference will be Held Nov. 17-19 in Phoenix, Arizona

September 27, 2022  – The national racial justice organization Race Forward today announced Ibram X. Kendi as the keynote speaker for their bi-annual Facing Race conference, Nov. 17-19 in Phoenix, AZ. Accomplished professor, author and National Book Award winner Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is a historian and five-time #1 New York Times-bestselling author, including for his widely-acclaimed book, “How to Be an Antiracist.” A powerful voice on the topic of racism in America, Dr. Kendi won the National Book Award for Nonfiction for his book “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America—making him the youngest winner ever of that award.

“Dr. Kendi’s research, teaching, writings, and books have served as guideposts during this crucial period within the racial justice movement. We are honored to have him share his insights and solutions for how to move the needle on racial equity in the U.S.,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward and publisher of Colorlines. “Coming just two weeks after the midterm elections, Facing Race will be an intentional conference designed to strengthen and deepen the racial justice movement. Attendees will leave with their cups filled, their determination sharpened, and their resolve unwavering.”

A relentless and passionate researcher, Dr. Kendi calls into question the notion of a post-racial society while opening readers’ and audiences’ eyes to the reality of racism in America today. The Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research, Dr. Kendi is also a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor.

Facing Race is the largest convening of racial justice advocates in the nation and the only such gathering post the Nov. 2022 midterm elections. Thousands of advocates, organizers, educators, funders, creatives, and journalists will attend or participate online.

The 2-½ day conference will feature breakouts and special sessions aimed at fueling the work of racial equity. It is a touch point within the racial justice movement to expose advocates, storytellers, creatives, journalists, small business owners and concerned citizens to best practices so they can advance just and racially equitable policies and practices in their respective communities.

“The people who come to Facing Race come from all parts of the nation,” said Leslie Grant Spann, director of conferences and convenings, Race Forward. “Some live in areas where they feel isolated and like they are doing racial justice work in a vacuum. In this space, they will appreciate being part of a national movement that is committed to progress. Our goal is to inspire advocates to stay in the fight.”

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About Race Forward: 

Founded in 1981, Race Forward, which celebrated its 40th Anniversary last year, catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

Please note that we have limited space for journalists to attend and cover the Facing Race conference. To receive information on the press credentialing process, please email [email protected] by November 5.

Brings more than 30 years of progressive, social justice, non-profit, higher education, and Fortune 50 organizational experience to the organization

July 8, 2022, New York—Race Forward, a leading racial justice nonprofit organization working to eradicate systemic racism, has appointed Kerry Mitchell Brown, Ph.D., MBA, as Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations. As a member of the Executive Team, Dr. Brown will provide strategic insights on operational excellence to Race Forward and provide leadership to the finance, technology, and human resources teams.

Dr. Brown joined Race Forward a little over a year ago as a strategic advisor and to provide leadership during Senior Team members’ sabbaticals in the areas of Research and Programs. She also leads the organization’s strategic Programmatic Assessment process.

“We are pleased to have Kerry take on this critical role for our organization,” stated Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines. “Since joining Race Forward, Kerry has brought a strategic, transformative perspective to the organization, which is much needed as we manage unprecedented growth within the organization and unprecedented backlash against the racial justice movement.”

Dr. Brown has extensive experience in issues of racial equity, organizational development, and capacity building and has supported numerous organizations that center and prioritize confronting racism, specifically anti-Black racism, in analysis and action. As a scholar-practitioner, she puts management theory, organizational theory, and social movement theory into practice to construct a multidimensional framework for racial equity and organizational transformation.

“I approach my work by drawing on the complicated connections and complex architecture between local and national politics, racial inequalities, and the myriad of ways in which these realities manifest in organizations while accurately assessing organizational needs, key issues, and factors that influence organizations’ responsiveness to social issues affecting organizational and leadership performance. I look forward to the opportunity this role provides to bring this approach organization-wide to Race Forward,” states Dr. Brown.

Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. in Organizations and Management, an M.B.A., a BSBA in Finance, and is a Gestalt OSD Certified Practitioner. She leads an organizational development consulting firm, kmb, that partners with leaders and organizations to solve complex organizational and people challenges that interfere with strong, sustainable results and long-term organizational health. 

Prior to kmb, Dr. Brown was instrumental in leading the second largest labor union’s organizational transformation in the way they approached race and accumulated close to two decades of strategic business experience in various domestic and international Finance, Organizational Development, and Operations roles with increasing responsibility at various organizations like Prudential Financial, Walt Disney Company, and Dartmouth College.

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Contact: Cheryl Cato Blakemore
[email protected]

This is an unbelievably sad day for women’s rights, reproductive justice, racial justice, and our movement for a just, multiracial democracy. Today’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is an affront on democracy and equity in this country. As we have seen throughout history, eliminating woman’s constitutional right to make decisions about her own body will adversely impact women of color and members of the LBGTQ+ community, who disproportionately experience discrimination and access limitations to healthcare services and resources.  

The removal of this precedent of nearly half a century provides states the right to decide their abortion laws, and 26 states are poised to implement bans on all or nearly all abortions. We know this won’t end abortions; it will only end access to safe, affordable abortions. In addition, any states are also poised to criminalize both those receiving and those providing abortions, regardless of the circumstance. The additional mental toll this will take on women and their families is unfathomable. 

Now is the time to lean into our collective power and move into action. With the power to abolish abortion rights now at the state level, we must work with state legislators to ensure they make the right decisions to empower women to make their own decision about what is best for themselves and their families. And if they refuse to hear our voices, let’s make them hear our votes!

June 8, 2022

Contact: Jeff Chang or Kana Hammon, [email protected]

Today, Race Forward announced the awardees of its Chrysalis Lab grants for innovative immigrant narratives at scale. The Chrysalis Lab is a project of the Butterfly Lab for Immigrant Narrative Strategy, which builds power for pro-immigrant narratives that recognize and honor the humanity of immigrants and advance freedom and justice for all. 

The awardees are: 

• Karim Ahmad, for narrative worldbuilding to transform monolithic perceptions of Muslim immigrants;
• Intelligent Mischief, for a Black Migrant Futures Design Lab and immersive multi-platform experience;
• Omar Offendum, for Little Syria, a musical theater experience; and 
• Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, for deep canvassing to increase support for refugee resettlement in key communities.

Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines, said “We are honored to support these organizations in their narrative work at such a pivotal moment in the immigrant  justice movement” He added, “We are excited the Chrysalis Lab projects will speak to a variety of people to advance immigrant justice in transformative ways.”

Taryn Higashi, Executive Director of Unbound Philanthropy said, “The Chrysalis Lab grantees’ projects are creative, innovative, and strategic. We are excited to see these projects unfold, and to share their learnings with the broader immigrant justice movement and all movements working for an inclusive, multi-racial democracy. With nearly 100 applications for these four grant awards, we see great interest and an urgent opportunity for more support for narrative strategy and innovation.” 

Each of the grantees will receive extensive additional support from the Butterfly Lab staff in the form of narrative training, coaching, expert consultation, technical assistance, and research. They will also participate in broader discussions about long-term narrative strategy within and outside of Butterfly Lab programming.  

In its first two years, the Butterfly Lab has already made a powerful impact on the way immigrant narrative leaders think and work. On March 15, 2022, the Lab released an influential report and toolkit containing widely discussed findings and recommendations for the pro-immigrant movement. The report and toolkit has been downloaded thousands of times, and is being used by our Butterfly Lab partners, including the Center for Cultural Power, National Partnership for New Americans, 350.org, National Immigration Law Center, and Families Belong Together/National Domestic Worker’s Alliance. 

In 2022, the Butterfly Lab is also offering narrative strategy training and movement-wide research to the public. 

The Butterfly Lab and the Chrysalis Lab are funded by Unbound Philanthropy, the Luminate Group, the Open Society Foundations, and Oak Foundation.

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Race Forward mourns with the families and community of the ten people who were killed this past Saturday at a TOPS grocery store in Buffalo, NY, by an 18-year-old white supremacist. The gunman has said his intention was “to kill as many black people as possible,” citing “replacement theory” as his motive while live-streaming the entire act. 

This carefully planned, premeditated attack was an act of racist and political violence, unmistakably rooted in white nationalist, authoritarian ideologies. At this moment, it is critical we honor the lives of those killed, the people of Buffalo, and marginalized communities across this country by strengthening our work to dismantle systemic racism in all places where it exists within our culture and institutions. We must not allow those in power to exploit this moment by bloating budgets for policing and militaristic counterterrorism units. This act must be seen for what it is, a rise in white nationalism’s radicalization to maintain the structures of power that promote inequity.

The toll of this growing white nationalism remains an urgent matter—one we cannot afford to ignore as it has led to an incalculable loss of Black lives. 

We honor and recognize the lives of those lost by lifting up their names:

• Roberta A. Drury 
• Margus D. Morrison 
• Andre Mackneil 
• Aaron Salter  
• Geraldine Talley 
• Celestine Chaney 
• Heyward Patterson 
• Katherine Massey 
• Pearl Young
• Ruth Whitfield 

It is in their memory and the memory of all the others who have lost their lives as a result of racist and politicized violence, Race Forward remains committed to working towards dismantling the systems and structures that incessantly enable white supremacy. We strongly advocate community-based solutions to build alternatives to all forms of militarization and criminalization that oppress and kill Black people.

Only then can we create a truly safe society in which all of us can thrive with dignity, power, and purpose.

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Contact: Melissa Daar Carvajal
[email protected]
415-623-6235
For Immediate Release
4/6/2022

Today, the Schott Foundation for Public Education and its partners, Race Forward and NYU’s Metro Center, announce the first five grants of a united organizing effort to defend against anti-democratic attacks on public education and invest in a proactive, offensive strategy for racial justice reform in our public education system. 

The Invest Together Fund is the grantmaking vehicle and a sister initiative to Race Forward’s H.E.A.L. Together. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Nellie Mae Education Foundation and Schusterman Foundation are all key investors in the fund.

“A rising tide of Black, Brown and Indigenous community organizing has brought more inclusive and historically accurate education to public school students in districts and states across the country,” said Michael Wotorson, Director of Schott’s Opportunity to Learn Network. “Their impressive advances are now under attack by those seeking to stoke racial division and advance political agendas. We invite philanthropy to join us in investing in these grassroots organizations and leaders who are protecting and reimagining the public education system and an America for all of us. That is democracy and that is racial justice.”

The Invest Together Fund leverages Schott Foundation’s grantmaking capacity with Metro Center’s resource and tool development, supported by Race Forward, which is also coordinating and supporting groups nationally. The fund brings together this unusual alliance of a foundation, policy shop and movement builder to support family and youth groups across the country like those listed below; these groups are fighting attacks on anti-racist education and winning reforms in their cities and states. Invest Together lives side-by-side with Race Forward’s H.E.A.L Together, its multiracial movement of students, parents and educators.

“Our social justice movements are strong and are winning. In recent years, community organizing groups have turned years of base-building, leadership development, freedom dreaming, and direct action into transformative policy change in their schools,” said Dr. Fabienne Doucet, Metro Center’s Executive Director. “Racial justice doesn’t stop at the school door. Foundations that care about democracy should ensure that these multiracial groups have the resources to fight back against these well-funded right-wing attacks.” 

Hewlett Foundation’s Education Program is a key contributor to the Invest Together Fund. “Like many education funders, Hewlett sees public education as the key to upward mobility and success for all school children,” said Kent McGuire, Education Program Director for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. “If we want to get to that goal, we cannot turn our backs on public education at a time when the enterprise is under assault. Helping communities advocate for equitable and effective schools is essential.”

“When we talk about these attacks, we have to really talk about the collateral damage on young people,” said Letha Muhammad, founder of the Education Justice Alliance, one of the grant recipients. “The very people that we're supposed to care about, who we're supposed to invest in as a society, these folks on the other side are saying, 'I'm willing to throw them away.'”

“We understand this critical, unprecedented moment in history requires us to think deeply about the multiracial future of this country,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines. “Race Forward launched the H.E.A.L Together Initiative to advocate for honest, accurate and fully funded education for everyone, and to fight back against those who deploy harmful and divisive narratives about the work of equity, inclusion, and justice. As we commit to uplifting the necessary work of these grassroots organizations to advance racial justice, we encourage funders to join us in helping to support their efforts to reimagine public education in a way that ensures all students thrive.”

The first round of grantees includes the following:

1. Education Justice Alliance – North Carolina

The Education Justice Alliance (EJA) is made up of parents, students and community-based organizations in Wake County, North Carolina. EJA works for an educational system that is effective, equitable, and inclusive. We promote racial, socio-economic, and gender equity. We seek to decrease unfair suspensions, expulsions, arrest, court referrals and to improve positive approaches to discipline that meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of all students.

2. Kenosha Education Justice Coalition - Wisconsin

The Kenosha coalition of parents, educators, students, and community and labor organizations works to protect and improve public education for all students so they thrive in the classroom and in their communities. They unite parents, students, educators, and community members to drive the transformation of public education, shift the public debate, and build a local movement for equity and opportunity for all.

3. Migrant Equity SouthEast – Georgia

Migrant Equity SouthEast is a Latinx and immigrant-led 501(c)(3) organization based in South Georgia. We’re here to advocate for immigrant rights and work directly with the migrant and refugee communities of South Georgia to bring them equitable access to resources available to citizens: health resources, educational resources, political resources as well as financial aid and food assistance.

4. Rights and Democracy Institute - Vermont and New Hampshire

The Rights & Democracy Institute (RDI) works across Vermont and New Hampshire to advance human rights and a healthy, just, and equitable future for our communities. Through grassroots organizing, transformative policy work, and supporting the development of a new generation of leaders from rural communities, particularly those that have been most impacted by harmful policies. RDI’s leadership development programs and issue-based campaigns encompass a range of organizational and movement-building work, including economic justice, education justice, racial justice, universal health care, climate justice, and childcare access.

5. Youth Organizers United – New Hampshire

Y.O.U., Young Organizers United, is the youth organizing wing of the Granite State Organizing Project. Y.O.U. is a group of high school youth from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds, who are dedicated to strengthening multi-issue and multi-racial coalitions designed to overcome disparate treatment and inequitable outcomes in Manchester high schools. Y.O.U. members believe in student voice, inclusivity, and equity for all learners.

Initiative Partners

The Schott Foundation for Public Education is a Black-led national public fund serving as a bridge between philanthropy and grassroots organizers to advance racial justice in public education. Schott directly funds BIPOC-led grassroots education justice coalitions across the country and strategically connects the education justice movement with other social justice efforts focused on providing an array of supports children and families need to have a fair and substantive opportunity to learn and thrive. Schott resources the largest national network of grassroots BIPOC youth and parent education equity and justice organizers - The Opportunity to Learn Network - including four national alliances, 306 local organizations, in 32 states, 54 cities actively coordinating 120,000 people and impacting over 800,000.

The NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools (NYU Metro Center) is dedicated to the pursuit of academic excellence and educational justice for all students. We partner with local and state educational agencies and community organizing groups to strengthen access, opportunity, and educational quality, particularly for young people, and particularly those from historically vulnerable groups. The Center accomplishes its mission through the implementation of high-quality research, strategic assistance to schools, districts, community and youth groups, and direct services to students, teachers, parents, administrators, policy makers, and organizations committed to equity and educational improvement. Our Education Justice Research and Organizing Collaborative (EJ-ROC) builds on the long tradition of movement-driven, community-derived research by providing critical data, research, policy and strategic support to the education justice movement.

Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2022

Contact:
Cheryl Cato Blakemore
[email protected]

New York, NY — Race Forward, one of the nation’s leading racial justice organizations, is pleased to announce Faron McLurkin will join the organization as its new Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. Faron brings more than 20 years of experience in philanthropy, grassroots community organizing, political strategy, organizational leadership, and racial justice advocacy to this role.

“In addition to his long-standing commitment to racial justice, Faron brings an understanding of the critical moment we are in, a deep knowledge of political landscapes, and expertise in building strategic partnerships to advance racial justice,” stated Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines. ”Faron’s presence will strengthen and advance our work to build a just multiracial democracy.”

In this role, Faron will join Race Forward’s leadership team in shaping the organization’s direction in addition to his focus on developing and implementing strategies to increase Race Forward’s reach and impact. 

“I’m proud to be joining Race Forward and am excited about working closely with the staff and board to expand partnerships that advance Race Forward’s work of institutionalizing racial justice,” said Faron. “Like many in philanthropy I have been taking stock of what is needed most from me in this moment. Our country is at a crucial crossroads wherein we will

either boldly step into a more inclusive multiracial democracy or regress to an outdated exclusionary system.  Now more than ever, we need to work towards institutionalizing the values we hold dear. By merging what is happening in the streets, in the government, and in boardrooms, Race Forward is positioned to institutionalize power; taking the enthusiasm the country has for racial justice and turning it into real lasting change.”

Prior to joining Race Forward, Faron served as the Vice President of Programs for Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG). During his time at NFG Faron oversaw all of NFG’s programs as well as the development and evaluation of all new NFG programs, including establishment of NFG's newest program, the Midwest Organizing Infrastructure Funders. He also played a catalytic role in the founding of the Integrated Rural Strategies group (IRSG), NFG’s rural power building program. 

Faron’s career includes serving as Program Officer at The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, where he managed their New York State and Environmental portfolios; as Executive Director of the Center for Third World Organizing, one of the oldest and most storied racial justice organizations in the country; and as an organizing director for Change to Win and SEIU Workers United at the national and local levels.

Faron’s start date is May 16, 2022.

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About Race Forward:
Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

For Immediate Release
March 31, 2022
Contact: Maya Boddie, [email protected] or
[email protected]

NEW YORK – Before an audience of over 850 attendees, Race Forward and partners kicked off their much-anticipated H.E.A.L. (Honest Education Action & Leadership) Together initiative. The campaign promotes equitable schools, a quality education and a multiracial democracy. It will also support local and national leaders working to strengthen education and democracy.

In addition to Race Forward, a host of activists and organizations including Emmy-award-winning storyteller Sarah Eagle Heart; Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY); Kiah Morris; the National Education Association; Student Voice; Schott Foundation for Public Education; the Alliance for Quality Education; Dignity in Schools Campaign; Red, Wine and Blue; the Women’s March; Moms Rising; Parents Together Action and others attended the kickoff.

“Part of the reason our communities are still suffering is because our history has been suppressed,” said Sarah Eagle Heart, a member of the Lakota Tribe. “It has been suppressed due to the taking of our resources. But there is also resistance to look at the shame of our own history, which means that we don’t move into healing. We have to do it now in order to live.”

“Efforts to curtail progress are a direct response to organizing by grassroots groups to create a more equitable nation,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward. “But let’s be clear: The resistance we see today emerged, in part, following protests over the brutal killing of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. After Floyd’s murder, outraged Americans from a host of races and ethnicities engaged in protests across the country. The June 2020 actions were the largest civil rights protests in American history.”

For over a year, there has been a wave of policies restricting what teachers can and cannot say in the classroom, what books schools will and will not offer, and what employers can and cannot say at work.

“Those policies aren’t about creating environments conducive to learning but rather about limiting multiracial progress,” Harris said. “But we will not be deterred, nor will we be denied.”

Attendees took a pledge to do their part to support good schools and a quality education, which are key components in ensuring a multiracial democracy. Event facilitators shared that local and national partners will offer assistance with district data analysis, curriculum review, best practices for teachers, survey development, graphic creation and policy review. Participants then had the opportunity to pledge their support and advocacy for an honest, accurate and fully funded public education for all students across this country. Eagle Heart read the pledge.

“Schools should be a safe place where students can thrive and reach their full potential,” said Beatriz Beckford of Moms Rising. “What is most exciting about H.E.A.L. Together is that we’re joining young people who are stepping up and advocating for truth teaching and progress.”

“When we transform systems to be more equitable and fairer, the sum of us wins,” said Dennis Chin, vice president of narrative, arts, and culture at Race Forward. “This fight isn’t just about parents’ rights and individual freedom. Individual rights and freedom do not live in a vacuum – we are interconnected. We have shared responsibility with one another to ensure everyone has what they need, such as public services and public education.”

Following rousing remarks from education leaders and activists, Race Forward and partners declared that they would not allow attacks on the teaching of American history, the LGBTQIA community and books to go unchallenged.

“Part of what we’re trying to do is to create a bigger ‘we,’” said Zakiya Ansari of Alliance for Quality Education.

At the kickoff, Maria Dautruche served as master of ceremony, enthusiastically welcoming the crowd and introducing the myriad speakers. She noted that the H.E.A.L. Together effort is designed to ensure strong schools, more equitable communities and a more inclusive democracy. 

“Regardless of whether you have children in school, the debate around the accurate teaching of American history and contemporary issues of gender, race and sex impacts us all,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association. “Imagine trying to explain the significance of the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court without being able to talk about the history of race in America.”

For more information, contact Maya Boddie ([email protected]) or Jennifer R. Farmer ([email protected]) for interviews.

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For Immediate Release
February 24, 2022

Media Contact: Maya Boddie
[email protected]

New York, NY – Today, Race Forward released a third tool in as many weeks to aid the federal government in advancing racial equity. Organizing for Racial Equity Within the Federal Government lays out how to organize and build capacity at the federal level. It is deeply informed by the experiences and insights of racial equity leaders and practitioners who are part of Race Forward’s Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a local, state, and regional government network of more than 400 members working to advance racial equity within their agencies and departments.

“The federal government has a duty to actively address and dismantle the racial inequities it has created rather than to sustain them,” said Carlton Eley, Senior Director for Federal Strategies at Race Forward. “Organizing is an essential means to this end. But successful organizing requires a clear strategy, a common vision, and most importantly, it takes a community.  This tool is for federal employees who seek to build this community and make a deep and sustained commitment to racial equity across the whole of government.”

[DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE]

"The Biden-Harris Administration’s landmark order​​ on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government issued a powerful, whole-of-government call to action to establish racial equity as the north star for governing,” said Michael McAfee, president and CEO at PolicyLink. “Building upon the legacy of federal employees who have championed racial equity in their respective roles, this new tool from Race Forward offers concrete strategies by which federal employees can help organize and advance structural change inside and across the institutions where they serve.  Beyond the momentum of political moments, it will be the legacy of this internal organizing that charts the course for a flourishing multiracial democracy and the accompanying governing structures."

As a response to Executive Order 13985, last year, Race Forward and PolicyLink announced the launch of The Federal Initiative to Govern for Racial Equity in September of 2021 with the goal of creating sustainable change for racial equity in federal government structure, policy and practice. As a part of that launch, the organizations built on the initiative by releasing two other federal tools this month to ensure the administration carries out its commitment: 

• Advancing Equity in Year 2 of The Biden Administration, a brief by PolicyLink, which outlines how the Biden Administration can hold itself accountable to its equity commitments and ensure the federal government finally serves all people. 
• Advancing Racial Equity: A Framework for Federal Agencies, a report by Race Forward, which describes the components of a racial equity approach and walks practitioners and leaders in the federal government through key actions they must take and challenges they will face as they plan to implement racial equity strategies.

Earlier this month, the two organizations also co-hosted a virtual event, “Racial Equity: “The Whole of Government Responsibility," featuring discussions with Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and New Georgia Project CEO, Nsé Ufot, on the importance of the federal government working with communities of color to advance racial equity, and how these tools can help the federal government effectively do so.

[WATCH HERE]

The tool released today, Organizing for Racial Equity Within the Federal Government, is designed to help racial equity practitioners organize from within government to continually bring more people together toward a common vision of racial equity. 

The report incorporates what working towards racial equity requires, including: 

• Racial equity values embodied in processes, outcomes, and products of the racial equity initiative. 
• Growth in the number and influence of racial equity practitioners across agencies and offices and up and down the hierarchy. 
• Strong relationships among racial equity practitioners to develop and share skills, lessons and approaches to strengthen racial equity work.
• A culture of learning that makes the disruption of the status quo an opportunity for innovation and building of trust.
• Structural changes that generate accountable government relationships with communities most impacted by racial inequities as the norm, as well as the use of tools to change policies, practices, and procedures.

Race Forward and PolicyLink are releasing these tools so public servants at the federal level can step confidently into roles as normalizers, organizers, and operationalizers for racial equity. Centering racial equity as a core value will improve the skills development of public servants as well as the service delivery of public organizations. Organizing for racial equity won’t distract from good governance. Instead, it is the pathway to good governance in a multiracial democracy.  

###

About Race Forward:
Race Forward, catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

About PolicyLink:
PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity by Lifting Up What Works®.

New York, NY –  This week as President Biden enters his second year in office, Race Forward and PolicyLink launched a new report on their efforts to support the advancement of racial equity within the federal government. The report, Advancing Equity in Year 2 of the Biden Administration, outlines how the Biden Administration can hold itself accountable to its equity commitments and build on this foundation to ensure the federal government serves all people.

On his first day in office, Biden issued Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, announcing his intention to make advancing racial equity one of his immediate priorities and making Biden the first American President to formally embrace racial equity. Throughout 2021, Biden has issued several other executive orders and passed transformative recovery bills to invest in communities, families and workers. Race Forward and PolicyLink are committed to ensuring these efforts are sustained.

“This report provides a framework to help civil servants confront racism at the federal level by addressing the root of inequities–the current institutions and structures in place,” said Carlton Eley, Senior Director for Federal Strategies at Race Forward. “The goal is for the administration to use the report as a guide to actively work towards dismantling institutional racism at the federal level in their commitment to achieve racial equity.”

PolicyLink and Race Forward have been honored to work closely with the Biden Administration to inform his historic executive order making equity and racial justice “the responsibility of the whole of our government.” As a response to the distribution of the Executive Order on Racial Equity last year, Race Forward and PolicyLink announced the launch of The Federal Initiative to Govern for Racial Equity in September of 2021 with the goal of creating sustainable change for racial equity in federal government structure, policy and practice. As a part of that launch, over the past few months, Race Forward and PolicyLink have built on that initiative by releasing this report on advancing racial equity, and by planning to release more tools in the coming months.

The report includes actions the Biden Administration can take to advance equity, such as:

• Provide clarity and guidance to ensure standard application of Racial Equity Impact Assessments across the government.
• Continue to urge the Senate to pass the Equality Act, which would create sweeping protections for LGBTQ people in housing, education, health care and more.
• Expand health-care coverage and invest in community health interventions.
• Support existing legislation including the BREATHE Act, the Community Emergency Response Act, and the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act
• Issue an executive order to cancel federal student loan debt, which disproportionately affects people of color.
• And many more.

More details on the report will be discussed at an event co-hosted by Race Forward and PolicyLink, “Racial Equity: “The Whole of Government Responsibility," taking place on February 3—the 152^nd Anniversary of the passage of the 15^th Amendment, with the failure of the Senate to move national voting rights legislation forward in the backdrop—Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Nsé Ufot of the New Georgia Project will join Race Forward and PolicyLink to reflect on the past year and the work ahead.

###

About Race Forward:
Race Forward, catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

About PolicyLink:
PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity by Lifting Up What Works®.

January 5, 2022

In communities across the US, public and private sector organizations are working to advance racial equity and social justice. Governments, in particular, are seeking to ensure that their constituents have equitable opportunities for education, employment, access to healthy foods and affordable health care, as well as safe housing options. 

In response to this challenge, Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, has partnered with Race Forward's Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) alongside other leaders in government nationally to create a Social Equity Analysis solution.

Teams working on racial equity initiatives through state and local government or geographic information system (GIS) technology can use this new tool. The Social Equity Analysis solution offers features for assessing conditions in local communities, evaluating decision-making scenarios, and measuring progress toward equity goals. The solution uses GIS to combine smart maps and community data. This creates a visually powerful framework for analyzing and sharing community equity data.

"At Esri, we believe understanding precedes action and recognize that social equity requires a geographic approach," said Clinton Johnson, Esri racial equity and social justice lead. "This new solution will help public and private sector leaders reveal patterns of need and find opportunities to advance social equity at the intersections of geography, race, ethnicity, socioeconomics, disability, gender, sexual orientation, and more."

GARE is a membership network of more than 400 US city, county, and state governments working to advance racial equity. Many GARE members already use GIS as a foundation for work focusing on racial justice and equity. Through its partnership with GARE, Esri worked with representatives in the City and County of Denver, Colorado; City and County of Durham, North Carolina; Fairfax County, Virginia; Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; and San Antonio, Texas. Representatives from these jurisdictions helped in identifying critical steps for advancing equity across a range of domains, including education, employment, health, housing, and safety. Insights from this collaboration guided Esri's development team over the past year in building the solution.

"It's truly exciting that this partnership has resulted in the creation of a place-based tool that centers racial equity," said Raintry Salk, GARE research manager and project lead for the Esri partnership. "Our racial equity experts, working inside government, provided key considerations toward building a tool to visualize complex on-the-ground decisions. This new tool simultaneously provides greater rigor, functionality, flexibility, and sophistication to our shared desire to advance racial equity."

The Social Equity Analysis solution incorporates best practices shared by partners and Race Forward, the parent organization to GARE. Race Forward builds strategies to advance racial justice in policies, institutions, and culture. With this new solution, which operates in tandem with Esri's suite of ArcGIS software products, users can

• Identify specific populations by race, ethnicity, language, sex, age, or other factors and see how those groups are distributed across a geographic area.

• Understand the distribution of benefits or burdens by ranking community indicators (e.g., community conditions, resources, harms, or outcomes) by geographic region.

• Understand benefits or burdens for specific population groups after identifying a set of community indicators.

• Regularly evaluate progress toward equity goals through ongoing monitoring of benefits and burdens within specific populations or geographic regions.

The solution allows users to produce indexes using community data within the tool, as well as indexes produced with custom or weighted variables. These indexes can be shared with stakeholders and community members through other Esri apps such as ArcGIS StoryMaps, ArcGIS Dashboards, or ArcGIS Hub to increase transparency and community engagement.

With the launch of the Social Equity Analysis solution, more governments can take a data-driven approach in creating and monitoring policies and programs that are designed to address community needs and ensure equity. To learn more, visit esri.com/en-us/racial-equity/overview.

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About Race Forward and GARE

Founded in 1981, Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice by bringing systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward works in partnership with communities, organizations, and through its Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) as well as with local, regional, and state governments to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all.

About Esri

Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, helps customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations globally and in over 200,000 institutions in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and universities. Esri has regional offices, international distributors, and partners providing local support in over 100 countries on six continents. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most innovative solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.

Copyright © 2022 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, ArcGIS, The Science of Where, StoryMaps, Hub, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220105005916/en/

CONTACT: Jo Ann Pruchniewski
Public Relations, Esri
Mobile: 301-693-2643
Email:[email protected]

For Immediate Release
November 24, 2021

Contact: Maya Boddie
[email protected]

Today, almost two years following the slaying of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging in his Brunswick, Georgia neighborhood, the three white men responsible for fatally shooting Arbery have been found guilty of murder. 

After close to 11 hours of deliberation, the jury returned their verdict finding Gregorgy McMichael guilty on eight counts, his son Travis McMichael guilty on all nine counts, and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan Jr. guilty on six counts.

While we are pleased with the outcome of this trial, we know that there is much more work to be done to transform a justice system originally designed to work against Black and brown people. We also know true accountability will not be realized unless their sentencing, for which a date has not yet been announced, fits the measure of their crimes.

Race Forward continues to work towards a just democracy where the rights and lives of Black people are protected and respected and those who violate these rights are held accountable.

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After three and a half days of jury deliberation, Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all five charges in the murder of two unarmed men and the shooting injury of a third during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year.

Following the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man--who was left paralyzed from the waist down, by a white police officer, protest ensued in Kenosha, where Rittenhouse, 17-years-old at the time, brandished a AR-15-style rifle and fatally shot Anthony Huber, 26, and 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum.

Stark and well documented disparities in our criminal justice system indicate that the outcome of the trial would very likely look different had Rittenhouse been a Black man.

Further aggravating the repeated pattern of racial disparities where courts treat white men on trial, such as Dylan Roof, more leniently, Judge Schroeder insisted on biased language in the courtroom by refusing to allow those who were killed to be called “victims,” but allowing them to be called “rioters'' and “looters”. Judge Schroeder demonstrated the importance of language, and misused his authority to undermine accountability for these brutal killings. 

The verdict comes in the midst of the trial of another white male who murdered Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and eight years after George Zimmerman, in the guise of a vigilante, was acquitted of the murder of Travon Martin, another young black man. The intersection of this resurgence of white extremist political violence and white supremacy, and the ensuing lack of accountability, represent a pattern that strains and damages the legitimacy of our institutions. This pattern threatens our democracy, while allowing the murders of Black and brown people and their allies. It further proves that the current justice system is far from just, and is designed to work against Black and brown people time and time again. 

Race Forward continues to call for accountability and a completely transformed justice system that  moves us towards a true democracy that ensures the rights and lives of all people are respected.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2021

Contact: Maya Boddie
[email protected]

New York, NY --  Race Forward, a leading racial justice nonprofit organization, is celebrating 40 years of catalyzing racial justice. On Thursday, November 18th, at 5 pm ET, Race Forward will host an online gala, which will stream on Facebook and Youtube Live.

Celebrate with Race Forward on November 18th during the FREE event, hosted by Kat Lazo, radio personality for Spotify’s Morning talk show and creator of the Kat Call; and featuring appearances by Gary Delgado, founder of Race Forward; current president of Race Forward Glenn Harris; former president of Race Forward Rinku Sen; and many other leaders, organizers, culture bearers and artists working to advance racial justice.

RSVP here.

Originally founded as The Applied Research Center in 1981 by Gary Delgado, Race Forward is known for its systemic analysis and innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. For four decades, in partnership with community organizers, government, and other organizations, Race Forward has worked to dismantle racial inequities in policies, institutions, structures and systems for the purpose of building a just, multiracial democracy.

“We are excited to commemorate 40 years of centering racial justice and the power of communities of color,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward and publisher of Colorlines. “As we continue to face police violence, a rise in White Nationalism, and a pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 650,000 people -- disproportionately Black, Indigenous and Latinx -- we find ourselves in the midst of a Third Reconstruction. Each of our successes has resulted in blow back from the same power structure we’ve been pushing back against for over 400 years. Now, more than ever, we must continue to imagine and build a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose. Race Forward is excited to do just that for the next 40 years and beyond.”

When Race Forward was founded, centuries of ingrained systemic racism and segregation were still evident, particularly in the areas of employment, education, housing, and criminal justice. There was a need for an organization that would work with community organizers and provide them with tools and resources to drive change within the institutions and structures that both established these inequities and have allowed them to continue.

In 2017, Race Forward merged with the Center for Social Inclusion (CSI), which was founded in 2002 by Maya Wiley and Jocelyn Sargent to catalyze community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward was born out of a sense of urgency, opportunity, increased capacity, and a mutual desire for greater alignment and multiplied efforts to deliver on both organizations’ core principles of advancing racial equity and supporting communities most impacted by structural racism.

Some of the groundbreaking work Race Forward has done over the last 40 years includes:

• In 1998, launched its media publication, Colorlines, which highlighted the role of race and voices of people of color in the daily news cycles--generally ignored by mainstream and even a lot of alternative media at the time.
   
• Became home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a membership network of local government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Today, more than 400 jurisdictions are members of GARE.
   
• In November of 2004, Race Forward held its first national conference on race and public policy, later to be named Facing Race. This bi-annual conference has grown to have over 4,000 attendees. Past speakers include Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, pastor and Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign, Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo Movement, Michelle Alexander, professor and author of The New Jim Crow, and many other racial justice advocates.
   
• Launched in 2011, the Drop the I-Word Campaign challenged news outlets and organizations to eliminate the widespread usage of the inhumane and derogatory word “illegal” in reference to immigrants. The campaign included a Journalist Guide for Covering Immigration, and resulted in the Associated Press, USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times committing to decrease and monitoring the use of the word.
   
• Released Shattered Families, also in 2011, the first national investigation exploring the extent to which children in foster care are prevented from uniting with their detained or deported parents and the failures of the child welfare system to adequately work to reunify these families. The report examines the way local, state, and national government can create policies that prevent deportations to stop more family separations.
   
• Decade later, under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, more than 5,500 children would be separated from their parents. (As of early this month, 270 families still remain ununited.).
   
• Amid the ongoing climate crisis, in 2020, Race Forward released Energy Democracy, a report grounded in the solutions of communities of color to invest in a regenerative economy that sustains our people and our planet. The report provides specific recommendations for how philanthropic partners can invest in local solutions that not only support communities in these regions, but also have ripple effects across the nation.
   
• In 2021, Race Forward has continued to counter-narrate attacks on critical race theory (CRT), by launching the H.E.A.L Together (Honest Education Action and Leadership) Initiative, formed to aid in deepening a commitment for honest and high-quality education among school districts; which builds on Race Forward’s #BannedWords Campaign launched in 2020; created to counter the Trump Administration’s attempt to eliminate anti-racist work by banning dialogue, education, and trainings that address systemic racism.
   
• Recently released From Seed to Harvest: A Toolkit for Collaborative Racial Equity Strategies, a guide to racial equity practices within community-government collaboration for sustainability and renewable energy policies and programs.
   
• In August 2021, contributed $1 million to 14 Black-led community racial justice organizations. The contributions were the result of the generous donations Race Forward received during 2020 due to an increased number of individuals and organizations realizing the importance of working toward change.

Over the past 40 years, Race Forward has been able to build collective power and resources alongside grassroots organizers, cultural leaders, activists, and artists, as well as government partners. In the years to come, Race Forward will continue its work to build a just, multiracial democracy that benefits all people.

RSVP to the 40th anniversary celebration here!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 7, 2021                                                                             

CONTACT: Elana Needle
Email: [email protected]

WASHINGTON – The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative honors the contributions of indigenous peoples by celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, October 11, 2021, and co-sponsoring two complimentary virtual programs on Indian Boarding Schools to be held at 1:00 PM EDT and 7:00 PM EDT PM on that day.

First proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations to the United Nations International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Peoples in the Americas, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October in over 50 municipalities and 12 states.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day brings greater awareness to the contributions that American Indians have made to our country. It also highlights the plight of the Indigenous populations elsewhere in North, Central and South America who have never recuperated from the invasion and exploitation initiated by Columbus’ four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain.

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Anchor Collaborative are co-sponsoring two very special programs to help educate about the tragedy of the Indian Boarding School era. The forced assimilation and attempted eradication of Native people through compulsory “residential schools” with a policy of “kill the Indian, save the man” resulted in the loss of life, the loss of a generation of relatives, language speakers and culture bearers.

These programs will help educate about this horrific and brutal part of our past and discuss the Department of the Interior’s Federal Boarding School Initiative, as well as legislative efforts that will lead to truth-telling and healing.

To learn more and register for the complimentary programs, visit here. 

# # # 

^*The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative includes the following leading national organizations (the Anchors): Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS. Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we work together to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential. 

September 24, 2021 

CONTACT: Elana Needle
[email protected]                                                                     

The foremost multi-racial coalition of racial equity organizations in the nation condemns the brutal and inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants at the border. The searing image of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents snapping their whips from above while their horses charged at vulnerable Haitian immigrants seeking refuge transported us back to America’s dark past of slave patrols and history of oppressive practices against Black people. As civil rights and social justice organizations, we condemn this treatment and urge respect for human rights.

This treatment is simply unacceptable and violates any standard of civil and human rights and liberty. We demand the Administration:

• Heed the recommendations by Black civil rights and racial justice leaders in this letter sent to your administration on September 21, 2021,
• Terminate the CBP agents in question,
• Cease and desist deportation flights,
• Grant Enhanced TPS for Haitians, and;
• Replace egregious CBP practices with a humanitarian approach that prioritizes the well-being and dignity of all.

These actions do not represent the America we strive to be, but tragically, they do represent part of the America we are today. And we need to do better.

# # # 

The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative includes the following leading national organizations (the Anchors): Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS. Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we work together to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential. 

Contact: Janele Partman
Phone: (202) 962-3250
Email: [email protected]

Today, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) in partnership with Race Forward’s Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) launched the second regional learning cohort of local government staff to advance racial equity and opportunities for all.

COG is convening more than 120 managers and staff from 11 jurisdictions, plus a COG staff team, who will participate in the yearlong program. The jurisdictions represented are the District of Columbia, Charles County, City of College Park, City of Greenbelt, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, City of Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County.

The cohort will meet on a monthly basis and will consider how government policies and practices can be reshaped to advance racial equity and develop action plans to address specific inequities.

“COG is committed to ensuring that our region’s leaders continue to learn from each other and develop a common understanding as they work together to advance racial equity,” said COG Executive Director Chuck Bean. “This program equips local government professionals with the knowledge and skills to shape a region where everyone can live and thrive.”

In 2020, COG affirmed racial equity as a fundamental value and has since worked with area leaders to prioritize equity within programs and initiatives across various sectors. In addition, several local jurisdictions have adopted policies focused on advancing racial equity and many have hired chief equity officers in recent years.

The COG Chief Equity Officers Committee, composed of representatives from each COG jurisdiction, meets on a monthly basis to discuss local government initiatives and collaborate on regional efforts to advance equity.

“We are excited that the metropolitan Washington region continues to prioritize advancing racial equity,” said Race Forward’s Senior Vice-President of Programs and Founding Director of GARE Julie Nelson. “If our communities are to thrive, government must adopt a racial equity framework in its work. This program will provide local government leaders with the tools they need to make concrete systemic change.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Maya Boddie
[email protected]  

New York, New York, (Sept. 1, 2021) — Race Forward, a leading national racial justice organization, announced the launch of The Federal Initiative to Govern for Racial Equity.  The program, a partnership with PolicyLink, is in direct response to President Biden’s Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government and will provide strategic support, learning opportunities, frameworks, and tools for change through ongoing dialogue with federal agencies. The goal of the program is to create sustainable change for racial equity in federal government structure, policy and practice.

After a year where a global health pandemic, economic turmoil, and uprisings as a result of police violence, all disproportionately impacted communities of color, the Executive Order recognized both the “unbearable costs of systemic racism,” and that “our Nation deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face.”

“We are proud to partner with PolicyLink on this important work,” stated Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines, who helped establish the first racial equity program in local government in Seattle decades ago. “This mandate from President Biden for a whole-of-government approach toward racial equity is a critical step in advancing a multiracial democracy that realizes our highest ideals.”

Federal agencies have begun the early stages of this monumental work and are assessing their state of equity. Additionally, the White House has published its first “Study to Identify Methods to Assess Equity.” Given the expressed commitment of the Administration and the critical need to advance this mission, Race Forward’s Federal Initiative to Govern for Racial Equity program will support this work drawing from the wealth of experience developed within our Government Alliance on Race and Equity, a member driven network consisting of close to 400 jurisdictions and agencies that have been building a practice of racial equity in government, some for almost two decades.

"The focus on advancing equity is not a short-term trend nor is it the work of tomorrow, but instead, this is the work of right now,” stated Carlton Eley, who will head the program. “In the last decade, more municipal and regional government institutions have launched efforts to advance racial equity and have hired equity officers. We are encouraged by the initial responses by federal agencies which reflects the pent-up demand for racial justice.” Eley — who served as Regional Equity Initiative Manager for the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, the Chair of the Social Equity Task Force of the American Planning Association, an environmental justice subject area expert within the Environmental Protection Agency from 1998 to 2018, and participant in the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowship in Public Policy – is a recognized leader and expert in equitable and sustainable development.

As part of the launch, over the course of 10-12 weeks Race Forward and PolicyLink will build on the racial equity efforts of three to five agencies and/or major programs within agencies. This program is expected to create opportunities for other agencies and departments to participate in shared learning and understanding about racial equity policies and practices. Participating agencies will be selected in September.

About Race Forward

Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

About PolicyLink

PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity by Lifting Up What Works®. For more information, visit www.policylink.org.

Narrative and portrait project “The Humans Who Feed Us” launches exhibit at the Sandusky County Fair to showcase the contributions of Ohio farmworkers 

Fremont, Ohio (August 23, 2021) - Today, Justice For Migrant Women launches “The Humans Who Feed Us” a narrative and portrait project that aims to humanize the 2.5-3 million farmworkers in the U.S. and help to engender a sense of belonging for farmworkers in the communities where they live and work. The project, supported by The Butterfly Lab for Immigrant Narrative Strategy led by Race Forward, also aims to call on public and political leaders to support efforts to improve protections and overall treatment for these essential workers, regardless of their immigration status. 

The “Humans Who Feed Us” project will feature the unique stories of eight farmers and farmworkers who work on Ohio farms, to showcase their contributions to our food system and day-to-day lives. The stories of each farmworker will be featured alongside their portraits which will launch alongside a panel discussion at the Sandusky County Fair in Fremont, Ohio on August 23rd, 2021 from 7-9pm ET. The discussion will serve as an opportunity to hear from community leaders and members including a former farmworker, a local farmer, and President of Justice For Migrant Women Mónica Ramirez. The discussion will also be live streamed on the organization’s Facebook page for those unable to attend in person. The entire project will be available as a photo exhibit for members of the community to visit at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds through August 29th, 2021. 

“Despite the fact that farmworkers provide life sustaining work through their labor, farmworkers across the country are still denied basic rights and protections,” said Mónica Ramírez, President and Founder of Justice for Migrant Women. “What’s more, farmers and farmworkers touch the lives of consumers every day, but the general public does not have a full understanding of their vital contributions. Our project, “The Humans Who Feed Us,” will bring back the focus to be on the people - the humans - who work to feed us and our families everyday. Our hope is that the public and lawmakers will join us in celebrating the contributions of these essential community members and take action to improve their livelihoods.” 

Approximately 30,000 farmworkers reside and work in the state of Ohio - a state that relies heavily on the contributions of the agricultural industry, which contributes approximately 9 billion dollars to the state’s economy. A large percentage of farmworkers are immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, and an increasing number of workers in Ohio, as well as across the country, travel to the U.S. on temporary guest worker visas. Projects like these are vital to shifting the narrative around immigrants in this country, many of whom are essential workers, to underscore the integral role that they have played in the U.S.’ recovery from the pandemic and beyond.  

“Farmworkers are risking their health to keep the agriculture industry going during the pandemic so that we all can continue to have fresh fruits and vegetables on our tables. These workers need the tools and information to keep themselves and their families safe. Right now, they don’t have any of these things. Why not protect the workers that come from so far away to pick the crops in our state? They are people like you and I, and they need to be taken care of too,” said Juanita Gutierrez, a former farmworker

"I am proud to be a fifth generation farmer in Northwest Ohio. Since the early 1960's my family has had a productive and meaningful relationship with the migrant workers who travel to our area to harvest the crops that we grow on our farm," said Phil Riehm, owner of Riehm Produce Farm, LLC located outside of Fremont, Ohio. "Most recently, we have employed temporary guest workers who travel to the US on special work visas. Many migrant workers sacrifice to leave their homes and their families to do this work, whether they come on visas or travel from within the US. I am grateful to them and I know that they are thankful to have a good job. We have nothing but mutual respect for one another."

“These pictures and the stories that are highlighted through “The Humans Who Feed Us” project remind us whose hands we rely on for our food. Farmworkers, farmers, and all of us depend upon each other to survive and thrive,” said Jeff Chang of Race Forward’s Butterfly Lab for Immigrant Narrative Strategy. “Farmworkers belong here.”

"It is critical that people understand that we are all interconnected and interdependent. COVID-19 has reminded us of this," said renowned chef, author, TV host, and business woman Ingrid Hoffman. "Most importantly, people have a greater understanding of just how much we all rely on farmworkers and other workers who produce the food that we eat. I am proud to partner on The Humans Who Feed Us campaign with Mónica Ramírez and Justice for Migrant Women. Together we honor and humanize the workers who often go unseen."

Following the project’s launch in Ohio, it will be expanded to highlight farmworkers in different parts of the US. The photos and the profiles of the farmworkers and farmers who are participating in the project will be displayed in restaurants, at farmers markets and at other locations around the country. For more information on The Humans Who Feed Us project, please visit www.justice4women.org.

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ABOUT JUSTICE FOR MIGRANT WOMEN 

Justice for Migrant Women uses education, public awareness and advocacy in order to ensure that all migrant women are guaranteed human and civil rights, including the freedom of mobility, the ability to live and work with dignity, and the right to be free of threats of violence against them and their families, whether they are migrating across borders, around regions or within states. Justice for Migrant Women was created in 2014 by leading activist, Mónica Ramírez, to further scale the project she created in 2003 as the first legal project in the US focused on sexual harassment and other forms of gender discrimination against farmworker and other migrant women workers.

ABOUT THE BUTTERFLY LAB

Funded by Unbound Philanthropy,  Luminate, Oak Foundation, and Open Society Foundations, The Butterfly Lab for Immigrant Strategy is a two-year project established by Race Forward to advance pro-immigrant narratives that recognize and honor the humanity of immigrants, and advance freedom and justice for all.

ABOUT RACE FORWARD

Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

Re: Urgent Need for Ensuring Safe Passage for US Citizens and Afghan Allies Out of Afghanistan

Dear President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Blinken, and Secretary Mayorkas:

On August 24th, we heard President Biden’s renewed commitment to removing all United States troops from Afghanistan by August 31, 2021. While the circumstances given the recent Taliban takeover are tenuous at best, immediate and swift action on the part of the United States’ is necessary to save tens of thousands of lives. The situation at Kabul airport is rapidly deteriorating with recent bombings at the gates and surrounding areas, the Taliban having reportedly blocked road access to the airport, while those who have made it to the airport are living in dire conditions without food, water, toilets and increased risk of exposure to COVID-19. Beyond Kabul, thousands of at-risk allies, women, ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community have been left stranded without access to evacuation routes and are subject to a collapsed economy, a crippling third wave of COVID-19, and the very real threat of Taliban retaliation and execution.

As President Biden stated on August 24, 2021, “our obligations” are to safely evacuate all American citizens and Afghan allies. We, the undersigned organizations, insist that the United States honor that statement by:

• Extending the deadline until the safe evacuation and resettlement of all at-risk Afghan vulnerable populations is complete;
• Creating robust and welcoming plans to ensure absorption of Afghan refugees on American soil;
• Working with the international community to ensure safe resettlement for Afghan refugees, rather than creating another large community of international refugees. This includes not forcing those with US visas to languish in a country for long periods between escaping Afghanistan and immigrating to the United States; and
• Defending gender and human rights within Afghanistan during the transition and after.

Sincerely,

Asian Pacific Islander American Health forum, Faith In Action, National Urban League, Race Forward and UnidosUS

August 26, 2021

Contact: Maya Boddie

[email protected]

New York, NY -- Race Forward, a leading racial justice organization, announced today that it will distribute $1 million to community racial justice organizations across the country. Of the $1 million, $52,000 will be allocated to groups within Race Forward’s #RaceAnd Our Present, Our Future host committee in celebration and support of the innovative, intergenerational, and intersectional work taking place at the forefront of the racial justice movement. 

“We are honored to be able to contribute to these grassroots organizations doing incredible and necessary work to advance racial justice during this critical, unprecedented moment in history,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines. “Each organization is unequivocally committed to reimagining a future where people of color thrive, and we are excited to support them in their efforts to build a more just world for generations to come.”

“This is a great example of what we call radical mutual aid,” said Roberta Rael, Director of Generation Justice in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “Oftentimes, small, local grassroots nonprofits do not have the capacity to fundraise the way larger national groups do. Based in a poorer state, Generation Justice does not have access to the number of high-level independent donors or family foundations as larger groups in wealthier states. During this pandemic, our services have been needed more than ever, and now, with this generous contribution from Race Forward, we can increase our resources.” Generation Justice trains youth to become multidimensional leaders committed to social transformation.

“Race Forward’s generous and timely contribution to Women on the Rise GA will allow us to ramp up efforts in our campaign to close a city jail,” said Robyn Hasan, Programs Coordinator at Women on the Rise in Atlanta, Georgia. ‘We’re excited to continue our work of building a base of powerful Black, formerly-incarcerated women to shape the national conversation around public safety in our communities.”

The contributions are the result of the generous donations Race Forward received during 2020 due to an increased number of individuals and organizations realizing the importance of working toward racial justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Among the organizations receiving contributions are:

Action St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)

Anti-Police Terror Project (Sacramento, CA)

Assata’s Daughters (Chicago, IL)

Brooklyn Movement Center (Brooklyn, NY)

Black Organizing Project (Oakland, CA)

Black Leadership and Organizing Collective (North Carolina)

Black Swan Academy (Washington, D.C.)

Carolina Youth Action Project (South Carolina)

Communities of Color United (Austin, TX)

Generation Justice (Albuquerque, NM)

Good Kids Mad City (Chicago, IL)

Refund Raleigh (Raleigh, NC)

Women on the Rise GA (Atlanta, GA)

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About Race Forward:

Race Forward, celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

CONTACT:
Jessica Sarstedt
[email protected]
+1.202.802.1835

WASHINGTON — The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative, the foremost diverse coalition of national racial justice and civil rights organizations representing and serving more than 53 million people in the U.S., reacted today to the initial release of local-level data by the United States Census Bureau. The data point toward America’s multiracial future but also raise serious concerns about fairness and representation in light of wide-scale undercounts among some of the fast-growing communities in the nation.

“Census data informs policy, redistricting and even our sense of what it means to be an American,” said Dr. Elana Needle, director of the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative. “If the federal government doesn’t collect data that accurately represents the nation, millions of Americans – especially Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Latino, Asian American, Native Hawiaiian and Pacific Islander and other people of color – will continue to be left behind.”

Fair representation is a bedrock principle of democracy, and communities that have grown should see proportional increases in Congress and state legislatures. “The 2020 Census is extremely important because its data can be used for representation at the national, state and local levels in redistricting efforts to ensure fair representation and resources in federal funding formulas, in research, and by tribal nations and local governance in decision-making,” said Yvette Roubideaux, vice president of research and director of the Policy Research Center at National Congress of American Indians. “America is more diverse than ever, and that diversity is a strength, not a weakness.”

Americans of color have long faced severe consequences from inequitable data collection and use. That is why Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative member organizations led nationwide efforts to encourage all Americans to stand up and be counted. However, chronic underfunding of the Census leading up to Census day, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Trump administration’s politicization of the Census inevitably had a disparate impact on communities of color in the 2020 Census, just as it did on health outcomes.

“Already going into this Census, we knew that there are certain populations that had been historically undercounted, said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, deputy vice president at UnidosUS. “Add to that a pandemic and unprecedented efforts to sabotage the count by the previous administration, and you can understand why many statisticians and many groups are saying that closer analysis is warranted to determine whether or not an undercount has occurred, and at what level and where.”

The good news is that America’s growing diversity is a source of strength. In fact, the vast majority of American families share the same policy priorities, from quality healthcare and education to economic security and opportunities for their children. Far from being at odds, people of color and white working-class Americans are already in broad agreement on what matters most.

“We believe that diversity makes us stronger as a country,” said Felicia Yoda, director of information systems & technology at Faith in Action. “And we also believe that everyone that represents that strength in that country deserves to be counted.”

Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward said, “The Census is a measure of our democracy. It’s maybe one of the most important responsibilities of the federal government built into our constitution. And it doesn’t just represent how we think about policy, but how we allocate hundreds of billions of dollars. It impacts how people vote, and at this moment, especially as we experience gerrymandering throughout the country, the results of this Census can be used to shut out voices, which is fundamentally anti-democratic.”

To learn more about the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative and speak with member organizations, please contact Jessica Sarstedt at [email protected] +1.202.802.1835

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The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative includes the following leading national racial equity anchor organizations (the Anchors): Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Congress of American Indians, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS. Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we work together to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential.

Dear Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi,

We, the undersigned civil rights and social justice organizations, commend Democratic leadership for the inclusion in the budget resolution of a path to citizenship for immigrants who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic. As organizations that work together to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential, we firmly believe that the inclusion of a path to legality and eventual citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, and farmworkers and essential immigrant workers, is an integral component toward our national recovery.

We urge you to stay the course and not let up. It will take all of us, citizen and immigrant alike, to build a stronger and more equitable country as we emerge from the pandemic. Therefore, it is just common sense to advance this measure, which will bolster America’s ability to recover and rebuild while bringing much needed stability to the situation of millions of immigrants and the citizens and legal permanent residents in their families. Nearly six million children live with an undocumented loved one, including 400,000 U.S. citizen kids who have a parent with DACA or TPS.

Immediate legislative action is particularly needed after the recent court decision on DACA, which once again disrupts the lives of hundreds of thousands of youth who have been raised here and see this country as their own. Thousands of DACA recipients are essential workers, and part of the estimated 5.2 million undocumented immigrants who have served in critical functions, from agriculture to medicine, as the pandemic raged on. The reality is that their contributions to the social and economic progress of the nation long predates the pandemic.

You now have a historic opportunity and responsibility to take action and deliver on a path to citizenship, a solution nearly 80% of Americans support. While many of us have worked towards a congressional bipartisan agreement, and public support is bipartisan, Republicans in Congress remain determined to foil progress. Fortunately, there is precedent for the inclusion of immigration in reconciliation, and Democrats have the numbers to deliver it.

As 82 mayors from cities in 28 states recently conveyed to you, “[t]he only way we can truly Build Back Better is to ensure that Dreamers, TPS holders, and essential workers are included in any economic recovery legislation including through budget reconciliation.” We wholeheartedly agree. The time to act is now, and our organizations will continue to work to make this humane and popular solution a reality this year and hold accountable those who prevent it.

Sincerely,

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Contact:
Maya Boddie
[email protected]

New York, NY—Race Forward is proud to announce climate activist and racial justice advocate Isra Hirsi as the keynote speaker for its "#RaceAnd: Our Present Our Future" virtual event taking place September 25, 2021. 

Nineteen-year-old Hirsi is co-founder and co-executive director of the United States Youth Climate Strike, and the daughter of U.S Representative Ilhan Omar. Isra is also a shining example that young people of color are leading the transformation to a better world. 

“I’m delighted to be part of Race Forward’s #RaceAnd Our Present Our Future conference,” said Hirsi. “Our future depends on the conversations and actions we take right now at our present moment in history. Young activists leading the way with learnings from those who have walked this path will ensure we achieve a world where all people can thrive.”

As Race Forward celebrates our 40th anniversary this year, we are inspired by the ideas, strategies, and solutions of youth and young adults who have and continue to lead racial justice work across the country.

“We’re excited to have the dynamic Isra Hirsi as our keynote speaker for this conference highlighting youth organizers. Young people have long served as the catalyst for social change, from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to the uprisings in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward and publisher of Colorlines. “At a time when this nation must reckon with our racial history, the voices of youth of color will both shape and sustain the multiracial democracy we envision and are working toward.”

Hosted by Race Forward and The Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO), and led by youth and young adult organizers, "#RaceAnd: Our Present, Our Future," is Race Forward’s first, virtual intergenerational event of its kind. The dialogue will center the solutions-driven, movement-making work of young people within Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander communities.

The conference will highlight the critical role youth play as advocates leading the charge on dismantling structural racism in the United States. Using organizing and policy strategies, visual art and storytelling, these young changemakers will display the ways in which they are continuing the global movement to defend Black Lives.

Register for #RaceAnd: Our Present, Our Future here.

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About Race Forward:
Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

About The Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing:
Founded in 2000, the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO) is a dynamic collective of social justice funders and youth organizing practitioners dedicated to advancing youth organizing as a strategy for youth development and social change. FCYO’s mission is to bring funders and youth organizers together to ensure that young people have the resources, capacities and infrastructure they need to fight for a more just and democratic society.

More than a year after Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, the former police officer was sentenced today to 22.5 years in prison.

While this sentencing does not represent the maximum sentence of 30 years as asked for by the prosecutor and the Floyd Family, it is significantly more than the 199 days time served and probation asked for by the defense.  We also know the sentence does not bring George Floyd back, nor does it make the U.S. criminal justice system any more just.

In the wake of continued killings of Black and Brown people, like My’Kiah Bryant, Daunte Wright, Andrew Brown, and Adam Toledo, Race Forward calls for greater urgency in reimagining public safety in a way that values, safeguards, and invests in the lives and communities of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander people. As we call for the convictions of police officers who brutalize our communities, we also call for collective action to dismantle structural racism. 

It is not until we abolish oppressive systems and invest in the health and dignity of all people of color, that true justice will be served. 

To ensure freedom for communities of color, we demand accountability and a completely transformed system.

Helen Chin to Lead the New Initiative as Senior Fellow

May 18, 2021, New York, NY—Race Forward and Amalgamated Foundation are pleased to announce a joint Senior Fellowship for Helen Chin. As Senior Fellow, Helen will launch Communities First, an initiative to center the wisdom of communities in reimaging and building the infrastructure our country needs to allow everyone to thrive.

Communities First will leverage the combined expertise, deep understanding of how communities of color, systems, governance, and capital operate, and the broad and rich relationships among these actors to reorient public resources and private capital towards effectively supporting underinvested communities and advancing their visions for thriving neighborhoods.  By  aligning these groups around a set of shared values and commitments we can change the landscape of racial inequity and create a world where race no longer determines life outcomes. 

“We are delighted to have Helen working with us to shift practice so communities are at the center,” stated Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines. “From the work we do with local jurisdictions through our Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), we know change is most impactful when it centers and is driven by community. Helen brings a rich background working with communities, both inside the US and internationally, that will help to ensure a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy.”

“Amalgamated Foundation is thrilled to partner with Helen Chin and Race Forward to launch the Communities First Initiative,” said Anna Fink, Executive Director of the Amalgamated Foundation. “The opportunity to move resources to local communities with a clear equity lens is of crucial importance and Helen’s distinguished reputation and proven track record of action provide the leadership needed to meet the moment.”  

Prior to joining Race Forward, Helen worked at the Surdna Foundation for 13 years as Program Director and as Program Office for Sustainable Environments, leading the program’s work to develop and support people of color and low-wealth communities in promoting infrastructure development to achieve racial equity, and economic, environmental and climate justice. 

Her previous experience includes leading initiatives on land use planning and transportation to advance sustainability at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, serving as Acting Deputy Director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Yarmouthport, MA, where she managed a grant portfolio that designed and supported programs to provide Indigenous communities with the skills and resources needed to preserve and protect natural resources and wildlife habitat in over 15 countries. She has also spent a significant amount of time in Africa, Asia, and India, working directly with communities.

Learn more about Communities First.

About Race Forward:
Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we bring systemic analysis and innovative approaches to complex race issues to build strategies and help people take effective action to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

About Amalgamated Foundation:
Amalgamated Foundation is redefining philanthropy by empowering activism and harnessing generosity to support social change.  We forge connections and collaboration between funders and movements at the frontlines of social change. The Amalgamated Foundation’s values and vision builds upon the legacy of the Amalgamated Bank, a 100-year old financial institution built by textile workers fighting to improve labor rights and the lives of local communities.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2021
CONTACT: Elana Needle
Email: [email protected]

Rick Santorum, a former GOP Senator from Pennsylvania, Republican presidential candidate and senior CNN political commentator, recently made racist remarks at a conservative youth conference that perpetuate the systemic erasure against the influences of indigenous peoples in the United States from their contributions – past, present and future. Mr. Santorum asserted that “We birthed a nation from nothing. . . . I mean, yes we have Native Americans, but candidly there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.” To the contrary, Native American culture is quintessentially American culture.

These remarks are a gross attempt to play revisionist historian using classic white supremacist rhetoric, and is the exact type of dangerous manipulation we have come to expect from extremists and fringe outlets. But even worse are the great lengths to which CNN, a mainstream media platform tasked with the pursuit of truth and reporting on the facts, has gone to cover for this kind of blatant racist propaganda. It is these kinds of lies, fueled by outright racism, that continue to empower hate groups and white nationalists to commit acts of terror, including storming the Capitol on January 6th of this year.

It is bad enough that a one-time presidential candidate and former Senator is willing to promote false narratives for political gain. But to essentially justify the murder of millions of American Indians and Alaska Natives and the taking of their lands, and in the process erase their legacies and co-opt their countless and enduring contributions and influence, in the name of “Judeo-Christian” values is nothing short of repulsive.

Mr. Santorum’s remarks are not only factually incorrect but they continue the erasure of Native Americans contributions to this country. Today, there are 574 federally-recognized tribes and many more state-recognized tribes with a population of over 8 million.  Santorum’s inflammatory remarks dismiss each of the Tribal Nations who previously occupied the very state he represented as a member of Congress: Susquehannock, Erie, Lenape, Iroquois, Munsee, and Shawnee of Pennsylvania. In fact, it is because of our government’s aggressive and genocidal American Indian and Alaska Native removal campaigns that there are currently no federally recognized Tribal Nations in Pennsylvania.

After these remarks, CNN, a major media outlet which utilizes Mr. Santorum as a contributor made no comment, and its silence is deafening. By failing to denounce these comments, CNN intrinsically ties itself to a blatantly racist commentator. And, this is not the first time that CNN has outright refused to recognize and be inclusive of American Indians and Alaska Natives. In its live Election Night coverage in November, CNN, while listing white, black, Latino and Asian voters, labeled American Indian and Alaska Native voters as “something else.” When asked to issue an apology for that discriminatory coverage, CNN refused.

It is the denial of our government’s violent history by influential voices like Santorum, combined with the silence and complicity of media outlets like CNN, that continues to provide fodder for racists and extremists alike.

Particularly because of its continuing erasure and racism against Native Americans, we call on CNN to take immediate and swift action, including immediately denouncing these remarks, issuing a written apology to American Indian and Alaska Native communities, cutting ties with Rick Santorum, training and educating reporters and pundits on American Indian and Alaska Native culture, white supremacy and anti-racism, and encouraging reporting on race in a responsible and equitable way. The media holds enormous power and responsibility in the creation of American discourse on race; our very democracy relies on CNN rooting this discourse in racial justice values that promote the safety and wellbeing of everyone.

# # # 

The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative includes the following leading national racial equity anchor organizations (the Anchors): Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS. Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we work together to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2021
CONTACT: Elana Needle
Email: [email protected]

It is with deep anguish that our organizations remember Daunte Wright of Brooklyn Center, MN and Adam Toledo of Chicago, IL, the two young lives most recently taken by our nation’s ongoing police brutality and violence. As devastating events that have become all-too familiar headlines, we collectively denounce the police violence that has yet again torn apart the very families and communities that law enforcement is tasked with keeping safe. Mere miles away from George Floyd’s murder, we are horrified to witness the new heights of brazenness reached by officers sworn to uphold our nation’s laws. But our horror is not shaded by shock or surprise, for communities of color well know that these events are carried out under the cover of a justice system steeped in a legacy of white supremacy.

Each of these murders highlight the various ways that current notions of “public safety” and “due process” have not only failed communities of color, but also directly contravene the American cornerstone of “innocent until proven guilty.” It is within this context that police officers have been allowed to act as judge and jury while even just making a routine traffic stop. From beginning to end, the events that lead to Mr. Wright’s death remain consistent with the pervasive racism that has come to characterize our nation’s policing practices and structures.

Data collected nationwide, including from St. Paul, MN, has revealed that Black drivers are more frequently stopped than white drivers, twice as likely to be searched and three times as likely to be subjected to use of force. The state of Minnesota alone has been the site of numerous headline police killings of Black men: from Jamar Clark (2015), to Philando Castille (2016), to George Floyd (2020). Other data reveals similarly disproportionate police violence against other communities of color in Minnesota, notably Native Americans. Taken together, this litany of police killings exemplifies yet another outgrowth of the outsized authority wielded by law enforcement: the criminalization of poverty among people of color. It is not enough that police practices disproportionately kill Black, Brown, and Indigenous individuals; they often do so under pretexts of what is essentially debt collection. Our very justice systems have been deployed so as to criminalize poverty among people of color to such a degree that a simple missing tag or expired registration are elevated to criminal infractions requiring monetary solutions that cause a knock-on effect of escalated fines, fees, and – for communities of color – situations where bodily harm or death occur with alarming regularity.

It is this systematization of racism and criminality in the name of “justice” that also informed the deadly encounter between Chicago police and 13-year-old Adam Toledo. Worse still, the allegiance to structures that set the stage for the shooting of a Latino minor with empty hands raised also works overtime to turn victims into scapegoats. The evolution of the City of Chicago’s narrative of this encounter demonstrates the extent to which leaders and public officials have become complicit in the upholding of systems that use innocent lives as collateral and decimate communities en masse. It is because of these realities that no such encounter may ever be taken in isolation; for it is the extended history of fundamentally racist budget priorities, community investment decisions that prioritize law enforcement, and allocation of authorities that truly contextualize the circumstances of Toledo’s death.

America has reached a crescendo. The crescendo is framed by a seemingly permissible level of baseline violence perpetuated against communities of color. The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative has commented previously on the murder of George Floyd, the paltry accountability for the death of Breonna Taylor, admonishing the deeply alarming rise in hate crimes and negligible federal response, and specifically, crimes perpetuated against Asian Americans—most recently the ghastly shootings in Atlanta.

Sadly, we are now adding multiple families and communities to the collateral consequences of American policing. Another child is left without a father, and a mother has had her 13-year-old child’s life taken from her. Families are not able to mourn in private, nor tell stories about their loved ones that are not coopted by the media. They are faced with the usage of images and videos from these traumatic events flooding the air waves, and if there’s a trial, painstaking viewing in great detail of the event. And yet, without video evidence, including from body worn camera footage, these deaths would have been silenced.

And the public is asking salient questions which need immediate answers in order to hold our police accountable. Why do we need tasers for traffic stops? Or even police patrolling drivers? What if instead of sending cops for a broken tail late, we sent a repair truck? Why do police wear body worn cameras but do not activate them, analyze the audio and video data for bias, nor share most data with the public for civilian review? Can a system which evolved from slave patrols, thereby embedding anti Blackness into its core be something equitable? What these questions boil down to is the need for systemic change. For training one officer, or one jurisdiction has not brought the change we seek – the preservation of Black lives and the freedom to live freely in our communities without the constant threat of violence by the state.

We applaud Attorney General Merrick Garland’s reestablishment of consent decrees intended to hold police departments accountable. And yet, even with these in place, departments have not made substantive enough changes to save lives, as we are still witnessing police in their ranks commit violence and murders against people of color. This is set against a backdrop of the public health crisis of gun violence in America. In addition, we call your attention to our ongoing set of demands in response to police violence and murders perpetrated against communities of color:  

• Advance federal policy that creates supportive services to communities, community services that are culturally competent and delivered by and for community members, as a first response mechanism to non-urgent, low-priority and quality of life incidents;
• Eliminate qualified immunity and any other laws that prevent the full prosecution of state and local police and corrections officers;
• Body worn camera policies – ensure they are on, that the audio and video data collected is analyzed for bias and inequity, and released to the public for citizen review and accountability;
• Heed calls for reinvesting local and state resources in non-policing forms of public safety and community support;
• President Biden’s appointment of a federal law enforcement commission to conduct to examine the murders of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo;
• Congressional oversight hearings, at least annually, to review the status of the implementation of the Death in Custody Reporting Act to compel the collection, reporting and analysis of all deaths, by race and gender, that occur in law enforcement custody, including any that occur while a person is being detained or arrested;
• Federal, state, and local governments to issue states of emergency declaring racism a public health crisis, and to develop targeted policies to address this crisis; and
• All Americans to commit to working with us to dismantle systemic racism that have enabled this scourge of race-based violence to grow unabated.

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Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, NAACP, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS are a collaborative of nine leading national racial equity anchor organizations (the Anchors) supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Together, we work to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential.

George Floyd's life mattered.

He should still be alive. Our hearts are still with him and his loved ones. We acknowledge the pain they have endured for the past year and especially during the past three weeks of this trial.  Though we applaud and recognize the conviction of Derek Chauvin as necessary, we also know it is insufficient. The guilty verdict does not bring George Floyd back, nor does it make the U.S. criminal justice system any more just. And the fight must continue! In a few months, Chauvin will be sentenced and this sentencing must reflect the severity of his crimes.

To be clear, Derek Chauvin’s conviction is an anomaly. Most police officers and vigilantes who take the lives of Black and Brown people are not even charged, let alone convicted. Even with charges and convictions, police murders continue. Since testimony in the Chauvin Trial began on March 29, at least 64 people have died at the hands of law enforcement nationwide, with Black and Brown people representing more than half of the dead. 

In the wake of continuous killings of Black and Brown people (including Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo), Race Forward calls for greater urgency in reimagining public safety in a way that values, safeguards, and invests in the lives of people of color — Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander. As we call for the convictions of police officers who brutalize our communities, we also call for collective action to dismantle structural racism. 

Structural racism has created and perpetuated a system of policing in this country where neighborhoods of color are more likely to have militarized police presence than well-resourced schools, quality housing, healthcare and affordable food, and well-paying jobs. In these segregated conditions, police department policies and police officer practices result in the brazen murders of Black and Brown people for offenses as minor as a suspected counterfeit $20 bill or an outdated vehicle registration during a pandemic.

Black, Indigenous and other people of color have the same right as white people to live safe and healthy lives, without fear for their life in the midst of everyday activities—driving, going to the store, walking down the street wearing a hoodie in the rain, and even sleeping in their own bed. Even complying with police orders does not eliminate the possibility of being shot or killed by police.

We must end this cycle of death by police. In the short-term, that means holding police officers and departments accountable for their actions. Again, this is necessary, but not sufficient. Only when we abolish oppressive systems and invest in the health and dignity of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian-American Pacific Islander communities will we have completed our task. Only then can we create a truly safe society in which all of us can thrive with dignity, power, and purpose.

CONTACT: Elana Needle
March 23, 2021
Email: [email protected]

The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative—the foremost diverse coalition of national racial justice and civil rights organizations representing and serving more than 53 million people in the United States—applauds President Joseph R. Biden’s recent executive action to make it easier for Americans to register to vote.

Signed on the 56^th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the new Biden executive order requiring federal agencies to submit plans to help facilitate voter registration invokes the legacy of the 600 activists, including the late Congressman John Lewis, who were attacked by law enforcement as they attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to protest for the right to vote.

The Anchor Collaborative commends this executive order’s commitment to promoting equitable access to voter education and registration while centering Indigenous voting rights and ensuring those in federal custody have ample information to exercise their right to vote, where possible.

It is, however, just a first step in the pursuit of a vision of democracy that honors and protects every American’s right to vote. The Collaborative calls upon President Biden to ensure that federal agencies act aggressively to achieve the aims of the EO. We further call upon Congress to continue the fight to eliminate barriers to voting by affirmative voting acts, and a modern Native American Voting Rights Act.

In order for our Democracy to remain reflective of and responsive to all of its citizens, it is imperative that federal agencies and Congress work to ensure:

• voter registration gaps, particularly for voters of color and young voters, are closed;
• voter outreach and education campaigns are robust, accessible, in-language and multicultural;
• the path to voting is unobstructed, centering the lived experiences of historically marginalized and disenfranchised voters of color;
• pro-voter measures including those restoring federal oversight of state elections, as codified in H.R. 1 and H.R. 4, are implemented to thwart the implementation of discriminatory voting measures.

Barriers to the ballot, far from being bygone relics of our history, are indeed alive and well in 2021.TheAnchor Collaborative’s November 2019 report, “We Vote, We Count: The Need for Congressional Action to Secure the Right to Vote For All Citizens,” uses the voices of voters of color to highlight numerous contemporary barriers preventing free and clear access to voting. We now call on the Biden administration to follow steps for robust implementation of this order to fulfill his promise of ensuring that registering to vote and voting are simple and easy for all eligible voters, and to develop clear metrics on voter registration, voter intimidation, language access, and turnout among voters of color.

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The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative includes the following leading national racial equity anchor organizations (the Anchors): Advancement Project National Office, Asian& Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,National Congress of American Indians,National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS. Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we work together to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential.

On Tuesday evening, March 16, 2021, a white gunman in Atlanta, Georgia, killed eight people—six of whom were women of Asian descent—at three separate massage businesses in Atlanta. We mourn the lives lost to this racist and gender-based violence, including Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaoje Yan, Daoyou Feng, and Paul Andre Michels. Their lives had meaning.

We condemn police statements regarding the murderer as simply having had “a bad day,” and suggestions that his “sex addiction” meant the shootings had nothing to do with race. Such statements imply that a racist killer is worthy of far more sympathy than the Asian women and others who were killed. It is dehumanizing and disrespectful. We still do not even know all of the victim’s names.

These murders are a part of a disturbing trend of increasing violence against people of Asian descent across the country. According to Stop AAPI Hate, there have been almost 4,000 incidents of violence reported in the past year. Sixty-eight percent of those reports were from Asian women. We know that these incidents are only a fraction of occurrences, as many hate crimes go unreported. 

We vehemently condemn anti-Asian violence and racist violence in all of its forms. We note that this violence was intentional and intersectional—racialized, gendered, and directed primarily at working class women. We recognize that the root causes of this violence are white supremacy and patriarchy. We also condemn media coverage that has increased tensions between communities of color, and that has further marginalized Asian and Asian American women and femmes.

The inflection point in this wave of violence can be traced directly to former President Donald Trump’s explicit calls to violence against Asians, through his comments on “the Chinese virus” and “the kung-flu.” Some perpetrators of violence against Asians have explicitly cited former President Trump’s calls as provoking their own actions.

These incidents fall into a pattern of racist scapegoating and misogyny that has been endemic in American history—from the anti-Asian riots and lynchings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, the 1989 schoolyard massacre of five Southeast Asian American children in Stockton, California to the post 9/11 scapegoating of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, South Asian, and Sikh people to the 2012 mass shooting of 6 Sikh Americans in a Wisconsin temple to the brutal ICE raids that daily tear apart the lives of migrant, immigrant, and refugee families.

Such violence has relied upon criss-crossing narratives, including the 300-year old narrative of Asians as strange, sickly, exotic, and carriers of contagious diseases, the narrative of Asian women as subservient and hypersexual objects for white men to use as they please, and the narrative of Asian Americans as unneeding and undeserving of support. This combination has led to many forms of violence, including street harassment, sexual assault, and state-sanctioned police and military violence.

This particular act of racialized and gendered violence in Atlanta also has roots in U.S. imperialism across Asia. The tragic killing of Jennifer Laude, a transwoman sex worker in the Philippines at the hands of a US military serviceman, is one example that highlighted the particular dangers faced by transwomen. In all too many cases, American military personnel who have perpetrated sexual violence against Asian women have been shielded against prosecution by the law. 

Many Asian women—whether migrant, refugee, immigrant, or U.S. born—work in unprotected, low-wage service industries like nail salons and spas. The criminalization of the sex trade has left many cisgender women—but particularly transgender women—who work in these industries facing unfathomable violence, often at the hands of police and law enforcement. Shaming women for their work is not the way to end individual and state-sanctioned hate violence against Asians and Asian Americans. It blames the most vulnerable for social and economic conditions created by policies set at home and abroad.

We believe that more police, counterterrorism units, and vigilante groups will not provide a solution to such violence, because this violence is rooted in systemic and structural racism. We strongly advocate community-based solutions to build alternatives to the kinds of militarization and criminalization that oppress Black communities, Indigenous communities, Latinx communities, Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and all communities of color.

We believe that the best solution to ensure the end of anti-Asian hate violence is to build multiracial solidarity, promote the dignity of work and the health of communities, support the organizing work of Asians and Pacific Islanders working to serve those most in need in collaboration with multiracial communities nationally and globally, and ultimately to dismantle white supremacy and patriarchy. 

We acknowledge the deep tradition of cross-racial solidarity that has built community-based solutions, and that such work continues now. In particular, we want to lift up the work of:

Race Forward calls for urgency in centering the needs of communities of color as we battle the pandemic.

Black, Latinx and Indingeous communities have been more severely impacted by COVID-19 than any other communities in our country. This tragic outcome is not random; it is the result of long standing historical racist practices and current day systemic racism putting Black, Latinx and indigenous people at dramatically higher risk of death and morbidity. An equitable vaccine distribution strategy requires taking this history into account and prioritizing those made vulnerable for receiving the vaccine as soon as possible.

Not only must we prioritize speedy distribution, given the long history of institutional abuse — from the Tuskegee research study of human experimentation on Black men to the widespread forced sterilization of women of color - we must also combat inevitable and understandable mistrust with education and outreach at the scale needed to protect human life.

According to a study by the National Foundation of Infectious Disease, despite evidence showing that vaccination can prevent contracting and dying from the coronavirus, more than half of black Americans remain hesitant about getting the vaccine, and of those who say they will get the vaccine, only 19% say they will get it right away with 31% preferring to wait.

We encourage communities of color to look to our Black, Latinx and indigenous public health leaders, such as Dr. Aletha Maybank, MPH, Chief Equity Officer and Group Vice President for the American Medical Association (AMA); Dr. David Malebranche, MPH, Associate Professor and Internal Medicine Physician at Morehouse Healthcare; and Dr. Uche Blackstock, founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, for guidance and information during this period of crisis in order to safeguard the lives and health of loved ones and neighbors.

Race Forward commends the Biden Administration for measures it has taken to advance vaccine confidence, and equitable access to and distribution of the vaccination among communities of color, namely:

• Passage of H.R.1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which, in addition to providing much needed relief to Americans suffering from the pandemic, provides $1 billion in funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen vaccine confidence and improve rates of vaccination in the United States.

• The Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Response to COVID-19 initiative, providing $250 million in federal grants to localities partnering with community organizations to encourage underserved populations to get COVID-19 vaccinations and adopt safety practices to help them avoid contracting the virus.

Race Forward and its Government Alliance on Racial Equity (GARE), which works with local and regional government jurisdictions across the country to ensure racial equity in all of their policies and practices, also applauds the growing and effective community-government partnerships to address the vital challenge of creating equitable vaccine access.

The CDC COVID Data Tracker shows more than 29 million cases and more than 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 as of March 12, with Black and Latinx individuals accounting for ⅓ of all cases and close to 30% of deaths.

Yet, CDC data for the same period shows that of those who have received at least one dose of the vaccine or have been fully vaccinated, Whites outnumber Black, Latinx, Indigenious and other communities of color combined by 2 to 1.

High levels of COVID deaths in communities of color is one more catastrophic outcome of systemic racism. We must address the systemic nature of racism in order to implement equitable solutions that prioritize the health and well being of our most vulnerable — those in communities of color. When we do so, we can make powerful progress in fighting this pandemic and we all benefit.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2021
CONTACT: Elana Needle
Email: [email protected]

On behalf of the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative—the foremost diverse coalition of national racial justice and civil rights organizations representing and serving more than 53 million people in the United States—we condemn in the strongest terms the recent uptick in documented hate incidents including bullying and harassment, hate crimes and violence being perpetuated against Asian Americans in recent weeks.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been over 3,000 recorded hate incidents against the Asian American community, along with concern that law enforcement has been slow to investigate the incidents. In February, the attacks have been particularly egregious, including:

• In San Francisco, Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old Thai American, was taking his morning walk, was shoved to the ground and died two days later.
• In Oakland, a 91-year-old Chinese American man was shoved to the ground, along with several shops vandalized in Chinatown.
• In San Jose, a 64-year-old Vietnamese American grandmother was robbed following a Lunar New Year’s celebration.
• In New York, a 61-year-old Filipino American man’s face was slashed with a box cutter on the subway.
• In Queens, New York, a 52-year-old Chinese American woman was physically attacked. The suspect was apprehended after actress Olivia Munn tweeted calling for the public’s help.

The attacks targeting Asian Americans and the overall elevated levels of anti-Asian hate incidents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic are part and parcel of a larger trend of racism sanctioned by the Trump Administration that this Collaborative previously denounced in 2017 and 2020.  Four years of federal policy, rhetoric and messaging has also ushered in a rise in white supremacy and bigotry marked by increased anti-immigrant, and anti-Black sentiment and perpetuated acts of violence against communities of color.

While we welcome the Biden Administration’s recent rebuke of such violence in the recent Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, it is a first step toward truly addressing the rise in violence and hate crimes—more comprehensive action is needed nationwide.

Communities of color, including Asian American communities, have heard words condemning this country’s past wrongs before. President Biden’s words, and that of other Congressional leaders, condemning the recent acts of hate makes it ever more apparent that we need a comprehensive set of actions that actualizes a commitment to dismantling the decades of systematic and structural racism that has upheld white supremacy and allowed for the reoccurrence of violence and hate toward Asian Americans and other marginalized communities. These comprehensive set of actions include:

1. Immediate and deep investment in the Asian American community including access to victims’ compensation funds, language accessibility and culturally competent community resources and services;
2. Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) agencies need to standardize and to include more details in their documentation of hate crimes;
3. Local law enforcement and state agencies should fully comply with the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, and efforts should be made to include disaggregated data on the Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander community; and
4. A strategy to address hate speech by government officials and those running for office.

Our collaborative stands ready to usher in these new recommendations, indeed anything less will foster such hate even further, which is simply unacceptable.

# # # 

The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative includes the following leading national racial equity anchor organizations (the Anchors): Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS. Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we work together to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential.

CONTACT: Jessica Sarstedt
EMAIL:  [email protected]

January 26, 2021 (WASHINGTON, DC) — In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, historic racial justice protests, and unprecedented commitment by the executive office to confront systemic racism, the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative—the foremost diverse coalition of national racial justice and civil rights organizations representing and serving more than 53 million people in the U.S.—is pushing for racial equity to be at the forefront of government operations, policies and practices. The coalition calls on President Joe Biden to establish a White House Office on Racial Equity and Inclusion to coordinate the full range of federal agency efforts to advance racial equity, centered on the administration’s promise to confront systemic racism and heal the “soul of our nation.”

America’s deep and long-standing racial inequities were on full display in 2020, from profoundly disparate health and economic outcomes that surfaced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to a national reckoning with racism in the criminal justice system, including the extrajudicial police killings of Americans of color. The power of Black and brown voters was also laid bare, as strategic mobilization of historically underrepresented communities led to unprecedented voter turnout in the 2020 election. Generations of systemic racism have shaped conditions for Black, Latino, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The U.S. government played a significant role in shaping these conditions and must prioritize racial equity in order to meaningfully improve them.

Vice President Kamala Harris has made history as the first Black and Asian American woman elected to the position, and President Biden has pledged to appoint “the most diverse cabinet in history.” Furthermore, the Biden-Harris Build Back Better plan designates racial equity as a “distinct pillar” of its approach to building a stronger future for all Americans, and after meeting with the collaborative prior to the inauguration, included in its day one actions an executive order to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities. The coalition embraces this progress while recognizing that sustained commitment and institutional infrastructure will be required to overcome historical injustices at scale. 

Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum: “In 2020, the world experienced an historical chapter of reckoning with how systemic racism permeates throughout civil society. We call on the Biden-Harris administration to lead the country with a whole of government approach with the charge of dismantling institutionalized racism, tackling the deep rooted inequities that exist for communities of color, while also uplifting and celebrating the resilience and brilliance of the diversity our communities represent. As our country continues to grapple with the harrowing dimensions of this global pandemic, we must ensure equitable access and allocation of resources, including vaccines, for the hardest hit communities is not just an aspiration but a goal realized,” said Juliet K. Choi, CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum.

Advancement Project, National Office: “It is clear that our nation needs moral strong leadership invested in dismantling institutional racism. Building an infrastructure dedicated to advancing racial equity will ensure inequalities in health care, employment, policing and education are addressed. We urge the new administration to build a team dedicated to developing a new culture of inclusion that advances racial equity goals,” said Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of Advancement Project National Office.

Demos: “From the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor to the clear racial disparities in the impact of COVID-19, so much of what we’ve seen in the last year reflects long-standing, government-sanctioned systemic racism in America,” said Nahal Zamani, director of movement building for Demos. “After generations of taking deliberate action to discriminate against Black and brown people throughout the history of this country, the United States government must take equally deliberate action to right its wrongs. The new administration has a historic opportunity to bring the full weight of the executive branch to the task of promoting racial equity. By establishing a White House office singularly dedicated to racial equity and inclusion and tasked with coordinating creative inter-agency efforts at advancing racial equity, the Biden-Harris administration can take a groundbreaking step toward creating an America that lives up to its promise.”

Faith In Action: “With a new administration taking office and what is hopefully the end of the pandemic on the horizon, we have an opportunity in 2021 to respond to the great moral challenge of our country: the systemic racism that has plagued the United States for generations. Restoring the soul of our nation, as the president-elect has set out to do, requires a commitment to ensuring no one stands alone and that no one is left behind. The pursuit of justice and equity must rise above all other concerns because it is the concern that ties all else together. A White House office dedicated to racial equity and inclusion will focus that pursuit and enable us to mobilize our considerable energies across all avenues – social, economic, legal and political – to create a justice-oriented framework for governing and creating a country that is inclusive and celebrates the diversity of all its residents,” said the Rev. Alvin Herring, executive director of Faith in Action.

In December, the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative outlined the role of a White House Office on Racial Equity and Inclusion in a memo to President-elect Biden’s transition team:

1. Develop a racial equity vision in collaboration with civil society for the Administration.
2. Develop shared language, analysis and tools; and build knowledge, skills, and capacity across the federal government and among federal employees to advance racial equity. 
3. Assist and support agencies in assessing readiness to advance racial equity work, and setting measurable, results-based equity goals. 
4. In collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget and Domestic Policy Council, conduct racial equity assessments on policy measures.
5. Ensure and support robust development, collection and use of racially disaggregated data across federal government to advance racial equity.
6. Foster effective partnerships across agencies and between federal agencies and civil society toward racial equity goals.

National Urban League: “Even before 2020 exposed our pandemic of triple deadly disease and economic hardship and racial unrest, America was a nation that still had only begun to grapple with the legacy of white supremacy. Establishing a White House Office on Racial Equity and Inclusion is our best hope of nurturing that awakening and achieving our true potential,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.

Race Forward: “We stand at the crossroads of our country’s reckoning of race. We stand at this crossroads because of the vision and work of Black organizers and activists, alongside other organizers and activists of color, who have pushed this country closer to its professed ideals of justice, equality, and freedom for all. The Biden-Harris administration must walk alongside these organizers and activists by taking proactive steps to address systemic racism,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward and publisher of Colorlines. “One important way they can do this is by establishing a White House Racial Equity & Inclusion Office. This idea is not new; there is a growing field of practice amongst local and state governments to address and uproot systemic racism across all functions of government. As James Baldwin stated, ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.’ A White House Racial Equity & Inclusion Office will institutionalize a mechanism to allow us to face and change racial injustices.”

UnidosUS: “An honest and comprehensive reckoning with our nation’s racial history, and enacting solutions to address it, is perhaps the transcendent issue of our time. The path forward may be difficult, complicated, and contested, but it is essential to pursue. Creating an office within the White House to coordinate the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to reduce racial inequality in all of its forms is a crucial first step toward ensuring that our country lives up to its core shared value of equal opportunity for all Americans,” said Janet Murguia, president of UnidosUS.

To learn more about the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative and speak with the organizers, please contact Jessica Sarstedt at [email protected] or +1.202.802.1835 . 

# # #

The Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative includes the following leading national racial equity anchor organizations (the Anchors): Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS. Supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we work together to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential.

CONTACT:
Cheryl Cato Blakemore
Sr. Dir., Strategic Communications
[email protected]

RACE FORWARD HAILS “NEW ERA” IN ADDRESSING RACIAL INEQUITY

Renews call for Biden Administration to Establish Office on Racial Equity & Inclusion and Commends Revocation of Executive Order 13950

January 21, 2021 (New York, New York) — Joseph R. Biden was inaugurated yesterday as the 46th President of the United States, and took immediate actions to further racial equity in 17 executive actions and proposed legislation which will reverse policies of the outgoing President.

Race Forward Chief of Staff Rachael DeCruz commended the actions. “We welcome President Biden’s actions on the coronavirus pandemic, immigration reform, housing justice, environmental justice, and racial justice,” DeCruz said. “They are a step in the right direction, marking a new era in this country.”

Race Forward also reiterated its call for the Biden administration to commit to creating a White House Office on Racial Equity & Inclusion.

Julie Nelson, Race Forward Senior Vice President of Programs said, “A White House Racial Equity & Inclusion Office will elevate the vital work of racial justice so desperately needed at this critical juncture in our nation’s history. It will also signal how the Administration will center racial justice in all of its policies, programs and decisions on racial justice issues important to not just African Americans and other communities of color who turned out in record numbers to elect Biden and Harris, but to white people as well.”

Biden’s announced actions include :

• Racial Equity: executive actions that revoke the Trump Administration’s Executive Order 13950, prohibiting racial justice work in training and workshops, direct federal agencies to ensure racial equity within their policies, prevent workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and rescind the Trump Administration’s 1776 Commission;

• Coronavirus: a plan to address the pandemic, which has left more than 400,000 dead, disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color; and a legislative package to provide immediate relief to millions of unemployed people and those paying student loans.

• Immigration: executive actions to urge Congress to give 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. a path to citizenship in as little as eight years, undo the Muslim Ban, end the exclusion of the counting of undocumented people in the Census, halt construction of the border wall, and reverse restrictions on refugees and asylum seekers;

• Housing Justice: executive actions to extend a foreclosure moratorium for federally backed mortgages and an eviction moratorium for renters; and

• Environmental Justice: executive actions to rejoin the Paris climate accord within 30 days, cancel the Keystone XL pipeline (which had launched the indigenous peoples-led Standing Rock demonstrations), and reverse more than 100 Trump actions on the environment.

“These actions remedy not just recent, but historic inequities,” said DeCruz. “Government policies laid the original groundwork for the creation of systemic racism. Americans have spoken - in the streets and at the polls - and demand that our government address racial discrimination at its core by establish new policies that dismantle old, harmful systems, and creating new ones, centered in racial equity, that will improve life for everyone.”

Since September 2020, Race Forward has pushed for the rescinding of the Trump Administration’s Executive Order 13950, which banned racial justice work in government. At the Facing Race national conference in November, Race Forward launched a #BannedWords campaign, elevating phrases such as “systemic racism,” “unconscious bias”, and “intersectionality” that the EO 13950 banned from federal government training, workshops, and discussions. More than 1,700 people visited the campaign site to download resources and share their stories on social media, using #BannedWords.

Trump’s order was effectively halted on December 22, 2020, by a court ruling by the Northern District of California, and rescinded by Biden’s executive actions yesterday.

“Trump’s attempt to end racial justice work in government has failed,” said DeCruz. “Now is the time for President Biden to make good on his promise to advance racial equity, and lead the country forward boldly towards a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy.

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Founded in 1981, Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the largest multi-racial, multi-generational conference on racial justice in the U.S.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Elana Needle, 201.248.9724
[email protected]
 

Leading Civil Rights and Racial Justice Organizations Observe the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Fifth Annual National Day of Racial Healing, January 19, 2021

January 18, 2021 (New York, NY) — America faces a critical juncture in our history. The events of the past two weeks have highlighted the insidious nature of white supremacy, and the damage it causes to our democracy, national institutions, systems, psyche, policies, and infrastructure. In the shadow of a violent Capitol riot, leading racial equity organizations will pause to participate in the National Day of Racial Healing (#NDORH) on January 19 – a day recognizing the critical need to achieve racial equity and restore faith in our fellow citizens and our ability to move forward as a nation. Without healing, we cannot transform broken systems, mend fractured relationships, and ensure equitable COVID-19 relief and recovery.

But without accountability, we cannot have healing. Healing from this moment requires both acknowledging America’s racist history and calling for justice and accountability for the actions of white supremacist insurrectionists on January 6, 2021.

On Tuesday, January 19, 2021, communities, organizations, and individuals, across the country will take collective action during the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s fifth annual National Day of Racial Healing to celebrate our racial diversity and to reinforce and honor our common humanity. Among these organizations are the Racial Equity Anchor Institutions (“The Anchors”) supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Anchors will create space to explore our common humanity and build the relationships necessary to create a more just and equitable world.

The purpose of the National Day of Racial Healing is to:

1. Reinforce and honor our common humanity, while noting and celebrating the distinct differences of our various communities.
2. Acknowledge the deep racial divisions in America that must be overcome and healed.
3. Commit to engaging people from all racial and ethnic groups in genuine efforts to increase understanding, communication, caring and respect.

The Anchors sustain a formal partnership that has seen them work collaboratively over the past nine years to clear barriers to a racially inclusive democracy, champion the humanity of undocumented communities and communities of color, organize to stop mass incarceration, and end the criminalization of Native, Black, Latino, and Asian communities.

The racial equity organizations have participated in the National Day of Racial Healing since its inception in 2017. The day was established by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and its Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation grantees and partners. The day is a call to action to mobilize communities, organizations, and individuals across the United States in support of truth, racial healing, and transformation. To participate in local events, please check the National Day of Racial Healing’s website. Participate online by following the hashtag #HowWeHeal or joining the national livestream.

Please feel free to participate in the below Racial Equity Anchor hosted #NDORH events:

• Advancement Project National Office will host a panel discussion Where Do We Go From Here? Racial Healing in 2021 - Join Advancement Project National Office on January 19 from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m. EST for a conversation with leaders from the NAACP, UnidosUS, and the National Congress of American Indians as they discuss the meaning of racial healing in 2021 and how the nation can advance justice and begin the healing process in the wake of white supremacist violence. Register: https://bit.ly/3bFn1or
• UnidosUS’ blog will post a story on Jan. 19 showcasing two Affiliates that have been part of the W.K. Kellogg’s Truth, Racial, Healing, and Transformation (THRT) work. Gads Hill Center and Northwest Side Housing Center, in Chicago, Illinois, will discuss their experiences and their journey to heal.

Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Urban League, Race Forward and UnidosUS are a collaborative of nine leading national racial equity anchor organizations supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Together, we work to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities  — no matter the color of their skin or national origin — have genuine opportunities to reach their full potential.

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The vigilantism and attacks in Washington, DC yesterday are nothing short of treason. They are part and parcel of the arc of violence enshrined in the modus operandi of white supremacy and white nationalism. These terrorist and seditious actions have been fomented by President Trump. Throughout his Presidency, Trump, and members of the GOP, have fueled up racism, xenophobia, and antisemitism—and Trump has continually encouraged his supporters to bear arms and riot. President Trump advised the Proud Boys, a known white supremacist terrorist organization, to “stand back and stand by.” They listened. Yesterday’s events are therefore no surprise. This attack on our country was years in the making. Further, President Trump is simultaneously inciting violence through his calls to his supporters while asking for the support of law enforcement and Capitol Police and delaying the deployment of the National Guard. The difference in the state’s use of force on these seditionists versus the violent and unlawful use of force against peaceful protestors for Black lives or those working to preserve their health care access is abhorrent, and yet another stark example of racial inequity. The ability of those who stormed the Capitol yesterday to comfortably take seats in the building and take selfies with Capitol Police without fear of arrest or assault is the height of white privilege.

“There Is No Democracy Without Racial Justice”

Contact: Jeff Chang, [email protected]

Early this morning, Donald Trump declared victory in the 2020 presidential election, even as millions of votes in many states had not been counted. He further threatened to go to the Supreme Court to stop the legitimate counting of the vote. This unprecedented move is nothing short of anti-democratic gaslighting, casts unnecessary doubt on the democratic process, and edges the nation closer to a potential constitutional crisis. 

Race Forward stands against Trump’s false declaration and authoritarian threat, which follows an election which saw historic turnout rates among Black communities, Indigenous communities, and other communities of color. These attacks are meant to disenfranchise legally cast votes in states such as North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, all states where voters of color have played a central role in the election.

“Race Forward rejects President’s Trump’s efforts to delegitimize the electoral process, and suppress the vote of Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. We must respect the expression of the will of the people, as long as it takes,” said Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward, a nearly four-decade old national racial justice organization. “There is no democracy without racial justice.”

The 2020 elections have seen unprecedented efforts to disenfranchise voters of color. Such anti-democratic efforts have included lawsuits to prevent counting of ballots in communities of color, as well as physical forms of voter suppression and intimidation. Every voter has a right to vote safely and without threat,  interference, or coercion. The proper role of authorities, including the Office of the President, is to protect the vote, not to disenfranchise the vote.

These efforts follow Donald Trump’s broad attacks on racial justice movements. On September 22, President Trump signed Executive Order 13950, which bans racial justice work in federal government agencies, with government contractors, and through federal grants and funding. This act was a culmination of a broad range of race-baiting actions. 

Harris said, “From the Muslim ban to immigrant policies that fostered family separation to encouraging violence against peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators, Trump’s attacks on democracy mark an escalation on his attacks on our communities and our call for a just, multiracial democratic society.”

He added, “We will continue to stand side-by-side with advocates, organizers, activists, artists, culture-bearers, and local government leaders to fight Trump’s attacks on racial justice and protect the most vulnerable among us. Together we say, ‘Count every vote.’”

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CONTACT: Elana Needle
Email: [email protected]

Congress must act immediately to provide an extension of the statutory reporting deadlines for apportionment and redistricting data. This extension is necessary to ensure the Census Bureau has enough time to properly process the massive amount of Census data collected and provide accurate counts to the President and the states. In the absence of this extension, counts that are delivered will be rife with inaccuracies and inconsistencies which will prevent a full count of communities of color.

In May 2017, our collaborative, the foremost coalition of organizations dedicated to civil rights and racial justice, sounded the alarm that the 2020 Census was at risk of not fully counting communities of color. Nearly every aspect of the completion of Census counts has been immensely and detrimentally impacted by COVID-19. And, this was after years of criminal underfunding, a delay in hiring community-based enumerators, the thwarted attempt at adding a citizenship question as well as an additional effort to exclude immigrants from being counted by the administration. Without statutory relief, the Census Bureau will deliver counts to the President around 12/31/20. If Congress does not act to push back the reporting deadlines, the numbers the administration, and the states are provided will not have had sufficient time for adequate data processing and quality checks.

This is another attempt by the administration to erase communities of color from our American democracy. By utilizing inaccurate Decennial Census data, the administration will effectively ensure that communities will be underrepresented in Congress, erroneous voting districts will be drawn, federal funding of upwards of $400 billion annually will be distributed to communities that may not need said resources, decision making will be hindered when providing disaster relief and pandemic responses, and civil rights enforcement will be handicapped. Quite simply, doing our important work in the context of an inaccurate Census count is detrimental to the very communities we are trying to serve.

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Advancement Project National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, NAACP, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS are a collaborative of nine leading national racial equity anchor organizations (the Anchors) supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Together, we work to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities have opportunities to reach their full potential.

Leading social justice organization say Executive Order runs counter to Americans’ goals

NEW YORK  – October 26, 2020 – Race Forward, the national racial justice nonprofit organization, continues its commitment to advancing anti-racism training – despite the Trump Administration’s attempt to eliminate anti-racist work by banning dialogue, education, and trainings that address systemic racism. The Executive Order (EO) issued on September 22, 2020, targets federal departments, contractors, and grantees in an effort to silence meaningful conversations about race that a majority of the American public believes are needed for greater understanding and national unity. 

Race Forward continues to advance its work through its Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) program, a network of more than 250 jurisdictions who are working to advance racial equity and lift up outcomes for all groups. GARE members are committed to conducting anti-racism trainings to help public sector employees and the American people talk about and take action to address systemic racism.  These jurisdictions fall outside the EO so long as they are not federal contractors and are conducting trainings independent of federal funding. Communities seek the guidance of the GARE network to enable their employees within public institutions to discuss race in honest and truthful ways that can lead to changed policies and practices, justice and reconciliation. 

“These actions by the administration are an attack on racial justice,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “The overwhelming majority of Americans believe that systemic racism and racial discrimination are a major problem in this country. Even so, the Trump Administration is actively working to shut down America’s growing commitment toward ending racial injustice and is simply denying that systemic racism is behind America’s racial inequities.”

Collectively, supporters of racial equity training voice support for all levels of government to address systemic racism and are calling on philanthropy, the business community, nonprofit and professional organizations across the country to explicitly address systemic racism, and commit to the advancement of racial justice in America.

“The extreme hardships of 2020 — the COVID-19 pandemic, state violence against the Black community, an environmental crisis and an economic recession — are exposing the horrifying impact of racial inequities between white people and people of color,  said Julie Nelson, Senior Vice President of Programs. “We recognize the devastating intergenerational harms of systemic racism and know that we as a nation cannot have a strong multiracial democracy without racial justice, and we cannot have racial justice without a strong multiracial democracy.”

Race Forward declares that the current administration’s push for education that erases our history is dangerously hostile toward people of color, an abuse of power, and an attempt to silence and censor discussion of and reverse progress on race equity in America. This comes on the heels of Trump calling on Americans to proclaim Columbus Day as an official national holiday, despite Native American’s seeking to change the observation to Indigenous Peoples Day. 

About:

Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of local governments working to achieve racial equity and improve outcomes for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Additional Information:

Webpage: https://www.raceforward.org/  |  https://www.racialequityalliance.org 
Social Media: Twitter @RaceForward | Instagram @raceforward | Facebook.com/RaceForward

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August 7, 2020

As America’s political parties release their policy platforms against the backdrop of racial justice uprisings, a global pandemic, and a deepening economic recession, nine major racial justice groups, together with Professor Darrick Hamilton, call for the parties to focus on racial equity as a core principle that should shape every policy for our country.

Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward, said, “Racial equity cannot be a discrete and separate ‘issue area’ in a context where systemic racism shapes every facet of American life.  Whether the question is health care, jobs, public safety or even how democracy itself is unfolding, race today is still the central driver determining life outcomes.”

Professor Darrick Hamilton, the Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy and university professor at The New School, and a member of the Biden-Sanders unity task force, added, “We need to recognize that structural racism threatens our democracy and an economy grounded in shared prosperity.”

The nine organizations include Race Forward, People’s Action, the National Congress of American Indians, PolicyLink, the National Urban League, Demos, UnidosUS, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, and Rights & Democracy.

These organizations argue that political parties need racially equitable solutions that benefit us all and that are grounded in a strong racial justice framework, racially and ethnically disaggregated data, and a commitment to measure success and progress in concrete terms.

They believe that leaders of color working in impacted communities are deeply cognizant of the problems we currently face and more importantly have clear and creative solutions that could transform our society from one of division, violence, and conflict, to one where all neighborhoods and communities thrive.

“In this moment, white supremacists are trying to build power through violence and intimidation, attacking core democratic principles,” said Harris. “If political parties aspire to lead this vast multiracial and multicultural country, they have a profound obligation to commit to racial equity in their platforms, rhetoric, policy and practice.”

Read Principles for Racially Equitable Platforms.

Funded by Unbound Philanthropy,  Luminate, Oak Foundation, and Open Society Foundations, the Butterfly Lab for Immigrant Strategy is a two-year project to advance pro-immigrant narratives that recognize and honor the humanity of immigrants, and advance freedom and justice for all.

“Although pro-immigration policies have been under fire in recent years, we know that the majority of Americans are pro-immigrant. Changing the narrative is the key to winning,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward.

“At a time of unprecedented readiness for radical change, every word we say, and every story we tell, matters,” said Taryn Higashi, Executive Director, and Adey Fisseha, Senior U.S. Program Officer, of Unbound Philanthropy. “Our words and our narratives can move us forward towards a pluralist society where everyone belongs, or backwards. We are thrilled to support this dynamic, superbly talented group to move us all forward. We are also delighted to partner with the brilliant team at Race Forward to nurture this cohort.”

 Beginning in June 2020, the Lab will bring together a select cohort of 16 leaders working in immigrant narrative to learn and discuss cutting edge narrative strategy and research. The leaders in the cohort are drawn from work in advocacy, the law, organizing, policy, human rights, the arts, and popular culture. 

“This cohort is incredibly diverse – from a Brooklyn-based artist from Trinidad and Tobago to a Maya Mam advocate and former political refugee from the West Highlands of Guatemala, or from a Syrian-American rapper and spoken word artist in Los Angeles to a labor organizer based in the Gulf Coast,” said Ivy Suriyopas, program officer at the Open Society Foundations.  I am excited to see how their richly varied perspectives will come together to advance a narrative that promotes a more inclusive multiracial democracy.”

Butterfly Lab cohort members will develop, test and scale immigration narratives to meet our current political moment by advancing our vision for the world we want to build. “Anti-immigrant narratives in the US have become normalized and even mainstream over the last few years,” said Alissa Black, Director, Luminate. “Luminate is glad to support the Butterfly Lab because its aim to advance accurate narratives about immigrants will better reflect the America we want to live in and will promote everyone’s inherent worth.” 

Tim Parritt, program officer for the Oak Foundation, said, “The co-crafting of culturally resonant narratives by activist leaders immersed in their immigrant communities is critical – they offer the bridge between high theory and practical implementation and are key to fulfilling a vision of a deeply connected and powerful strategic communications field infrastructure.

Cohort individuals will receive a $10,000 stipend and $10,000 for design and implementation of innovative narrative prototype projects. Cohort convenings, webinars, trainings, and strategy sessions will be all-expenses paid. In addition, the cohort prototype projects will be supported with research and impact evaluation. In year 2, a number of the projects will be selected to scale up, and the cohort’s learnings will be broadly disseminated to build capacity, skills, and knowledge within the pro-immigrant movement.

For more information, please visit Race Forward’s Butterfly Lab page.

May 6, 2020 (New York, NY)  Race Forward, a leading multi-racial racial justice organization, names Cathy Albisa as the new Vice President of Institutional and Sectoral Change. 

In this role, Albisa will provide strategic leadership in the arena of planning and executing the work of Race Forward and its national program that advances racial equity in local and state governments, the Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE). Albisa will play a significant role in strategy development, organizational networking, alliance building, and relationship management with a specific goal of increasing the capacity of the organization and its allies to catalyze movement building for racial justice. 

“It is humbling to step into a role supporting the extraordinary work of this staff and our members to transform government and other institutions for the public interest through racial equity, especially in this moment where the strength of our institutions is so central to our fight for multiracial democracy,” said Cathy Albisa.  “And there is no better time to fight for racial equity than in the wake of this pandemic that has laid bare the inequities that plague every corner of our social fabric, leading to needless loss of lives and livelihoods in communities at the frontlines of injustice.” 

Prior to joining Race Forward, Albisa was the co-founder and Executive Director of Partners for Dignity & Rights (formally NESRI), a social movement organization that supports community groups across the country and their campaigns for structural change. Partners for Dignity & Rights is the home of the Dignity in Schools Campaign and the Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Network. She serves on the Human Rights Commission in New York City, and has been published widely on economic and social rights, racial and gender justice issues, and human rights generally.

“We are honored and thrilled to welcome Cathy to the Race Forward family,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “During these very difficult and uncertain times, I can’t think of a stronger visionary to lead us in the strategy development and to catalyze institutional transformation in the public, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors. Cathy is committed and passionate about our work, and she will deliver results for the communities we serve.” 

Albisa has also been a Director at the Center for Economic and Social Rights, an Associate Director at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School, a co-director of the Human Rights and Gender Justice clinic at CUNY Law School, and a constitutional rights litigator at the ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights. She has also served in the leadership of boards of directors such as the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and the Center for Social Inclusion, among others. Cathy graduated with a JD from Columbia Law School and a BA from the University of Miami.

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Founded in 1981, Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the largest multi-racial, multi-generational conference on racial justice in the U.S.

As early regional and national data on race becomes available, it is devastatingly clear that Black, Latinx, and Native communities are being hit the hardest by this pandemic. 

People of color are more likely to be working in “essential” jobs, and therefore are at much greater risk of exposure to COVID-19. Health inequities, seen in preexisting conditions such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, asthma, lack of access to quality health care, and underemployment are all factors that increase COVID-19 complications in patients of color. Coronavirus kills, and structural racism is its accomplice.

According to a recent analysis by the Associated Press, Black and Latinx people are not only becoming infected at higher rates, they are dying at a higher rate than other demographic groups. In counties that are majority-Black, officials have seen three times the rate of infections and nearly six times the rate of deaths compared to white communities. In Arizona, sixteen percent of COVID-19 deaths are Native Americans, despite comprising only 6% of the population. In New York City, seventy-five percent of frontline workers – nurses, subway staff, sanitation workers, drivers, grocery cashiers – are people of color. While some are able to shelter in place and work remotely, many workers of color have no choice. 

We call on federal and state governments to release race and ethnicity data on COVID-19 testing, patients and health outcomes. This data should inform how we invest our time, our resources, and our energy. Ending the coronavirus threat requires us to start by attending to those who are most impacted.

Yet, shockingly, this administration blames people of color for their own deaths. The U.S. Surgeon General suggested that patients of color are personally responsible, urging Black and Brown communities to “avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.” (There is no data connecting COVID-19 to drug use, and research confirms that white and communities of color use drugs at similar rates.) They, along with Republican lawmakers, have fomented anti-Asian violence by calling COVID-19 “the Chinese virus.” These explicitly racist calls—they go far beyond “dog whistle” politics—show that they are more skilled in attacking people of color than in attacking the virus. Their rhetoric is meant to deflect criticism of their deadly and disastrous failures, not to end the global threat of COVID-19. 

What we know is that the best science supports a racial equity approach, and that a racial equity approach advances the fight against coronavirus. Ending the threat requires us to target our strategies and resources towards those who are most impacted by this pandemic, those least able to shelter in place, those facing the worst health inequities, those whom the administration and other demagogues would abandon and endanger. Instead of blaming and stigmatizing those who are most at risk of contracting COVID-19, Race Forward demands that we center their needs, and attack the disease with the urgency the moment demands. Structural racism has always been a pre-existing condition. Ending the threat of the virus means attacking structural racism. All of society benefits.

March 17, 2020

WASHINGTON—The nation’s leading civil rights and racial justice organizations issued a joint urgent call to action against racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans related to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

“As our nation grapples with the coronavirus, we are deeply concerned that recent incidents of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans threaten our collective public safety. In recent weeks, Asian Americans have been subjected to violent attacks, discrimination against their businesses and xenophobic portrayal by the media and our elected leaders.

We are often reminded of the xenophobic history of our nation—from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act to the 2019 Public Charge Rule—our nation has always treated people of color and immigrants with suspicion. Coronavirus does not discriminate based on race or ethnicity.

The World Health Organization’s declaration of a pandemic is a call to action—both to protect our collective public health and to remind us that we must stand together. We call on policymakers, the media and the public to take affirmative steps to halt and condemn xenophobia and to ensure that the health and safety of all Americans is protected.”

Advancement Project, National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, NAACP, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and Unidos US are a collaborative of nine leading national Racial Equity Anchor Organizations supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Together we work to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families and communities have genuine opportunities to reach their full potential.

As the coronavirus spreads and a public health emergency intensifies, Race Forward calls on local and state governments and those who are doing emergency planning to pay special attention to the impact that this disease and the response to its spread may have on people and communities of color.

We call for an approach that provides accurate information and advances practices and policies based in science, and that ensures compassionate and comprehensive medical and social services for those most vulnerable to exposure. We are all only as safe as those members of our community who are most at risk.

While we know that anyone can contract the virus, we also know that the impacts on communities of color could be severe. People of color are disproportionately likely to be in low-paying or hourly-wage jobs that make them unable to provide care or interrupt work. They are also more likely to have limited access to affordable healthcare, childcare, and transportation. People of color are more likely to face unsanitary conditions inside prisons, jails, and detention centers. Funding disparities in communities of color have led to hospital closures; shortages of frontline doctors and nurses; higher incidences of chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease; housing overcrowding; and lack of quality elder care.

Implicit and explicit racism has often historically driven government responses to urgent health situations. Demagogues have exploited fear, fostering secondary outbreaks of xenophobia and division. The Trump administration has used this crisis to stem travel from unaffected regions, including halting asylum seekers at the Southern border. Hate-filled and racist rhetoric has stigmatized people of color as “infected,” threats to public safety, and burdens to the health care system. This public emergency has already impacted Chinese and Asian Americans in increased acts of bigotry and discrimination. 

Emergency planning that does not factor in health inequities and that trades on racialized fears may exacerbate infection rates, through the misallocation of time and resources, and create a cascading set of additional problems to solve. Fear makes for poor science and worse policy. We strongly urge all health emergency managers to actively dispel myths and racist misinformation, to collectively work to create a system-wide response needed to end the spread of this communicable disease, and to address the needs of marginalized populations while stamping out stigma and blame. All of our health security is at stake.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Conctact: Elana Needle, 201.248.9724
[email protected]

Leading Civil Rights and Racial Justice Organizations Support and Applaud the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s National Day of Racial Healing, January 21, 2020

January 17, 2020 (New York, NY) — With daily race motivated hate crimes happening globally, pausing to participate in a National Day of Racial Healing (#NDORH) is vitally important. On Tuesday, January 21, 2020, many organizations, individuals, and communities will be taking collective action during the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s fourth annual National Day of Racial Healing to celebrate our racial diversity and reinforce and honor our common humanity. Among these organizations are the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Racial Equity Anchor Institutions (“The Anchors”). The Anchors will be creating space to explore our common humanity and build the relationships necessary to create a more just and equitable world.

The racial equity groups’ have a formal partnership that has seen them work collaboratively over the past 8 years to clear barriers to a racially inclusive democracy, champion the humanity of undocumented communities and communities of color, organize to stop mass incarceration and end the criminalization of Native, Black, Latino, and Asian communities.

The purpose of the National Day of Racial Healing is to: 

1. Reinforce and honor our common humanity, while noting and celebrating the distinct differences of our various communities.
2. Acknowledge the deep racial divisions in America that must be overcome and healed.
3. Commit to engaging people from all racial and ethnic groups in genuine efforts to increase understanding, communication, caring and respect.

The racial equity organizations have participated in the National Day of Racial Healing since its inception in 2016. The day was established by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and its Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation grantees and partners. The day is a call to action to mobilize communities, organizations, and individuals across the United States in support of truth, racial healing and transformation. To participate in local events, please check the National Day of Racial Healing’s website. Participate online by following the hashtag #HowWeHeal or joining the national livestream. 

The Advancement ProjectNational Office, Asian & Pacific Islander Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Urban League, Race Forward and UnidosUS are a collaborative of nine leading national racial equity anchor organizations supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Together, we work to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities — no matter the color of their skin — have genuine opportunities to reach their full potential.

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Advancement Project, National Office:

“If we fail to confront racialized bigotry and hatred in our nation, our only expectation can be the perpetuation of the country’s racialized system of oppression. While we must acknowledge the fact that deep-seated racial divisions continue to propagate institutional injustices, we, like our ancestors must engage people from all backgrounds in sincere attempts to elevate the humanity of all people.”

- Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director, Advancement Project, National Office

Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum:

“In an age when our country is divided, it is important to pause and reflect on our racial diversity, truth telling, and trust building. They are the foundation of our great nation from the Atlantic to across the Pacific--, including our diversity, and shared history that continues to preserve and sustain our democracy. Today on the National Day of Racial Healing, we must come together as a nation and celebrate our successes and most importantly, remember that there is still work to be done to heal our communities from racial injustices.  As we find solutions and act to bridge gaps in our communities, we move closer to a more equitable and prosperous country.”

- Kathy Ko Chin, President & CEO, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum

Demos:

“We are in a critical moment in this country where the far-reaching roots of racism is breeding new virulent forms of white nationalism,” said Demos President K. Sabeel Rahman. “If we hope to realize the promise of a truly inclusive democracy, starting today we must be willing to engage in radical conversations about race, commit to dismantling systems of power that harm Black and brown communities, and together embrace a bold vision for racial equity. This is the only path to healing as a nation.”

Faith In Action:

"The National Day of Racial Healing sets in motion a constant reminder that we all are in need of healing, and that healing must begin by letting our collective guards down and opening our hearts and minds to understanding each other. This is a country whose potential to be great on all fronts is constantly hindered by our inability to get out of our own way and stop tripping over the false narratives that have held us back. Dr. King knew that in order to change legislation and make a better world for future generations, we needed to change how we see ourselves in order to help others. It is through healing that we can operate from a place of respect, faith, and love and begin to create a Beloved Community.”    

- Rev. Alvin Herring, Faith in Action Executive Director

National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples:

"In the face of rampant hate crimes that threaten the future of children across this nation, white supremacy and threats on our right to vote, now more than ever, it is crucial that people of color mobilize and voice their experiences in order for us to achieve a just America,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. “On this Day of Racial Healing, we encourage all people of color to share their stories and start the essential conversations needed to create a path towards an equitable society."

National Congress of American Indians:

“Despite what some proclaim, America’s greatness depends not on the degree to which this nation advances policies of racial and economic inequality that privilege one group of people at the expense of all others. To the contrary, America’s greatness has always risen and fallen on the degree to which this nation embraces its incredible diversity and provides equal footing to all Americans to seize opportunities enabling them to realize their full potential. As the first peoples of this land, Native people are an integral part of the American mosaic, and we will not rest until we secure our rightful place in this country’s future, and equal opportunities to thrive.”

– Kevin Allis, CEO, National Congress of American Indians

National Urban League:

“We have been dismayed to see a devastating surge of racial tension and violence over the last few years,” said Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “Finding a way to move forward with unity and respect for one another is a matter of survival for our national identity. National Day of Racial Healing is more than a way to embrace diversity and inclusion, but also an opportunity to confront the institutional biases that confront us at every turn.  We at the National Urban League are grateful the opportunity to work together with our brother and sister partners in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Racial Equity Anchor Institutions, and committed to a robust and meaningful national dialogue.”

Race Forward:

“In order for us to achieve racial justice, we must take steps towards a multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose,” said Glenn Harris President of Race Forward. We must see through the intentional and structural efforts to divide our communities and work towards a shared understanding and shared liberation. This National Day of Racial Healing serves as a continued reminder that organizing is possible, that mobilizing en masse is inevitable, and that racial equity is achievable, when we commit to trust, love, and the collective advancement of justice.”

UnidosUS:

“A few months after a shooter killed 22 people and wounded 24 others in El Paso, TX after being motivated by the white nationalist-inspired myth that Mexicans were systematically “replacing” White Americans, the need for racial healing in our country has never been greater. As the Kellogg Foundation’s National Day of Racial Healing recognizes, it is not enough for us to simply call out these and other racially-motivated rhetoric and incidents. We must also come together as Americans, and as human beings, to confront, engage and ultimately transcend the challenges of a diverse nation in order to fully benefit from its promise.”

- Janet Murguia, President and CEO of UnidosUS

1. Reinforce and honor our common humanity, while noting and celebrating the distinct differences of our various communities.
2. Acknowledge the deep racial divisions in America that must be overcome and healed.
3. Commit to engaging people from all racial and ethnic groups in genuine efforts to increase understanding, communication, caring and respect.

We are heartbroken and angered by the mass violence at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand which has left 50 people dead and dozens injured. We send our deepest sympathies to the family members of victims and to the survivors. We also stand in solidarity with our Muslim sisters, brothers, and non-binary siblings in New Zealand and here in the United States. And we take comfort in the Māori saying, Kia Kaha (stay strong), to affirm our organization’s commitment to equity, dignity, and safety for all.

Sadly, the hate violence in New Zealand, fueled by white nationalist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim ideologies, isn’t an isolated occurrence. In the recent past, we have witnessed white nationalists attacking our safe houses of worship here in the United States, from the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue (2018), the Sikh Gurdwara of Wisconsin (2012), and the historic African American Emanuel AME Church in Charleston (2015). White nationalist groups, including those that target Muslims and Jews, are organizing around the United States, and we must not diminish or deny the danger of white nationalist violence here at home or around the world.

We also recognize that the narratives that drove these acts of violence are not merely hateful and despicable, but deadly. When white nationalist ideas and conspiracy theories are weaponized, they have bloody consequences. President Trump and other leaders have fostered the spread of such toxic ideas by excusing them or advancing them. We call on all to challenge these narratives of hate, denigration, and violence and to build power for racially just narratives that lift up the values of justice, dignity and safety for all.

At Race Forward, we are committed to building and supporting the institutions that protect a just, pluralistic, multi-racial democracy. This means that we will double down on our work to dismantle and disempower white supremacist policies and practices, and to center vulnerable communities. We offer our support to Muslim organizations and communities, and reaffirm our commitment to mutual liberation. We call upon elected leaders to condemn all forms of racism, and to take steps to preserve the rights and lives of communities under threat.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Melissa Franqui, 201-424-7456
[email protected]

Race Forward Welcomes Activist to Provide Movement Strategies for Racial Justice

February 19, 2019 (New York, NY) — Race Forward has named accomplished and award-winning advocate Vina Kay as the organization’s new Vice President of Movement and Capacity Building. Kay will replace renowned activist Rosana Cruz, who has stepped down from their role to pursue other projects in the racial justice field. Cruz will continue to work closely with Race Forward as a Senior Racial Justice Fellow.

Kay will lead a team that supports, strengthens, and expands grassroots movements for racial justice and increases the capacity of grassroots organizations to engage in transformative racial equity work. Movement and Capacity Building (MCB) provides trainings, webinars, convenings, consultations, and other programmatic activities to the broad racial justice community.

“I am looking forward to elevating the work of grassroots racial justice organizing — the heart of the movement — through this role at Race Forward,” said Vina Kay.

Prior to joining Race Forward, Kay served as Executive Director at Voices for Racial Justice, an organization based in Minnesota that works to create a healthy ecosystem of racial justice organizing through training and leadership development, culturally rooted policy tools and research practices, convenings and network building. While at Voices, she was also Director of Research and Policy, leading the work on the Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity, racial equity agendas, community narratives, and other tools that support grassroots organizing.

“We’re honored and thrilled to welcome Vina Kay to the Race Forward family,” said Race Forward president Glenn Harris. “The racial equity gains she led in Minnesota serve as models for communities across the U.S., and there is no one better suited to drive, to build, and to increase the capacity of our partner networks and our ability to advance racial justice together.”

Kay will structure and steer trainings and campaigns, such as Mass Freedom, a campaign that builds upon decades of work and visionary thinking by activists in the movements to end mass incarceration and mass deportation. MCB is establishing new strategies to strengthen the network of racial justice organizers and practitioners.

The daughter of immigrant parents from Thailand, Kay was raised in Omaha and is a graduate of Carleton College and the University of Minnesota Law School. She has benefitted from the mentorship of great teachers, including the late Senator Paul Wellstone at Carleton and john powell at the University of Minnesota Law School. Following law school, she worked with john powell at the Institute on Race and Poverty, first as legal fellow and then as senior researcher and director of the Racial Justice and Regional Equity Project.

Kay is a writer of creative nonfiction and poetry, and has received the Loft Mentor Series award in creative nonfiction and a Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Residency at Tofte Lake Center for poetry. She has served on many boards, currently including the Seward Community Co-op in Minneapolis. She is Co-Director and Co-Producer of INSIDE MONTESSORI, a documentary film that reframes the conversation about education to focus on learning environments that support children, regardless of race, class, age, or community, in reaching their full potential.

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In 2017, Race Forward united with the Center for Social Inclusion to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

In America, there are many national emergencies that warrant sweeping governmental response, from institutional and structural racism that results in deep and pervasive racial inequities across every indicator for success, to increased organizing by white nationalists espousing racism and anti-Semitism, to the systemic and targeted violence against people who are transgender.

Instead, President Trump has manufactured a crisis at the southern border to declare a national emergency, undermine our democratic processes, and build a racist, wasteful and unnecessary wall. This monument to hate reflects the Trump Administration’s xenophobic political agenda, one that has banned Muslims from entering the United States, separated an unknown number of children from their parents’ arms and put them in cages, and blocked people from lawfully seeking asylum at our borders.

As a racial justice organization, Race Forward rejects the Trump Administration’s fear-mongering rhetoric and its white supremacist policies of hate and division.

Rather, we support border communities and the people and families seeking refuge. We stand in solidarity with all who are mobilizing at Presidents Day protests around the country. And, we applaud local governments and leaders, many of whom are members of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, who are speaking out against the border wall and focusing on the actual emergencies in communities around the country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Elana Needle, 201.248.9724
[email protected]
 

Nationwide Racial Equity Groups Organize in Support of Racial Healing

Groups Support NDORH with Prayer Vigil and Tele Town Hall

January 17, 2019 (New York, NY) -- A broad-based collection of racial equity organizations funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, are uniting across difference to support a shared goal of racial healing. The groups -- Advancement Project, Asian & Pacific Islander Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Urban League, Race Forward and UnidosUS – today announced their collective participation in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s 3rd annual National Day of Racial Healing on Tuesday, Jan. 22. 

The racial equity groups’ have a formal partnership that has seen them work collaboratively over the past 5-7 years to clear barriers to the ballot box, champion the humanity of undocumented communities and communities of color, organize to stop mass incarceration and end the criminalization of Native, Black and Latino communities. They will participate in the Jan. 22 National Day of Racial Healing by hosting an uplifting prayer vigil from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST and a tele town hall from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST. To join the call please dial 866-757-0756. Check for more details via @REAnchors.

“Humanity, resistance, resilience and survival define the story of people of color in the United States," said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project's national office. "On the National Day of Healing, we recommit to take that story to its next chapter, and tear down systemic barriers to our freedom once and for all. We will build on the successes of our ancestors and our young leaders on the streets paving the path to victory -- understanding that victory is inevitable when we fight. Now more than ever, we need to unite as a nation and lead the fight for racial equality." 

“We applaud the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s leadership on truth, racial healing, and transformation,” noted APIAHF president and CEO Kathy Ko Chin. “Our country has a long history of creating and sustaining policies and systems that negatively impact minority communities, including Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. On this National Day of Racial Healing and every day of the year, we must all continue to engage in dialog and actions that advance our collective journey towards a future where all communities are healthy and vibrant.”  

“We must build communities that are based on our common humanity. Societies that value and celebrate racial and ethnic diversity reflect a true democracy,” said Demos President K. Sabeel Rahman. “In an inclusive democracy, there is no place for structural racism -  like segregation, inequitable access to services, discriminatory laws and lack of economic opportunities. The National Day of Racial Healing reminds us all to continue to have honest conversations, push for bold action and to champion transformative ideas that lead to lasting change.” 

“Hundreds of thousands of grandparents, mothers and fathers, caregivers, students and others are working without pay while navigating in a country deeply divided along racial and political lines,” said the Rev. Alvin Herring, executive director of Faith in Action. “In an atmosphere that is increasingly hostile to children, persons with disabilities, religious minorities, gender non-conforming peoples, people of color and undocumented immigrants, we are working to create a nation where all can thrive. The National Day of Racial Healing is about developing actionable initiatives that topple the divides separating the American people.” 

“The need to recognize and respect the humanity of all of our fellow Americans is more critical than ever to the future of our nation,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson. “Although this administration did not create racism, the vitriolic, divisive rhetoric and raw emotions raging throughout the past few years pulled the scab off a persistent wound in the American psyche, bringing the issue of race front and center and exposing the divides in our society. For these challenges, America needs a new reality, grounded in racial healing so that the work of ending racial disparities can boldly move forward and all children have opportunities to succeed. It is time to focus our energy, resources and discourse on eliminating the false ideology of a hierarchy of human value so we can cultivate and grow what must be valued most: our common humanity.” 

"The division we see today in Washington reflects the division we see across America,” said Jefferson Keel, President, National Congress of American Indians. “We must replace our politics of partisanship and fear with a politics of bipartisanship and respect for the racial, cultural, and spiritual mosaic that makes this country great. Making that transition starts with healing, which can only be achieved by deepening our understanding of one another and our appreciation for the strength of our diversity -- from America's original peoples to its newest inhabitants. We all deserve our rightful place in this country's future, and an equal opportunity to thrive."

“As our nation grows ever more diverse, we are searching for new ways to negotiate our racial, ethnic and cultural differences,” Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “Many are tempted to close their eyes and pretend the problem doesn’t exist, while others lash out violently.  National Day of Racial Healing is an opportunity not only  to embrace the rich diversity that makes our country strong and vibrant but also to confront the biases inherent in our institutions. It is a time to, as Martin Luther King said, “to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” The National Urban League and the Urban League Movement are committed to working with our brother and sister organizations in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Racial Equity Anchor Institutions to lead the way toward a more inclusive and equitable nation.” 

“The National Day of Racial Healing is not only a recommitment to racial justice, but also, a promise to exercise our collective action and power to advance racial equity,” said Race Forward President Glenn Harris. “Institutions, organizations, and individuals across the U.S. will be honoring our common humanity while also working to heal from the harms of racial division and violence that keep us from achieving a true multiracial democracy. Centering people of color, those most impacted by structural inequities, and coming together to define our futures by shaping policies that impact our lives -- this is the core of democratic practice that leads to better outcomes for all.”

“The National Day of Racial Healing reminds all of us, from every background, of what we share as Americans, and as human beings,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguia. While it may be difficult to remember during these challenging times, history has proven that our country’s diversity is a strength, not a weakness. Only by engaging people from various races, ethnicities, and identities to break bread together, listen to one another, and honor each other’s experiences can we truly acknowledge, confront and, ultimately, heal the racial divisions in our society. And only then can we emerge united -- unidos – to achieve Martin Luther King’s immortal vision of a country where all children have an equal opportunity to reach their full potential. 

The purpose of the National Day of Racial Healing is to: 

1.      Reinforce and honor our common humanity, while noting and celebrating the distinct differences of our various communities. 

2.      Acknowledge the deep racial divisions in America that must be overcome and healed. 

3.      Commit to engaging people from all racial and ethnic groups in genuine efforts to increase understanding, communication, caring and respect. 

The racial equity organizations have participated in the National Day of Racial Healing since its inception in 2016. The day was established by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and its Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation grantees and partners. The day is a call to action to mobilize communities, organizations, and individuals across the United States in support of truth, racial healing and transformation. To participate in local events, please check the National Day of Racial Healing’s website. Participate online by following the hashtag #NDORH, or joining the livestream. 

The Advancement Project, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith In Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS are a collaborative of nine leading national racial equity anchor organizations supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Together, we work to promote racial equity, advance racial healing, and ensure that all children, families, and communities -- no matter the color of their skin -- have genuine opportunities to reach their full potential.  

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Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation united with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Colorlines Celebrates 20 Years by Honoring Inaugural Class of Transformative Leaders

The race-focused media outlet announces Colorlines 20 x 20 honorees at nation’s largest multiracial justice conference

 November 12, 2018 (New York, NY) -- The award-winning, daily news site Colorlines celebrated its 20-year anniversary this weekend at Facing Race National Conference in Detroit, MI. In commemoration of the publication’s 20 years of race-centric reporting, it unveiled its first Colorlines 20 x 20, which honors transformative leaders who—in the spirit of the Colorlines mission—use narrative shift strategy to reimagine what it means to advance racial justice.

“Colorlines is the place to chart our collective resistance and has been for 20 years. Through Colorlines, the racial justice movement sees a reflection of itself,” said Akiba Solomon, the publication’s Senior Editorial Director. “Colorlines isn’t just a window to the world we daily struggle through, but the more hopeful world we are building.”

Colorlines is widely regarded for its unique—and much-needed—approach to reporting news through a racial justice lens. As a daily news site “where race matters,” Colorlines has earned critical acclaim for its in-depth investigative reporting, news analysis, opinion and curation.

Founded in 1998 by Bob Wing and Jeff Chang, Colorlines was originally a print publication published jointly by the Applied Research Center, a public policy institute that focused on race, and the Center for Third World Organizing, a training center for community organizers of color. Within a year of its 2010 launch as a daily, digital publication, the site was named a Webby Award Honoree for Political Blogs. 

“We founded Colorlines 20 years ago to shift the narrative around what it means to fight for racial justice and thrive as people of color living in America,” said Jeff Chang, Vice President of Narrative Arts and Culture at Race Forward—formerly the Applied Research Center. “We’re excited to lift up the work of 20 people who are doing that work every day in areas as varied as gender rights, environmental justice, education and labor. Here’s to another two decades of changing the conversation.”

The 20 individuals honored in the Colorlines 20 x 20 inaugural class include:

• The Scholar: Alisa Bierria
• The Kid: Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny
• The Veteran: Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
• The Entertainer: Mona Haydar
• The Healer: Mushim Ikeda
• The Politician: Pramila Jayapal
• The Labor Organizer: Saru Jayaraman
• The Accidental Activist: Jeri Jimenez
• The Journalist: Nikole Hannah-Jones
• The Voice: Shereen Marisol Meraji
• The Storyteller: Wendi Moore-O’Neal
• The Writer: Alan Pelaez Lopez
• The Justice Crusader: Marlon Peterson
• The Gender Rights Activist: Candi Brings Plenty
• The Techie: Samuel Sinyangwe
• The Body Image Warrior: Sonya Renee Taylor
• The Educator: Maribel Valdez González
• The Nonprofit Attorney: Keith Wattley
• The Disability Advocate: Alice Wong
• The Environmentalist: Elizabeth Yeampierre

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 Colorlines is an award-winning daily news site where race matters, featuring news analysis and reporting that centers the lived experiences and advocacy of people of color. Colorlines is published by Race Forward, a national organization that brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity.

We at Race Forward are deeply committed to advance narratives that center the voices and stories of people of color through art and culture. The Facing Race conference will continue to be a forum that helps us to imagine and build a just multiracial society.

We became aware this morning that an art piece presented by the organizers of the AgitArte exhibition was taken down. The art was not removed at our request, and we condemn this act of censorship. We are working now to ensure that this work of art continues to be prominently placed for all of our conference attendees to see and engage with. We will also revise our policies and contracts with our conference and event venues, so that this type of censorship does not occur again.

The art that was taken down elevates the plight of people of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and the abject and intentionally negligent response by the U.S. government, namely FEMA and the U.S. Military. We strongly believe in the power of art to catalyze conversations about the needs of the most disenfranchised and marginalized communities.

We thank our partners at AgitArte for bringing this matter to our attention, and for their fearless and revolutionary art that inspires thought, heart and action.

We are both saddened and horrified by the deadly attack on Tree of Life * Or L’Simcha Congregation in Pittsburgh, PA. We stand against anti-semitism in all its forms, and in solidarity with the Jewish community in Pittsburgh and with Jewish communities across the U.S.

The spate of white nationalist violence targeting people of color inside safe sanctuaries has been increasingly frequent and violent in recent years. The massacres at Tree of Life synagogue, the Sikh Gurdwara in Oak Creek (Wisconsin) in 2012, the Emanuel AME Church (Charleston, SC) in 2015, and just earlier last week, the murder of two African Americans by a shooter in Louisville, KY, who attempted to go into a Black church first, are all connected; these are terrorist acts, carried out by a movement whose broader aim is to deepen divisions and take over our civic institutions.

We recommit to a vision of love and mutual understanding in this moment of tragedy, and remain undeterred in our fight for an inclusive multi-racial democracy—one that ensures the safety and dignity of all communities. We stand in solidarity with all Jews across the country, and as a racial justice organization, we lift up Jews of color in our communities, and reaffirm our commitment to advancing racial justice at the intersections of racism and anti-semitism.

According to The New York Times, the Trump administration is seeking to legally define gender as a “biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth.” This regressive proposal would magnify the harm that at least two million transgender people in this country already face on a daily basis—whether being denied access to healthcare, employment, housing, or basic civil rights.

This proposal, like many others before it, would particularly harm transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people of color, who are fighting to survive in a society that devalues their lives because of systemic racism and transphobia. In just the past two years, we have seen this administration doubling down on the criminalization of Black communities, immigrant communities, Muslim communities, and more. It is important to remember that TGNC people are a part of these communities and are often most adversely impacted by the actions of this administration.

We also recognize that this administration’s attempts to legally narrow the definition of gender is part of a pattern of tactics meant to divide us and distract us from their attacks on our bodies, our communities, and our democratic institutions. Just as their attacks are interconnected, so is our liberation.

As we continue to fight this proposal, we listen to the practical advice shared on Colorlines by Key Jackson, Director of Movement and Capacity Building at Race Forward, and Malcolm Shanks, Senior Trainer and Content Coordinator at Race Forward.

At Race Forward, we amplify this advice and encourage you to:

• Be racially explicit about the impact of legally narrowing the definition of gender on TGNC people of color.
• Reject the notion that transgender justice is a wedge issue. Instead, we assert that affirming the full humanity of TGNC people, particularly TGNC people of color, leads us to more just world that is fair and beneficial for everyone.
• Lift up the leadership of TGNC people of color, who have been at the forefront of both transgender and racial justice movements at home and across the globe.

We recognize the impact of this proposal on TGNC communities, particularly TGNC communities of color. We stand together with our TGNC staff, partners, and other movement leaders of color who are resilient in their struggle for liberation. As Key and Malcolm share:

“Amid all of the chaos and fear mongering, it is imperative that we as transgender and gender nonconforming folks remember who we are in relationship to one another, not just who we are to the state. We are creativity, vitality and life. We are healers and freedom fighters, parents, lovers, siblings and friends. We have been creating an existence within systems and structures that do not seek to serve us for centuries. Community care is life. Consider who it is that you are accountable to and reach for them. Check in on your folks, cook for one another, rage, reflect and cultivate joy.”

 We encourage all people, including cisgender people, to take action, amplify this issue through your networks, and to support groups, particularly led by and for TGNC and queer people of color.

These groups include, but are not limited to: Trans Women of Color Collective, BreakOUT!, Casa Ruby, Transitions Louisiana, Louisiana Trans Advocates, TransLatin@ Coalition, Trans Justice Funding Project, Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Audre Lorde Project, FIERCE, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, Two Spirit Nation, Black Trans Advocacy, Southerners on New Ground (SONG), Black Alliance of Just Immigration, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, GSA Network, Trans Lifeline, Transgender Law Center.

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WASHINGTON (September 24, 2018) – On September 22, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would issue a proposed regulation that would severely curtail the ability of immigrants to secure a green card by expanding the definition of “public charge” to include individuals who access non-cash safety-net programs such as health insurance, nutrition programs and low-income housing. Green card applicants who are deemed a public charge can be denied permanent residency. The proposed rule will be published in the coming days by the Department of Homeland Security and will not only have a detrimental effect on individuals seeking green cards, but also their children.

We are concerned that the proposed rule change will have far reaching consequences and discourage immigrants and their families from participating in public programs such as some forms of Medicaid, Medicare Part D, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and housing assistance, even if they are eligible, by threatening their immigration status if they use such programs. These changes are meant to punish immigrants whom the Trump Administration believes are not deserving to stay in the United States.

Advancement Project national office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith In Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward and UnidosUS are a collaborative of nine leading national racial equity anchor organizations supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Together we work to promote racial equity, advance racial healing and ensure that all children, families and communities have genuine opportunities to reach their full potential.

Nine leading national civil rights and racial justice organizations formally announced their joint opposition to the Washington NFL team locating its new stadium in the District of Columbia unless the team agrees to drop the “R-word” racial slur as its mascot. The coalition, which previously denounced the team’s continued use of this offensive mascot, felt compelled to speak out now given the team is actively exploring potential stadium sites across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

“In 2018, no other people of color must confront the harm and ridicule levied by a sports team whose name refers to the color of their skin,” Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP, stated. “It is long past time that the NFL and its Washington franchise throw this dictionary-defined racial slur into the dustbin of history, where it belongs.”

“The need to recognize and respect the humanity of all of our fellow Americans is more critical than ever to the future of our nation. The prospect that our nation’s capital would once again be adorned with this derogatory term runs counter to that ideal,” said Kathy Ko Chin, President and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum. The coalition takes particular exception with various proposals to locate the new stadium on the site of the team’s former home, Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Memorial Stadium. That stadium’s namesake was an ardent champion of equality for communities of color, notably this country’s First Americans.

Events DC, the city’s official convention and sports authority, is planning a major redevelopment project at the site that will serve “as a place of remembrance and a place of teaching and practicing the civil rights and equality ideals Robert F. Kennedy championed.” “We applaud Events DC’s decision to honor Robert Kennedy’s legacy of racial justice in this place in this way. The Washington NFL team and its symbol of racial injustice should be no part of it,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of UnidosUS.

 

The human rights catastrophe occurring on our borders and in detention centers across the country is not, and never has been, about keeping America safe. This has never been about protecting children. This has never been about upholding the rule of law. This has always been about race.

Federal immigration enforcement is explicitly targeting emigrants of color, from South America to Africa to South Asia and the Middle East. Teenagers seeking legal asylum are arrested and forced into detention centers, with no path to freedom in sight. Naturalized citizens are hunted down in their communities and deported  as their children are shipped into foster care. Children are being torn from their mother’s arms as a deterrent to dissuade desperate families from fleeing certain violence.

These inhumane immigration policies are—and always have been—rooted in white supremacy built on the systemic criminalization, commodification, and dehumanization of Black, brown, and indigenous bodies.

Under the guise of keeping families together, the president’s new executive order shifts the act of undocumented entry into the U.S. from a civil violation to a criminal offense as a means to justify full prosecution and indefinite detainment of migrant families. Since its inception, the U.S. has established people of color as criminals and aliens; as sub-human beings who must be separated from broader society and whose systematic oppression can be used as a tool for profit. 

The solution to ending the tears of traumatized children is not building bigger cages to house the entire family. Systemic racism denies our humanity as a means of denying our freedom and political power. It’s a tactic that has been deployed for centuries. And we can’t allow it to continue.

Our collective fight must center around freedom, dignity, and safety for all families. Race Forward is committed to partnering with, supporting, and standing in solidarity with communities and grassroots groups across the country who are working to end systemic racism in all of its manifestations. Here are five ways you can help support detained immigrant families today. 

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Learn more about how you can help support groups working to end the detention of immigrant families and the mass criminalization of all communities of color by visiting Colorlines and Mass Freedom.

JUNE 19, 2018 (New York, NY) — Recognizing the need to collectively tackle growing racial disparities, organizations from the public, private and philanthropic sectors today announced the Racial Equity Here commitment to dismantle structural racism in America. These leading institutions invite others to join them in taking clear steps to prioritize racial equity in their work.

Racial Equity Here is a collaboration led jointly by Living Cities, a philanthropic collaborative focused on racial and economic justice, and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a joint project of Race Forward and the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. GARE is a national network of local governments working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all.

“In recent years, racial inequity in America’s cities, businesses and even coffee shops has made national headlines, but that attention has yet to result in lasting systemic change,” said Ben Hecht, President and CEO of Living Cities. “No single organization can move the needle on racial equity on its own. Racial Equity Here is building a critical mass of partners across industries and sectors that together can create dramatically better outcomes for people of color in America."

Organizations making this commitment believe that racial disparities in America are too widespread for any one city, sector, organization or program to tackle alone. While individual efforts like training can be impactful, Racial Equity Here aims to fight structural racism by transforming policies, practices and norms within our institutions and organizations at a national scale.

“The profound outcome gaps we see today between people of color and white people aren’t accidental — they were intentionally created. To achieve a stronger and truly multiracial, inclusive democracy, organizations from every sector must now partner to proactively advance racial equity. Through Racial Equity Here: Commit to Action, we are distilling years of research and practice into clear, easily accessible tools that organizations can start using today,” remarked Glenn Harris, president of Race Forward.

To date, over 160 groups have committed to create more equitable communities and workplaces by learning about structural racism, using racial equity tools to guide action that closes gaps and improves outcomes for all, and partnering across sectors to align efforts and accelerate results.

This growing movement was born from the Racial Equity Here initiative, launched by Living Cities and GARE in 2016, which already has helped five cities transform their municipal operations to better address racial disparities. Through this initiative, Albuquerque, Austin, Grand Rapids, Louisville and Philadelphia are changing how they do business. They have established racial equity visions and action plans; are training staff on government’s responsibility to create racial equity; are using data and racial equity tools to guide policy, program and budget decisions; and are forming cross-sector teams as part of their broader commitment to improve outcomes for all residents.

“Racial Equity Here is about changing the structures and systems that create and perpetuate racial inequity,” said john a. powell, Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society and Professor of Law, UC Berkeley. "We are committed to expanding the "we" in we the people, building bridges across sectors and states to amplify and accelerate our multiracial movement for belonging and racial justice.”

Key outcomes, policies and initiatives stemming from Racial Equity Here include:

• Albuquerque no longer asks about criminal convictions on its initial application for employment and its W-9 form now tracks if a business is local, minority owned, or women owned. This information helps the city more effectively consider the types of businesses with whom it contracts.
• Austin’s Office of Equity is collaborating with the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department and the Public Health Department to revamp procurement practices and increase the accessibility of city funds to organizations doing meaningful work to address inequity.
• Grand Rapids recently hired their most inclusive police recruit class ever, and convened a series of listening sessions about community and police relations. Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and city commissioners have also earmarked $1 million annually for the next five years to strengthen community and police relations.
• Louisville’s city governmentis revising its process for selling vacant or abandoned properties to make it easier for local residents of color to acquire the properties, with the goal of revitalizing neighborhoods.
• Philadelphia launched the Department of Public Health’s “Get Healthy Philly Summer Youth Tobacco Survey Program,” featuring an inclusive and culturally responsive tobacco prevention strategy that young people of color helped design.

“The City of Philadelphia is committed to advancing racial equity and inclusion across our city. Closing opportunity and achievement gaps is not always a quick, linear process; but rather, an intentional, ongoing effort that requires a focused commitment to change,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “My administration has implemented various initiatives to ensure that diversity remains a priority throughout City departments, that access to high-quality education is delivered on an equitable basis, and that our economic growth is inclusive of all Philadelphians. The Racial Equity Here commitment is one of many pathways that will help our city move this important work forward.”

Learn more about the Racial Equity Here commitment and join the movement at https://racialequityhere.org/. For media inquiries and more information about your organization can get involved with Racial Equity Here, email Hafizah Omar at [email protected]. 

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About Race Forward

Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation united with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all. 

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

About Living Cities

For 25 years, Living Cities has harnessed the collective power of 18 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions to develop and scale new approaches for creating opportunities for low-income people and improving the cities where they live. Its investments, research, networks and convenings catalyze fresh thinking and combine support for innovative, local approaches with real-time sharing of learning to accelerate adoption in more places. Additional information can be found at www.livingcities.org.

Race Forward Names Renowned Journalist & Author Jeff Chang as new Vice President of Narrative, Arts, and Culture

 June 5, 2018 (New York, NY) — Leading racial justice organization Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation, has named critically acclaimed, award-winning journalist and author Jeff Chang as the organization’s Vice President of Narrative, Arts, and Culture. Chang will be the first to hold the position, which was born out of the nonprofit’s 2017 merger with Center for Social Inclusion.

As Vice President of Narrative, Arts, and Culture, Chang will direct Race Forward’s narrative programs, including its innovative Strategic Communications department and the award-winning Colorlinesnews site—which Chang co-founded in 1998.  He will also expand the organization’s work around cultural equity and justice in the arts sector, deepen its engagement around the arts and racial justice, and advance new initiatives around cultural strategy.

“I can’t describe how happy and proud I am to be able to return home to Race Forward,” said Chang, who most recently served as Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Artsat Stanford University. “Right now, as movements are surging and converging all around us, there is no place I would rather be than working alongside my bold, strategic, and visionary colleagues at Race Forward to fight for racial equity and justice."

In his new role at Race Forward, Chang will lead efforts to build on the organization’s near 40-year legacy of advancing racial justice narratives and cultural shift. Through Colorlines reporting, the nationally-recognized Drop the I-Word campaign, pragmatic tools such as the “Talking about Race” Toolkit, and convenings like Facing Race and FRED Talks, Race Forward continues to lead efforts to counter historic narratives seated in racism that criminalize communities of color. Race Forward is committed to elevating the stories, voices, and victories of communities of color by creating tools and strategies that shift conversations on race and advance racial justice.

Chang, who also co-founded the migrant-led artists network CultureStr/ke, has been a USA Ford Fellow in Literature and a winner of the North Star News Prize. He was named by The Utne Reader as one of "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World,” by KQED as an Asian Pacific American Local Hero, and by the Yerba Buena Center for The Arts as one of its 2016 YBCA 100 list of those “shaping the future of American culture.”

“As our newly united organization looks to the future, we’re honored and thrilled to welcome Jeff back to the Race Forward family,” said organization President Glenn Harris. “No one is better suited to lead our team in integrating big-picture strategic thinking that establishes and expands new narratives about racial justice in an inclusive democracy.”

Chang has written extensively on culture, politics, music, and the arts. His works have garnered critical acclaim and numerous honors, including: the American Book Award, the Asian American Literary Award, and the Ray + Pat Browne Award for Best Work in Popular Culture and American Culture. His 2016 book, We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation was named the Northern California Nonfiction Book Of The Year, and was declared “the smartest book of the year” by the Washington Post.

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Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation united with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

#MeToo Founder Tarana Burke to Keynote 'Facing Race' National Conference in Detroit

Presented by Race Forward, Facing Race is the nation's largest conference for racial justice movement-making

April 23, 2018 (New York, NY) - Leading racial justice organization Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation today announced that social justice activist, author, and founder of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, will be delivering a keynote address at Facing Race 2018, which will be held at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan from November 8-10.

As the largest conference for multiracial justice movement-making, Facing Race Detroit will serve as a unique, collaborative, and essential space for alliance building, issue-framing, and advancing solutions during a critical moment in our nation’s history. 

Burke, who was named last week by Time magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People of 2018,” is the first of two keynote speakers to be announced for the Detroit conference. She first used the phrase “Me Too” in 2006 as a means of providing strength and healing to young women of color. Her upcoming memoir, set to be released in Spring 2019, will explain the necessity of #MeToo while also detailing her own journey from victim to survivor to thriver.

“So often today, conversations about race, class, and gender exist in silos, and the truth is that the potential for change lives at the intersection of all,” said Burke who currently serves as Senior Director at Girls for Gender Equity. “I’m thrilled to be part of a space that is intentionally multiracial and multigender as we envision a meaningfully inclusive society.

“Tarana Burke has dedicated more than 25 years of her life to the intersection of social justice issues, and has laid the groundwork for an international movement that inspires solidarity,” said Race Forward President Glenn Harris. “We’re elated and honored that she will be sharing her words of wisdom, inspiration, and power building with the thousands of Facing Race attendees.”

 In addition to inspiring speakers, film screenings, and networking opportunities, Facing Race will present over 80 panels and breakout sessions on a wide array of key issues, with a focus on four key tracks:

• Arts, Media, & Culture
• Organizing and Advocacy
• Inclusive Democracy
• Racial Identities and Innovation

Since Facing Race was created in 2004, Race Forward has held the national conference in cities around the country, working together with local racial justice leaders to lift up regional history and current challenges faced by communities of color.  Previous speakers have included Jose Antonio Vargas, Roxane Gay,  Junot Díaz, Melissa Harris Perry, Van Jones, and W. Kamau Bell.

Highlights from previous conferences can be found via reporting from Colorlines, an award-winning investigative news site published by Race Forward. Videos of past Facing Race keynote and plenary presentations can be found here and here. For the latest updates on Facing Race 2018, follow on Facebook and Twitter with #FacingRace.

Press are encouraged to attend, with a variety of resources offered, including interviews with keynote and plenary speakers. Press can apply for a media credential here. All media inquiries should be directed to [email protected].

To register and find more information, visit: https://facingrace.raceforward.org/.

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Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovationunited with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Tackling implicit bias is a critical step for any institution working to combat racism. To root out bias, Starbucks must be explicit about race. They must also explore and address how racism plays out across the company--from the customer experience to who gets promoted to the demographics of their executive leadership.

At Race Forward, we know from working with institutions day in and day out that this work is complex. No single intervention is ever enough in a company this big, but we’re encouraged that Starbucks is taking this step. There is a growing movement of institutions in this country that are committed over the long-term to advance solutions that combat racism. Starbucks, hand-in-hand with their employers and customers, has the opportunity to join this movement.

- Glenn Harris

   President, Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation 

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Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation united with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Race Forward Releases New Report on Food Hubs, Racial Equity, and Self-Determination in the South

Authored by award-winning and visionary activist Dara Cooper, 'Reframing Food Hubs' offers race-explicit solutions for achieving equity in our food system.

April 5, 2018 (New York, NY) -- Leading racial justice nonprofit Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation today released a new report Reframing Food Hubs: Food Hubs, Racial Equity, and Self-Determination in the South. Authored by award-winning food justice activist Dara Cooper, Reframing Food Hubs shares stories, insights, lessons, and recommendations for transforming the field of food systems work, dismantling structural inequity, and creating racially equitable food outcomes for all.

“Food systems work is about much more than food; it is deeply connected to the myriad of ways communities of color experience injustice,” said Cooper. “In a food system and economy that exploits and fails people of color, food hubs and co-ops are one way that farmers of color are countering barriers to entry while transforming the food system to center racial equity, self-determination, and dignity.”

As Co-Founder of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA), Cooper is a leading voice of the food justice movement, and was recently recognized as a recipient of the James Beard Foundation 2018 Leadership Award for dedicating her life to racial equity and justice in the food system.

According to Cooper, racist policies and practices, both past and present, have made it impossible to achieve equity in our food system without addressing race specifically and directly. Reframing Food Hubs is an attempt to highlight one facet of a very complicated system with deep, nuanced histories.

Drawing from formal interviews with more than 25 farmers and leaders of food hubs and co-ops, visits with over 50 leaders in food systems work, and numerous conferences and conventions across the South, Reframing Food Hubs is presented in three parts:

• History of Food Hubs examines the dynamic and complicated history of the U.S. agricultural system while highlighting the inequities that continue to be replicated today in a model described as modern-day sharecropping.
• Changing the Game: New and Developing Good Hubs shares lessons from Black-led food hubs, sheds, and co-ops that have led incredible work in the South by bringing food to their communities and attempting to change the food system as we know it.
• Summary of Recommendations outlines five key, race-explicit recommendations for dismantling structural inequity and creating racially equitable food outcomes for all.

In developing the report, Cooper spent four months in the Southern states of North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana, where she researched and observed the work of various communities and individuals who are engaged in food systems work in the South that embodies racial justice and equity. 

"I thank the freedom fighters, farmers, hosts, and incredible activists who helped me to connect and gain such incredible insight into the brilliant, important good food work of the South," said Cooper. "These critical voices tend to be absent or sparse in the national conversation on food systems, yet they hold key insights that would build a better food system for everyone." 

The new Race Forward is committed to building on the work of Center for Social Inclusion to support a more just food system where everyone, no matter their race, can access and afford a basic healthy diet. Race Forward engages with local leaders of color across all parts of the food system to inform and support policy change from the ground up, from to conducting structural analysis of how the food system impacts communities of color to crafting policy solutions that support farmers of color to keep their land and increase access to healthy foods in urban and rural communities. 

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Dara Cooper is a national organizer with the National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA), an alliance of Black led organizations working towards national Black food sovereignty and land justice. She also serves on the leadership team for the Movement for Black Lives policy table and is an anchor team member of the HEAL (Health Environment Agriculture and Labor) Food Alliance, a cross sector alliance of organizations working to deeply transform our unjust food system.

Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation united with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Race Forward Launches Registration for 2018 Facing Race: A National Conference in Detroit

The nation's largest conference for racial justice movement-making will take place November 8-10 at Detroit's Cobo Center 

November 13, 2017 (New York, NY) - Leading multiracial justice organization Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation has officially launched  registration for Facing Race 2018, which will be held at the Cobo Center in Detroit Michigan, from November 8-10. Early Bird Registration will run until February 1st, 2018.

“In the last year our country has borne witness to an onslaught of attacks against communities of color," said Race Forward President Glenn Harris. “As the largest conference for racial justice movement-making, Facing Race Detroit will serve as an essential space for alliance building, issue-framing, and advancing solutions during a critical moment in our nation’s history."

This is Race Forward’s ninth Facing Race conference, and the first to be held at a convention center after the record-breaking turnout in 2016. Last year, over 2,000 people joined Race Forward in Atlanta, GA for the sold-out conference in the days immediately following the presidential election to brainstorm ways to respond to the changing national landscape and leadership.

In addition to inspiring keynote speakers, film screenings, and networking opportunities, Facing Race will present over 80 panels and breakout sessions on a wide array of key issues, with a focus on four key tracks:

• Arts, Media, & Culture
• Organizing and Advocacy
• Inclusive Democracy
• Racial Identities and Innovation

Since Facing Race was created in 2004, Race Forward has held the national conference in cities around the country, working together with local racial justice leaders to lift up regional history and current challenges faced by communities of color.  Previous speakers have included Jose Antonio Vargas, Roxane Gay,  Junot Díaz, Melissa Harris Perry, Van Jones, and W. Kamau Bell. 

“Detroit is home to some of the most visionary organizing in the United States,” said Facing Race Manager Leslie Grant. “We see Facing Race 2018  as an opportunity to uplift authentic narratives about Detroit and Detroiters of the past, present, and future while amplifying local struggles, solutions, and collective leadership to overcome racially disparate outcomes.”

In reflection of Race Forward's commitment to supporting locally-owned businesses and advancing local leadership of Detroit communities Facing Race will work with local organizers to ensure that the 2018 conference adheres to the principles of Community Benefits Agreements. With this Agreement, Race Forward aims to center the leadership, skills, and entrepreneurship of communities of color and other historically disadvantaged communities in Detroit.

Highlights from previous conferences can be found via reporting from Colorlines, an award-winning investigative news site published by Race Forward. Videos of past Facing Race keynote and plenary presentations can be found here and here. For the latest updates on Facing Race 2018, follow on Facebook and Twitter with #FacingRace. 

To register, submit applications for breakout sessions, and find more information, visit: https://facingrace.raceforward.org/.

Press are encouraged to attend, with variety of resources offered, including interviews with keynote and plenary speakers. Press can apply for a media credential here. All media inquiries should be directed to [email protected].

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Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovationunited with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Race Forward Unveils Racial Equity Toolkit to Help Restaurateurs Address Long-Existing Racial Disparities Across Industry

Adding Racial Equity to the Menu is part of a nationwide movement led by ROC United to better the conditions of restaurant employees 

November 6, 2017 (Oakland, CA) - Leading multiracial justice nonprofit Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation has partnered with Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROC United), Homeroom, and the Alta Restaurant Group to unveil Adding Racial Equity to the Menu: An Equity Toolkit for Restaurant Owners, for restaurateurs committed to equity in their establishments.

Adding Racial Equity to the Menu was designed to assist restaurant owners across the nation who are now recognizing the long-held pattern of occupational segregation in the industry and are taking immediate steps to address it, while encouraging other restaurants to follow in suit. 

Years of research have found that increasing racial equity can benefit businesses’ bottom lines, particularly in the form of higher retention rates, employee morale, and productivity. The toolkit provides restaurateurs with strategies and tools for assessing race and gender bias in everyday operations, and recommendations for advancing just outcomes for their employees in the realms of recruitment, hiring, and promotions.  The goal is to ensure that the policies, practices, and culture of a restaurant create equitable opportunities and outcomes for workers of all races and genders.

“Race Forward has a near 40-year history of conducting cutting edge research on the intersection of race and the economy,”  said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “A critical component of our research involves identifying race-explicit, systemic solutions for advancing economic equity and improving outcomes for workers of color. This requires an examination of the root causes of racial inequities in the restaurant industry, including the conscious and unconscious policies and practices that foster systemic racism.”

In part driven by a rising social consciousness and the commitment of consumers to choose venues that align with their values, a growing number of restaurants are exploring making the fair treatment and compensation of employees a prominent part of their mission, operations, customer appeal, and overall brand.

Essential to this transformative process is the need for employers to interrupt the implicit biases that may unknowingly be embedded in their hiring and promotions processes. 

“Occupational segregation and inequality are rampant in every facet of America’s restaurant industry, impacting worker compensation, benefits, work hours, workplace safety, hiring, promotion and workers rights,” said ROC United Co-Founder and Co-Director Saru Jayaraman. “Rooting out implicit bias at restaurants and across the industry requires a deep and active commitment to equity, but it is not out of reach. We hope this toolkit can help courageous employers learn and lead amidst the growing appetite for equity across the nation.”

Within the restaurant industry, White males dominate the more lucrative and external-facing positions, as well as managerial roles. White workers are more likely to be interviewed, and twice as likely to be hired over equally or better-qualified workers of color applying to the same fine-dining establishments. Adding Racial Equity to the Menu is an attempt to forge a stronger, fairer restaurant industry where everyone has a seat at the table.

"Racial equity is a part of doing responsible and ethical business. Diversity makes us a stronger team, and we are proud to be united in our shared values and common goals," said Rikki Thompson, People and Culture Manager at Homeroom. "We strive to embody our values by ensuring that our employees of color feel valued, that their voices are heard, and that their talents are recognized and rewarded."

To download Adding Racial Equity to the Menu: An Equity Toolkit for Restaurant Owners visit: www.raceforward.org/research/reports/adding-racial-equity-menu-equity-toolkit-restaurant-employers.

THE TOOLKIT INCLUDES:

Racial Equity Assessment for Restaurants

• Track Your Numbers Worksheet, to calculate restaurants’ current rate of occupational segregation.
• Analyze Your Choice Points, a self-assessment tool for examining policies and practices in recruitment, hiring, and advertising
• Racial Equity Planning and Implementation Guide

Racial Equity Planning and Implementation Guide

• Six Principles of Good Racial Equity Practice
• Key Tactics to Successfully Overcome Implicit Bias 

BUSINESS BENEFITS:

Research over many years has proven a focus on racial equity can benefit businesses financially in the following ways:

• Racially diverse leadership incorporates a wider range of skills and experiences into overall business operations that can more easily spot trouble areas and innovate into new territory, increasing sales.
• Along those same lines, diverse managers and supervisors who have experience in back-of-the house as well as front-of-the-house positions will better understand all employees’ needs and therefore increase productivity.
• Failing to eliminate barriers to the recruitment and advancement of people of color means missing out on talent, leading to loss in productivity.
• Employees feel valued and proud to be working in a restaurant that prioritizes racial equity, leading to an increase in retention and a decrease in the costs of staff turnover.
• Customers want to support a business that values its workers by providing an equitable pay and benefits scale, increasing sales.

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ABOUT RACE FORWARD

Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation united with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

ABOUT ROC UNITED

Co-founded by leading workers’ rights advocates Fekkak Mamdouh and Saru Jayaraman (“One of the top 50 most influential people in the restaurant industry” – Nation’s Restaurant News), ROC United has nearly 25,000 worker members, more than 200 restaurant employer members, and several thousand consumer members nationwide, winning over 20 worker-led campaigns, and recovering over $10 million in stolen tips and wages.

Race Forward Launches Mass Freedom Project to End Mass Incarceration & Mass Deportation

The Mass Freedom project aims to end the criminalization of communities of color and advance a multiracial democracy

September 13, 2017 (New York, NY) -- As mass criminalization continues to target and harm communities of color, Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation today announced the launch of the Mass Freedom project. Mass Freedom aims to bridge the movements fighting to end mass incarceration and mass deportation under a shared vision for a multiracial democracy.

“Mass criminalization is an assault on the humanity, safety, and fundamental rights of people of color,” said Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward. “Our nation is facing an existential crisis as mass deportation and incarceration continue to ravage communities of color. Mass Freedom is our effort to come together, take action, and unite amidst a political landscape that grows more threatening with each day.”

Building upon the decades of work and visionary thinking by activists who have been leading the fight for racial justice, Mass Freedom will focus on elevating the voices of those who have been most impacted by mass criminalization while sharing visions, solutions, and strategies for a better future. 

• MassFreedom.org, which will serve as a platform for activists engaging on mass criminalization to share stories, solutions, and resources.
• Colorlines.com reporting on mass incarceration and mass deportation, and contributions by immigrants, formerly incarcerated people, and others directly affected by the criminalization of people of color.
• FRED Talks (Facing Race, Elevating Democracy) – online videos produced at local events where activists and leaders share their stories and effective strategies for change.
• Resources including videos, articles, tools, and more on the issues of mass incarceration and deportation that are being used every day by organizers and change makers.
• Actions highlighted on the site and driven on social media channels by movement-oriented influencers, to amplify diverse stories, views, and regular opportunities to take action now.

"Our criminal justice and immigration enforcement systems are both rooted in a long history of systemic racism, slavery, and the genocide of indigenous people," said Rosana Cruz, Race Forward's Vice President of Movement and Capacity Building. "The destructive presence of systemic racism in all of our lives links communities that don't always see how their futures are intertwined. With Mass Freedom we are hoping to further those futures towards a collective liberation."

Mass Freedom was inspired by conversations with Michelle Alexander, award-winning author of the critically acclaimed book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, in effort to develop a multi-pronged anti-criminalization project that will serve as a platform for multiracial systemic solutions.

 “Inspired by courageous struggles for human rights and justice around the world and the sacrifices of those who have gone before us, Mass Freedom aims to help us rise to the challenges we face,” said Alexander. “By learning from our history and facing our future with open hearts, open minds, determination and courage, we can make America what it must become.”  

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Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation united with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Race Forward lanza el proyecto Libertad Masiva (Mass Freedom) para terminar con el encarcelamiento masivo y las deportaciones masivas

El proyecto Libertad Masiva tiene como objetivo poner fin a la criminalización de las comunidades de color y promover una democracia multi-racial

13 de septiembre de 2017 (Nueva York, NY) - A medida que la criminalización masiva continúa teniendo como objetivo y perjudicando a las comunidades de color, Race Forward: El Centro para la Innovación de  Justicia Racial anunció hoy el lanzamiento del proyecto Libertad Masiva (Mass Freedom). Libertad Masiva tiene como objetivo unificar los  movimientos que luchan para acabar con el encarcelamiento masivo y la deportaciones masivas bajo una visión compartida de una democracia multi-racial.

"La criminalización masiva es un asalto a la humanidad, la seguridad y los derechos fundamentales de las personas de color", dijo Glenn Harris, presidente de Race Forward. "Nuestra nación se enfrenta a una crisis existencial ya que la deportaciones masivas y el encarcelamiento continúan destrozando comunidades de color.  Libertad Masiva es nuestro esfuerzo para juntarnos, actuar y unirnos en medio de un ambiente político que cada día es más dañino.”

Aprovechando las décadas de trabajo y el pensamiento visionario de los activistas que han liderado la lucha por la justicia racial, Libertad Masiva se concentrará en elevar las voces de aquellos que han sido más afectados por la criminalización masiva compartiendo visiones, soluciones y estrategias para un futuro mejor.

• MassFreedom.org, servirá como una plataforma virtual para que activistas, quienes trabajan para acabar la criminalización masiva, compartan historias, soluciones y recursos.
• Colorlines.com, reportajes periodísticos sobre encarcelamiento masivo y deportación masivas, y contribuciones de inmigrantes, ex-prisioneros, y otras personas directamente afectadas por la criminalización de personas de color.

• FRED Talks (Conversatorios Facing Race, Elevating Democracy) - videos en línea producidos en eventos locales donde activistas y líderes comparten sus historias y estrategias efectivas para el cambio.
• Recursos que incluyen vídeos, artículos, herramientas y más sobre los temas de encarcelamiento masivo y deportaciones que están siendo utilizados diariamente por organizadores y estrategas de cambio.
• Acciones destacadas en la plataforma virtual e impulsadas por las redes sociales por líderes de opinión de los diferentes movimientos, para amplificar las diferentes historias, los puntos de vista y las oportunidades regulares para tomar acción ahora.

"Nuestros sistemas de justicia penal y de aplicación de leyes de inmigración están arraigados en una larga historia de racismo sistémico, esclavitud y el genocidio de los pueblos indígenas," dijo Rosana Cruz, Vicepresidenta de Movimientos y Desarrollo de Capacidad de Race Forward. "La presencia destructiva del racismo sistémico en todas nuestras vidas vincula a comunidades que no siempre ven cómo sus futuros están entrelazados. Con el proyecto  Libertad Masiva esperamos promover esos futuros hacia una liberación colectiva".

El proyecto Libertad Masiva (Mass Freedom) se inspiró en conversaciones con Michelle Alexander, escritora galardonada del aclamado libro The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, en un esfuerzo por desarrollar un proyecto multi-facético de lucha contra la criminalización que sirva de plataforma para soluciones sistémicas multi-raciales.

"Inspirado por las valientes luchas por los derechos humanos y la justicia en todo el mundo, y los sacrificios de aquellos que nos han precedido, Libertad Masiva tiene como objetivo ayudarnos a superar los desafíos que enfrentamos," dijo Alexander. "Aprendiendo de nuestra historia y enfrentando nuestro futuro con corazo,nes abiertos, mentes abiertas, determinación y coraje, podemos hacer de América lo que debe ser.”

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Race Forward: El Centro para la Innovación de Justicia Racial se juntó con El Centro para la Inclusión Social (CSI) en 2017 para convertirse en el nuevo Race Forward.

Establecido en 1981, Race Forward trae un análisis sistémico y un enfoque innovador a los problemas raciales complejos para ayudar a las personas a tomar medidas eficaces hacia la equidad racial. Fundada en 2002, CSI cataliza a la comunidad, el gobierno y otras instituciones para desmantelar la inequidad racial estructural y crear resultados equitativos para todos.

El nuevo Race Forward hospeda la Alianza Gubernamental sobre Raza y Equidad (GARE), una red nacional de gobiernos locales que trabajan para lograr equidad racial y promover oportunidades para todos. Race Forward publica el sitio de noticias diarias Colorlines y presenta Facing Race, la conferencia multi-racial más grande del país sobre justicia racial.

This weekend in Charlottesville we witnessed an act of domestic terrorism by white nationalists. Since May, this resurgence of white nationalist violence has resulted in murders from Oregon to Virginia, and is more threatening with each passing day. This cannot become the new normal.

We as a nation must confront the rise of organized white nationalism and white supremacy head on. We must stand together in the fight for freedom, justice, community, and a more inclusive democracy. We must remain vigilant in not only condemning the violence and hateful rhetoric, but also denouncing those who seek to politically benefit from division and hatred.

Racism in this country is both structurally embedded in our institutions and ingrained in the rhetoric of white supremacists who have been newly emboldened by the Trump administration. We commend the state and local leaders who have been explicit in their condemnation of white nationalists and their forceful rejection of the ideals they represent. We at Race Forward will be watching closely to see if their actions follow their rhetoric and work to hold them accountable.

Race Forward stands behind all of the people on the frontlines who are putting themselves in harm’s way to beat back hate, racism, xenophobia, and violence. A strong multiracial movement is the only solution for dismantling structural racism. Race Forward is committed to building that movement. Together, we have the power to shape a future that elevates the voices of communities of color that have been most marginalized and oppressed, and together build a multiracial, inclusive democracy in which all can thrive.  

Glenn Harris

President, Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation 

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Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation united with Center for Social Inclusion in 2017 to become the new Race Forward.

Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, CSI catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

The new Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Xakota Espinoza
[email protected]
917-633-7932

Race Forward and Center for Social Inclusion Uniting As One Organization

Two leading racial justice non-profits join efforts to advance racial equity

June 28, 2017 (New York, NY) – Two leading national racial justice nonprofit organizations, Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation and Center for Social Inclusion (CSI), today announced that the two organizations are uniting under the name Race Forward. Glenn Harris, current president of CSI, will serve as president of the new organization.

The decision to combine efforts and integrate the two organizations was borne out of opportunity, abundance, urgency, and a mutual desire for greater alignment and multiplied efforts to deliver on both organizations’ core principles of advancing racial equity and supporting communities most impacted by structural racism.

“Given the urgency of the political moment – a vibrant movement for racial justice across the country, and growing pushback against this movement – we could not pass up the opportunity to explore how coming together will help us rise to this moment,” said Rinku Sen, who will be transitioning to the role of Race Forward Senior Strategist after serving 11 years as President and Executive Director.

 Both Race Forward and CSI have a long history of significant work on the front lines of the racial justice movement, bringing systemic analysis to complex race issues and helping people take effective action toward systemic racial equity in government, organizing, philanthropy, journalism, and other fields. As the United States stands at the brink of the greatest rollback of civil rights in decades, Sen and Harris recognized a unique opportunity to increase support for communities of color facing a period of heightened persecution and anxiety, while deepening a mutual commitment to build an inclusive democracy.

 "Uniting as one organization is about combining our experiences, skills, and talents to address the multiple crises that communities of color face in this country,” said Harris. “Our work remains the same: to transform institutions and to partner with communities to use policy, culture, and narrative to center racial equity." 

Center for Social Inclusion catalyzes communities, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all. Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media, and practice. Race Forward publishes the award-winning daily news site Colorlines, which will continue to operate under the helm of Harris, and presents the biennial Facing Race National Conference.

Expanded work for the new Race Forward will incorporate CSI’s existing strategy to advance racial equity and will be organized into five functions: transforming institutions ; narrative shift; movement and capacity building; policy development; and research.

In the coming months, the two organizations will undergo a strategic integration process, while existing programmatic work will continue in their current forms. Both teams are eager to identify new and innovative ways to continue their institutional work while deepening the new Race Forward’s commitment to partnering with communities to advance equity and foster the next generation of racial justice leaders.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact Xakota Espinoza at [email protected] or 917-633-7932. 

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Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Founded in 2002, Center for Social Inclusion catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all. CSI’s core program, the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, is a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Xakota Espinoza
[email protected]
917-633-7932

Race Forward Releases New Report: Race-Explicit Strategies for Workforce Equity in Healthcare and IT

June 15, 2017 (New York, NY) — Leading racial justice nonprofit Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation today released its latest research report: Race-Explicit Strategies for Workforce Equity in Healthcare and IT. The report identifies barriers to achieving equitable employment outcomes for workers of color in the workforce development field, and outlines solutions to increase racial equity through a systemic, race-explicit, and outcome-oriented approach.

Race-Explicit Strategies for Workforce Equity in Healthcare and IT provides leaders and practitioners with tools to support the advancement of workers of colors in healthcare and information technology (IT) — two of the fastest growing sectors in the United States. The report identifies major internal and external barriers to greater adoption of race-explicit strategies for equity in the workforce development field, including racial bias and discrimination, limited tracking of racial disparities and outcomes, and a lack of services to support low-income workers of color.

“In order to improve outcomes for workers of color, practitioners must abandon a ‘color-blind’ approach to workforce development,” said Tara Conley, Senior Research Associate at Race Forward. “Providing race-explicit strategies for accessing healthcare and IT careers will become an increasingly critical role for workforce development agencies as these sectors continue to take over more of the labor market.” 

“Our research centers on investigating the entrenched systems of racial inequity that persist within workforce development institutions, between institutions in the greater workforce field, and throughout society,” said Julia Sebastian, Research Associate at Race Forward.

Drawing from academic research, interviews with workers of color and key experts in the field, and results from a 2016 Race Forward survey of 70 workforce development organizations nationwide, Race-Explicit Strategies for Workforce Equity in Healthcare and IT outlines four key strategies for achieving better outcomes for workers of color:

1. Implement an institutional assessment and racial equity plan to develop a targeted method for addressing internal bias and institutional racism.

2. Negotiate a racially explicit employer partnership that shifts the awareness and priorities of employers in the industry.

3. Engage in structural advocacy with philanthropists and regulatory agencies.

4. Build an inclusive and racially explicit narrative strategy to guide individual institutions and border workforce development coalitions.

Race-Explicit Strategies for Workforce Equity in Healthcare and IT is a part of Race Forward’s larger body of work on Race and the Economy. It follows on the heels of Race Forward’s 2016 report Confronting Racial Bias at Work and the interactive multimedia site Clocking-In: Making Work that Works for All of Us (in English and Spanish). Race Forward has a near 40-year legacy of conducting cutting edge research on the intersection of race and the economy, and is a leading authority on the root causes of racial inequities in the United States, including the conscious and unconscious policies and practices that foster systemic racism, and the solutions needed to proactively promote racial equity.

To learn more, visit www.raceforward.org/workforceequity and follow #WorkforceEquity on social media.

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Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Race Forward Announces Distinguished Roster of Participants for Racial Equity in the Arts Innovation Lab 

Leading Racial Justice Nonprofit Race Forward Launches Racial Equity in the Arts Innovation Lab in New York City

Seeking sixty local arts groups to participate in a yearlong training program to improve racial equity in the arts and culture sector

April 4, 2017 (NEW YORK, NY) – Leading racial justice non-profit Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation today announced the launch of the Racial Equity in the Arts Innovation Lab – a yearlong deep dive into racial equity interventions for 60 New York City arts and cultural organizations. Race Forward is accepting applications for the program now through April 30th.

The Racial Equity in the Arts Innovation Lab will include a multi-component training series tailor-made for arts organizations in the city. Funded through The New York City Cultural Agenda Fund in The New York Community Trust, the Innovation Lab will recruit, train, coach, and provide a stipend to 60 diverse arts organizations from various corners of New York City’s arts sector.

“The arts and culture field, like many other sectors, has historically over-emphasized diversity and audience engagement strategies. In our current political climate these interventions are more crucial than ever – yet still don’t go far enough when it comes to truly building racial and cultural equity,” said Nayantara Sen, Culture and Content Project Manager for Race Forward. “With this Lab, New York City arts organizations have an unique opportunity to develop actionable strategies for interrupting structural racism and building power for communities for color.”

Race Forward’s training and coaching team will guide participants in identifying, developing, and implementing specific racial equity strategies both within their organizations and beyond. The Lab is open to organizations that focus on music, theater, performing arts, dance, horticulture, zoology, history, science, and other fields within the arts and culture sector.

The Lab is launching just as the city’s most ambitious intervention in the cultural sector to date – the Create NYC Cultural Plan – is being released, and arrives on the heels of New York Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) survey results that revealed a lack of diversity in New York City’s cultural institutions.

“The Cultural Agenda Fund is both thrilled and proud to be funding such an important effort to build the racial equity capacity of our sector,” said Kerry McCarthy, Program Director for Thriving Communities and Arts and Historic Preservation at the New York Community Trust. “This Lab will support organizations to move beyond quantitative representation and diversity metrics to taking concrete actions for equity in art-making, arts presenting and producing, community-building, and cultural organizing.”

The Lab will serve as a timely and strategic intervention in meaningfully producing racial equity in the arts and culture sector while enhancing visibility, positioning, and access for participating groups as they engage with the new Cultural Plan.

Throughout Race Forward’s history, the organization has explored the significance of arts and culture as a means for social transformation and transcending barriers. The creation of the Racial Equity In the Arts Innovation Lab demonstrates the group’s commitment to elevating the role of arts and culture in movement building and advancing racial equality.

Race Forward has a 35-year legacy of racial justice advocacy and experience helping organizations incorporate real strategies that address structural racism and advance racial equity. Services include training and consulting, strategic coaching, and organizational development.

The Racial Equity in the Arts Innovation Lab eligibility guidelines and application can be found at https://raceforward.submittable.com.

For more information, contact [email protected].   

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Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Since 1924, The New York Community Trust has been the home of charitable New Yorkers who share a passion for the City and the suburbs—and who are committed to improving them. With its donors, The Trust supports an array of effective nonprofits that help make the City and suburbs vital and secure places to live and work, while building permanent resources for the future.

Established in 2014, The New York City Cultural Agenda Fund is a collaboration of seven funders that seeks to strengthen the City’s arts advocacy network and advance cultural policy and equity.

Right now, immigrant families are facing a period of heightened persecution and crisis as President Trump has already begun to deliver on his campaign promises on mass deportation. What we are witnessing is a nationwide immigration crackdown that is tearing families apart. ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials and local law enforcement are becoming increasingly emboldened to target and track down non-citizens at their homes, schools, places of worship, and courthouses. Deportations shatter families and endanger the children left behind, many of whom will never see their parents again.

Race Forward’s 2011 Shattered Families report found that there were at least 5,100 children living in foster care in the United States because their parents had been detained or deported. The report also found tens of thousands more children would be at risk over the coming years if ICE and child welfare policies and practices didn't change. Given this latest wave of ICE arrests we have every reason to believe that number is increasing by the day. 

The year after we released Shattered Families: The Perilous Intersection of Immigration Enforcement and the Child Welfare System, deportations under President Obama hit a record high of 409,849. As reported in Race Forward’s daily news site, Colorlines, over 46,000 parents of U.S.-citizen children were deported in the first six months of 2011 alone. While the yearly number of deportations decreased steadily throughout Obama’s final term in office, we are now reversing course with a new administration that is committed to deporting as many people as possible through rampant and reckless means. 

The collision of ICE, law enforcement, and child welfare agencies in a family’s life results essentially in the United States separating thousands of children from loving families. While the only real answer to this crisis is an end to mass deportation, it’s imperative that we ensure families are kept together and protect children from the trauma of being ripped away from their parents. 

Federal, state and local governments must create explicit policies to protect families from separation. These policies should stop the clock on the child welfare process and the immigration enforcement process to ensure that families can stay together and allow parents to make the best decisions for the care and custody of their children. 

For Race Forward’s Shattered Families report, visit raceforward.org/shatteredfamilies. Ongoing reporting on the issue can be found at Colorlines: colorlines.com/shatteredfamilies.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Xakota Espinoza
[email protected] / 646-274-7433  

RACE FORWARD ANNOUNCES 2018 FACING RACE CONFERENCE IN DETROIT

March 8, 2017 (New York, NY) - Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation released today the Save The Date for the biennial Facing Race National Conference, which will be held in Detroit, Michigan from November 8-10, 2018.

Facing Race is the largest multiracial, intergenerational gathering for organizers, educators, creatives and leaders. Last year, over 2,000 people joined Race Forward in Atlanta, GA for the sold-out conference in the days immediately following the presidential election to brainstorm ways to respond to the changing national landscape and leadership.

“In our current political climate, the importance of engaging with local communities working on the frontlines of the racial justice movement is critical,” said Facing Race Manager Leslie Grant. “Detroit was a clear choice for bringing together organizers from throughout the country to build our movement and collaborate on strategies to address growing threats confronting communities of color.”

In addition to inspiring keynote speakers, film screenings, and networking opportunities, Facing Race will present over 80 panels and breakout sessions on a wide array of key issues through the lens of organizing & advocacy, research & policy, and arts & media. Highlights from previous conferences can be found via reporting from Colorlines, an award-winning investigative news site published by Race Forward.

This is Race Forward’s 9th Facing Race conference, and the first to be held at a convention center after the record-breaking turnout in 2016. The Cobo Center was selected as the best venue to accommodate the swelling interest while bringing the conference to a city that stands as a pillar of the racial justice movement amidst an onslaught of civil rights violations. Previous Facing Race conferences have been held in Atlanta, Baltimore, Berkeley, Chicago, Dallas, Oakland, and New York.

Registration and applications for breakout sessions opens on November 8, 2017. Videos of past Facing Race keynote and plenary presentations can be found here and here. For more information visit https://facingrace.raceforward.org/ or follow on Facebook and Twitter with #FacingRace.

Press are encouraged to attend, with variety of resources offered, including interviews with keynote and plenary speakers. Press should contact [email protected] to be added to a list for press passes or for any other media inquiries.

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Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice. For more information visit http://raceforward.org and follow @RaceForward.

"The executive orders signed this week mark the beginning of a sweeping, reckless assault — the likes of which we have never seen — on the values that unite us. Our country was founded on principles of freedom and inclusion, and we are stronger, safer, freer when we come together. However, each order finds a new way to divide us: singling out entire groups of people based on how they look or where they come from, turning away refugees, building useless and expensive walls. This makes our nation less secure, less free, less united — and it will have a devastating impact on people who will now fear for safety in their daily lives."  — Rinku Sen, Executive Director of Race Forward

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Joint Statement on Week 1 of Trump Presidency’s Impact on Communities of Color

With the brush of a few pen strokes, the first week of the Trump administration waged unprecedented and wholesale attacks on various communities of color through legislative action. A week ago, during his Inaugural address, President Trump said, “What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.” By signing various Executive Orders, President Trump has proven that his administration is, in fact, taking power from the people. Through the excessive use of executive edict, he is acting more like a monarch than a president. 

President Trump also stated, “Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families… There should be no fear.” Yet, each word he has uttered and action he has taken in office has been divisive, amplifying regulatory attacks on women, immigrants, Native Americans, other communities of color and stoking already heightened and increasingly violent Islamophobia and other hate related crimes. 

The WKKF “America Healing Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative,” is a unique partnership of 12 leading national organizations all dedicated to racial equity and racial healing. As racial equity Anchor Organizations, we have been long-term partners with the Kellogg Foundation in exposing structural inequities and barriers to opportunity in communities, remedying them and helping heal racial wounds. We recognize the detrimental impacts that these policies will have on our communities, and all communities of color. 

Below WKKF Anchors remark on the need for solidarity, community building and resistance. The Anchors strongly believe in dismantling the false narrative surrounding the belief in the racial hierarchy permeating America’s history and current reality. To create a true multiracial democracy where all children can thrive, we must demolish this belief system which buttresses structural racism and exacerbates racial inequity.  

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PICO National Network: “Retaliating against local communities because they refuse to follow immoral policies is part of an emerging pattern of President Trump not only bullying people who dare to disagree with him, but isolating and further marginalizing people who are different than him,” said Eddie Carmona, campaign director for PICO National Network’s LA RED campaign. “Such behavior is inconsistent with the long-held notion that America is a place of opportunity for all.”

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI): “Indian Country has spoken loud and clear that we are not against development, but our legitimate rights as sovereign governments to be heard in the permitting process cannot be ignored. Tribal involvement is necessary to ensure that infrastructure projects benefit our communities without harming our lands, waters, and sacred places.” - NCAI President Brian Cladoosby

Advancement Project: “In this presidency of ‘alternative facts,’ we must stay vigilant and move beyond shock. The evidence is clear; the recent statements about voter fraud have no basis in fact, but instead are touted to cast a narrative to further restrict voting rights. While this distraction is conjured up, there is a broader threat looming, Trump’s efforts to build an exclusionary America. His constant verbal and twitter attacks on communities of color are now being pushed into policy through wrongheaded immigration policies. As the case was before Trump and in generations prior, the hard work of expanding access to the ballot continues boldly through resistance in the streets, the courts, the legislatures and in the media.”  — Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project national office

National Council of La Raza: “Rather than provide real solutions, President Trump has decided to trigger greater chaos and fear, set in motion a mass deportation force, bully cities that refuse to indiscriminately persecute immigrant communities, and waste billions on a wall. None of these actions will fix anything, but will devastate our economy and the social fabric of our community,“ said NCLR President and CEO Janet. Murguia. “While the president that there is no room for prejudice in patriotism, his actions today are all about building a wall of intolerance.”

National Council of Asian Pacific Americans: “President Trump’s executive actions are based on unfounded fears and the well-documented lie that immigrants are more likely to be criminals. As a nation, we are better than bigotry, hate and xenophobia. NCAPA firmly stands with immigrants and refugees and Muslim Americans — all of whom are an integral part of America. Many in our communities are targeted because they are considered ‘un-American,’ and we will not stand by while our communities continue to be attacked, said NCAPA National Director Christopher Kang

Poverty & Race Research Action Council: “These executive orders are also an attack on the rights of local communities to work towards equality.  It is our responsibility to not just march in the streets, but to challenge these divisive policies in the courts, to check irresponsible executive power and to preserve the rule of law.”    — Phil Tegeler, Director of Poverty & Race Research Action Council 

Race Forward: "The executive orders signed this week mark the beginning of a sweeping, reckless assault — the likes of which we have never seen — on the values that unite us. Our country was founded on principles of freedom and inclusion, and we are stronger, safer, freer when we come together. However, each order finds a new way to divide us: singling out entire groups of people based on how they look or where they come from, turning away refugees, building useless and expensive walls. This makes our nation less secure, less free, less united — and it will have a devastating impact on people who will now fear for safety in their daily lives."  — Rinku Sen, Executive Director of Race Forward

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): “In stark contrast to the myth of widespread voter fraud is the proven reality of voter suppression. A number of federal courts across the country have determined that certain states enacted voting restrictions that discriminated against Black and Latino Americans, as in Texas, or, worse yet, were written with the specific intent to suppress the Black vote, as in North Carolina. Voting restrictions … weaken our democracy and themselves cast serious doubt on the legitimacy of our electoral processes,” said Cornell Williams Brooks, President and CEO of the NAACP. “If President Trump is serious about strengthening our democracy, he should demand that Congress send him a bill to restore Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, such as the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015. And he should acknowledge the widespread voter suppression taking place in this country while rejecting the myth that ‘voter fraud’ justifies blocking access to the ballot box for millions of Black and Latino voters.”

Demos: “This week’s actions by President Trump threaten to destroy our foundation as a free society. In its first few days, this administration has decided to attack a number of America’s values including religious freedom, women’s health, and climate equity. We’re also witnessing the president continue his unsubstantiated and dangerous claims of voter fraud, further threatening our democracy at a time when we must instead ensure every citizen has access to the ballot box and confident that their vote will count,” said Heather McGhee, President of Demos. “Today we must stand up and say that this - the dismantling of all the hard-won progress our country has made over decades - will stop here and now.” 

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum: “Our nation was founded by immigrants who sought freedom from persecution. Families from all over the world came to our nation to start anew and to have the opportunity to create a better life for themselves and future generations. Our nation was built on the blood, sweat and tears of immigrants — involuntary and voluntary. We at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum denounce the Administration’s plans that will gravely harm not only immigrant communities, but our nation. We stand on the principle that no person should face discrimination based on their racial, ethnic or religious backgrounds, no matter which country they come from.” 

Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society: "In less than a week since Donald Trump was inaugurated, he has signed a set of executive orders and memoranda that represent the new administration’s attempt to institutionalize and legalize exclusionary policies based on extreme Islamophobia, that stoke fear against and threaten our immigrant communities, that display a deep disregard for the tribal sovereignty and lives of Native Americans, that represent draconian efforts to control and limit the rights of women around the world, and that reveal the pursuit of an energy policy that runs directly counter to what is needed to pull our living planet back from climate-change disaster. These are attempts to change the rules of the game. Our institutions, imperfect as they are, are being attacked. Our check and balance system is being attacked and many of our political leaders in the Republican and Democratic establishment are not rising to the occasion. We may have different strategies and actions, but we must continue to place demands on our government to protect all people and we must remain unrelenting in resisting laws and forces that marginalize, expel, and threaten the safety and security of our fellow sisters and brothers."

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“Confronting Racial Bias at Work” Takes An In-Depth Look at the Shortcomings of Title VII and the Need for More Proactive Systemic Solutions for Workers of Color

November 10, 2016 (New York, NY) Today, Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation released its latest research report, Confronting Racial Bias at Work: Challenges and Solutions for 21st Century Employment Discrimination at their 2016 Facing Race National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The research report examines the effectiveness of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited employers from discriminating against workers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and/or national origin.

Confronting Racial Bias at Work provides readers with a bird’s-eye view of the systemic barriers that too often block workers of color seeking justice at each stage of the Title VII system of protection, which operates on a largely reactive and case by case basis. The report takes a critical look at the origins of Title VII and how the law is falling short of systemic racial equity that workers of color need and deserve.

Findings show worker advocates across multiple industries report that intentional and unintentional racism as well as gender discrimination occur “frequently” or are a “daily reality.”  The Confronting Racial Bias at Work reportargues that we must not only reinforce the largely reactive anti-discrimination structure established by law so that it reaches more workers and protects them more effectively, but we must also promote proactive systemic solutions to increase the pressures, incentives, and mandates for racially equitable outcomes in employment.

“More than 50 years after Title VII’s inception, Confronting Racial Bias at Work, serves as a wake-up call that workers of color still face far too many barriers when seeking justice within the anti-discrimination system created by the law,” says Race Forward Research Director Dom Apollon.

Confronting Racial Bias at Work draws from academic research, interviews with discrimination lawyers and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) officials, and surveys of worker advocates with a specific focus on three worker organizations: The Los Angeles Black Workers Center, the National Domestic Workers Alliance in Massachusetts, and the Laundry Workers Center in New York City. The report details how these organizations have had to resort to other approaches, including advocating for state and local protection for excluded workers, utilizing local policies that require companies to improve hiring practices, and engaging consumers through public campaigns.

The report is comprised of four sections:

• Part One: Coversthe legislative origins of the EEOC, the federal agency created by Title VII in the 1960s to protect workers against intentional discrimination.

• Part Two: Coversthe difference between how workers’ racial discrimination claims are supposed to operate in theory within our federal courts and bureaucracies, and the extremely challenging way that they operate in practice.

• Part Three: Profiles recent campaigns from three resourceful worker organizations that have felt forced to work largely outside of the slow and limited legal and administrative systems established by Title VII.

• Part Four: Presents systemic solutions and recommendations.

Confronting Racial Bias at Work is the latest report by Race Forward, a non-profit organization devoted to bringing a systematic analysis and innovative approach to complex race issues. Another recent project on racial disparities in employment was Clocking-In: Making Work that Works for All of Us (2014), an interactive, multimedia tool available in English and Spanish that highlights racial and gender inequities in the restaurant, retail, and domestic industries. Previous reports include Building the We: Healing-Informed Governing for Racial Equity in Salinas (2016), Moving the Race Conversation Forward (2014), and Shattered Families: The Perilous Intersection of Immigration Enforcement and the Child Welfare System (2011).

Race Forward unveil the report today at its 2016 Facing Race Conference, the largest multiracial intergenerational gathering for racial justice organizers, educators, creatives, and thought leaders. Confronting Racial Bias at Work executive summary and full report are available for download online at www.raceforward.org/racialbiasatwork.

It seems the worst outcome we could have imagined has become a reality: a stunning victory for racism, misogyny, homophobia, and vengeful authoritarianism. Like many of you, we watched the election results with a mixture of anger, grief, and anxiety about the future of racial justice and the safety of our communities. In the coming days, there will be much analysis and speculation about what led to this outcome. Let us enable the deep self-reflection and listening that must take place.  Let us channel our anger and grief toward constructive and innovative strategizing. Yes, this is a crisis, and it is clear that business as usual cannot continue in the racial justice movement or anywhere else.

We at Race Forward will not go silent or cower in fear. This country belongs to all of us, and we can unify it under the principles of compassion and inclusion. Doing so may require more from us than we have had to give in two generations or more. It will not be easy, but there are victories to come.

Even in the midst of this backlash, we can celebrate the fact that around the country progressives have won important local elections and ballot initiatives, including paid sick leave, minimum wage increases, background checks for gun purchases, and marijuana legalization. Racist sheriff Joe Arpaio was denied a seventh term in Arizona, and a number of progressive candidates won their local elections, including the first African-born Muslim immigrant elected to Portland, Maine’s city council. And we can celebrate the fact that our communities are here to stay. We will look out for each other and face the challenges together.

This coming weekend, the Race Forward board and staff are grateful to be gathering more than 2,000 of our people at our Facing Race National Conference. It will be a space for healing, listening, working together, and strengthening our commitment to racial justice in the face of great obstacles. We thank our attendees in advance for doing all they can to be present with kindness, optimism, openness, and determination. And for those who are not in attendance at Facing Race, there are a number of ways to participate and engage, through the livestream of our keynote and plenary presentations, Colorlines coverage, and social media engagement online with #FacingRace. Our deepest gratitude to all of the people who have been working to make the world a better place. We are with you, always. 

ANNOUNCING “INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY” TRACK AT FACING RACE NATIONAL CONFERENCE 
Race Forward, Center for Social Inclusion, and the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society Team up for Nation’s Largest Racial Justice Conference

August 18, 2016 (New York, NY) – Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation, Center for Social Inclusion (CSI), and UC Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society (Haas Institute) announced today a collaboration on the “Inclusive Democracy” track of Facing Race National Conference, to be held November 10-12 in Atlanta, GA. Workshops and panels in the Inclusive Democracy track will feature innovative policies, practices, research, and narratives that support governing for racial equity. 

“This is a critical moment for bold, innovative thinking that will advance systemic solutions—and we couldn’t be more thrilled to collaborate with the Center for Social Inclusion and the Haas Institute,” said Rinku Sen, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines. Founded in 1981, Race Forward celebrates its 35th Anniversary this year.

“We’re excited to partner with Race Forward to explore how the transformation of government can be a powerful strategy to achieve racial equity," said Glenn Harris, President of Center for Social Inclusion (CSI), a national policy strategy organization whose mission is to dismantle structural racism. "To achieve a truly inclusive democracy, community and government must work together to dismantle structural racism.”

“To achieve our vision of a inclusive and effective government, we must expand our understanding of ‘who belongs.’ Facing Race is an excellent space for examining racial inequities across our society, and who has the opportunity to contribute to – and make demands on – society and political institutions,” said john powell, Director of Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society.

Facing Race 2016 will be held in Atlanta, a historic epicenter for racial justice work regionally and nationally. In addition to the Inclusive Democracy track, Facing Race workshops will be presented in “Arts, Media, & Culture,” a track focused on narrative shift and culture change to advance racial justice, and “Organizing & Advocacy,” highlighting best practices in building community power for transformational change.

On November 10th, immediately preceding the Facing Race conference, the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a joint project of CSI and the Haas Institute, will present a pre-conference convening: "Advancing Racial Equity: the Role of Government." The convening will feature leaders from all host organizations, the National League of Cities, as well as a panel of elected officials and a closing event with sociopolitical comedian W. Kamau Bell, host of the CNN docu-series, United Shades of America. To register, visit http://advancingracialequity.eventbrite.com.

For more information or to register for Facing Race, visit facingrace.raceforward.org, or follow on Facebook and Twitter with #FacingRace. For press passes to the conference, please contact: [email protected].

ABOUT RACE FORWARD: Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice. http://raceforward.org

ABOUT CSI: Founded in 2002, Center for Social Inclusion catalyzes community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all. CSI’s core program, the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, is a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. http://centerforsocialinclusion.org/

ABOUT HAAS INSTITUTE: The Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley is a hub of engaged scholars, researchers, strategic communicators, policymakers, and community partners working to advance belonging for all members of society. http://haasinstitute.berkeley.edu 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2016

Contacts:
Chelsea Fuller, [email protected]
Bridget Whelan, [email protected]
Xakota Espinoza, [email protected]

Best Practices for Journalists Reporting on Police Killings of Black and Brown People

For generations, people of color have been the victims of unfair, biased and criminalizing coverage in the news media. From the consistent use of imagery and language based in historical stereotypes, to copy-editing standards and photo choices that misrepresent diverse communities, the media has at times gone against one of journalism’s core values which is to “minimize harm to the communities and people they cover.”

Basic journalism education provides writers, producers and editors with the tools to ethically answer the “who, what, where, when, why and how” of any issue or event. However, accurately and thoughtfully reporting on issues of race and culture requires that journalists go beyond those basic skills. Reporters should make intentional efforts to craft stories that uplift the voices of the most impacted without criminalizing them or adding to existing narratives. This is always important, but must become a priority in times of crisis and unrest. Communities of color are in pain after the tragic shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. The death of the officers in Dallas has added to the anguish and unrest breaking out across this nation. When writing and editing content pertaining to these and other tragedies involving people or communities of color, reporters, editors and producers need to consider the following:

IMPERATIVES FOR COVERING THE RECENT SHOOTINGS

• Black Lives Matter:  Do not attribute the actions of the Dallas shooter Micah Johnson to Black Lives Matter or the broader Movement for Black Lives (to which he was not affiliated). His actions are not reflective of the values and principles of Black Lives Matter or the Movement for Black Lives.
• “Race War”: Much of the media coverage of the Dallas police shootings irresponsibly framed the shootings as a race war and tied it to the Black Lives Matter movement despite the fact that the police chief said at a press conference that it is too early to speculate about the shooter’s motives. The New York Post’s front page this morning blared the words “CIVIL WAR,” and the Drudge Report posted the headline “Black Lives Kill.” These are irresponsible journalistic responses, and should be avoided.
• Do not Cherry-pick Information to fit an existing or forming narrative: Media coverage of one of the victims, Alton Sterling, focused on his previous arrest record.  Unless such information is directly relevant to the story, it should not be included.  And, in any event, such information should be included, if at all, on an even-handed basis toward all actors in a story.
• Sourcing Images: Make sure that you are thoroughly cross-referencing images through platforms like Google, AP and Getty Images and social media sites to ensure you run the right picture. Running the wrong picture of a person of color featured in your story uplifts the stereotype that all people of color look alike, it shows a lack of care and commitment on the part of your news organization and can have harmful implications for others both related and unrelated to the story.
  • For example, Mark Hughes, a black man who was not involved in the shooting and was legally carrying a gun at the protest in Dallas, was falsely accused of being involved in the shooting. The Dallas Police department tweeted an image of Mark Hughes, who was not involved in the shooting, identifying him as a suspect. They still haven’t have not taken it down and the image has been used in multiple publications. Mark Hughes has subsequently received thousands of death threats.

Sourcing Information and Pictures

• Sources should come from the impacted communities as much as possible. It’s always good to have experts on tap to speak to trends, data, etc., but the diverse voices of people of color must be infused in the story.
• Do not just take the comments of one or two people of color or from those residing in one particular area, even in local stories. Make sure you are engaging people of color from across your communities and across the nation for stories with local impact. This will help show the range of responses and ideas, making your content more accurate and inclusive.

Word choice and Copy Editing

Too often copy desks use fast and loose rules when deciding when to deem a loss of life as a murder, a killing, an incident or an accident. Research shows that when people of color are accused of (or are found guilty of) committing violent acts, media tend to use harsher, criminalizing language (murdered, massacred, slayed). But less violent language is used when they are the victims of violent acts.

• Word choice: Be consistent with the words used to describe death, especially in instances involving police, and pay attention to the way you’re attributing language to people based on race.
  • For example: Broadcasters speaking about the Dallas shooting have said that the officers were “murdered,” but days prior said Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were “shot.” Their deaths were “incidents” and “tragic accidents,” not murders even though all were shot. This simple word choice devalues and dehumanizes their lives, while shifting blame and accountability away from those who killed them.
• Check AP Style for Cultural Terms, Hate Speech: Double check the AP Stylebook for words and language considered derogatory and hate speech. This list changes annually to include new language and cultural references. This will help minimize the use of derogatory and culturally-insensitive language that could cause additional harm to the people you’re reporting on.
• STAY AWAY FROM MUG SHOTS WHEN POSSIBLE: There’s a rising trend in media where outlets are running old mug shots as lead art for stories about victims of police killings. When choosing images to run with stories about Black and Brown victims of state and police violence, make every attempt to use sourced photos provided by family or that come from their social media accounts. Running an unrelated mug shot with a story contributes and uplifts the narrative that people of color are criminals and that their deaths are related to their apparent abhorrence for authority.
• Highlight their Humanity: Remember that when writing about Black and Brown victims of state violence, that their humanity should be uplifted before anything else, especially unrelated criminal activity, police records or other information linked to the criminal justice system. Include the voices of family, friends, loved one and community members along with other necessary facts needed to tell a balanced story.

Understanding the cultural landscape and knowing the risk

When writing about victims of state and police violence, it is imperative that reporters take time to learn about the history of police in their particular communities and the nation’s history of police engagement with Black and Brown people.

• Know when the police department you’re writing about was founded
• Know the race and gender demographics of the department
• Know the race and class demographics of the communities those officers serve (Do the officers in that community REFLECT the community?)
• Research prior instances of similar acts and violence in the department
• Research the police department’s rules of engagement and statues for use of excessive force

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We are hurting here at Race Forward, as we grieve for the victims of the massacre at Orlando LGBT Pulse nightclub on Latinx-themed night. As we learn more about those victims—their names and stories—we send so much love to their families and communities.

We are enraged and saddened by this deadly attack on queer people of color. Targeting people for punishment based on their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity cannot be tolerated. We must also resist attempts to incite Islamophobia and other moves toward hate and fear, which can lead to further violence targeting communities of color. As we seek a way forward, it has never felt more important to be an organization that recognizes the ways in which race works with other systems of oppression, what we refer to as "race and." 

Thus, as the nation debates causes and solutions, we will be working to understand all of the dynamics at play. Naming these will undoubtedly lead us to race, but also to gender, sexuality, religion, militarism, and class. No single or simple solution will suffice to prevent such tragedies in the future. Only a complex, systematic, thorough approach to violence holds a chance at ensuring that this kind of massacre becomes something that used to happen, rather than a daily part of American life. 

We are an organization representing people of many races, nationalities, sexual, and gender identities and faith traditions. Together, we renew our pledge to fight hateful rhetoric and violence, whether they appear in the words and actions of individuals or those of our cultural, legal, educational, military, economic, or civic systems. 

As we work for fair, systemic solutions, it is critical that racial justice activists set a national example by refusing to pit communities against each other, refusing to continue criminalizing people of color, refusing to extend the reach of discrimination any further into our collective future. As the days unfold, you can find our thinking and other resources at Colorlines.com and RaceForward.org. 

With love and solidarity,
Race Forward

Recent Colorlines coverage (ongoing at Colorlines.com):

• When the One Place That Feels Like Home is Invaded
• What You Need to Know About the Orlando Massacre, the Latinx LGBTQ Community and Islamophobia
• The Hypocrisy of America's Hatred in 7 Tweets

Organizations serving LGBTQ people of color:

• Familia http://www.familiatqlm.org
• El/la Para Translatinas http://ellaparatranslatinas.yolasite.com/
• Maricon Collective http://mariconcollective.storenvy.com/
• Southerners On New Ground http://southernersonnewground.org/
• Audre Lorde Project http://alp.org/
• Sylvia Rivera Project http://srlp.org/
• MASGD http://www.muslimalliance.org/
• BreakOUT http://www.youthbreakout.org/
• National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) http://www.nqapia.org/wpp/
• National Black Justice Coalition http://nbjc.org/
• Transgender Law Center http://transgenderlawcenter.org/

*****Rest in Power*****

• Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34
• Stanley Almodovar III, 23
• Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20
• Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22
• Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36
• Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22
• Luis S. Vielma, 22
• KJ Morris, 37
• Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30
• Darryl Roman Burt II, 29
• Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32
• Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
• Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25
• Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35
• Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50
• Amanda Alvear, 25
• Martin Benitez Torres, 33
• Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37
• Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26
• Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35
• Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25
• Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31
• Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26
• Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25
• Miguel Angel Honorato, 30
• Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40
• Luis Daniel Conde, 39
• Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33
• Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25
• Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32
• Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19
• Cory James Connell, 21
• Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37
• Darryl Roman Burt II, 29
• Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32
• Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21
• Jerald Arthur Wright, 31
• Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25
• Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25
• Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24
• Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27
• Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33
• Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49
• Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24
• Christopher “Drew” Leinonen, 32
• Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28
• Frank Hernandez Escalante, 27
• Paul Terrell Henry, 41
• Akyra Monet Murray, 18
• Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24
• Antonio Davon Brown, 29
• Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Rebekah Spicuglia
[email protected]

ANNOUNCING FACING RACE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: ROXANE GAY AND JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS
Early Bird Registrations and Group Discounts Available for a Limited Time

March 17, 2016 (New York, NY) --- Race Forward: The Center For Racial Justice Innovation is pleased to announce its keynote speakers for this year’s Facing Race will be Roxane Gay and Jose Antonio Vargas. Facing Race: A National Conference is presented by Race Forward and will be held in Atlanta, GA November 10-12, 2016. Early bird registrations and group discounts are available for a limited time. For more information or to register for Facing Race, visit facingrace.raceforward.org.

This is the first Facing Race conference to feature two keynote presentations, an exciting opportunity to highlight even more of the culture and politics of the racial justice movement. Roxane Gay -- writer, professor, editor, commentator, and author of “Bad Feminist” -- will serve as keynote speaker on Friday, November 11th. Jose Antonio Vargas -- Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker, and founder of Define American -- will serve as keynote speaker on Saturday, November 12th.

Held two days after the national presidential election, Facing Race will present one of the first post-election opportunities to strategize and organize around issues key to communities of color. Early bird registrations are available on a first come, first served basis and provide a 15% discount off conference admission with code EarlybirdFR16; the discount is automatically applied by clicking here to register, or through the Facing Race site. A limited number of group discounts are available for groups of 5 or more that may offer deeper discounts than registering individually with Early Bird. Please contact [email protected] for pricing.

Since Facing Race was created in 2004, Race Forward has located the national conference in cities around the country, working together with local racial justice leaders to lift up regional history and current challenges faced by communities of color. Presenting Facing Race 2016 in Atlanta, a historic epicenter for racial justice work regionally and nationally, will highlight the powerful legacy of organizing and justice-oriented work of Atlanta and the South, which has activated change on a national level for decades. The Facing Race conference will offer unprecedented access to information and resources on racial equity, exchanging best practices, innovative models and successful policy and organizing initiatives.

For more information or to register for Facing Race, visit facingrace.raceforward.org, or follow on Facebook and Twitter with #FacingRace16. For press passes to the conference, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT: Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

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• Cleaner, modernized design with more engaging look and improved readability
• Simpler navigation, and enhanced search functionality to quickly find news items and browse archive of over 15,000 articles
• Increased optimization for desktops, tablets, and mobile devices
• Improved display of photos, video, artwork, and other multimedia content
• Enhanced opportunities for community engagement via sharing and commenting on news articles

[email protected]

November 13, 2015 (New York, NY) - Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation is pleased to announce the opening of registration and call for proposals for its 2016 Facing Race: A National Conference. Facing Race is the largest multiracial, inter-generational gathering for organizers, educators, and creatives in the country. In 2016, the conference will come to Atlanta, GA on November 10-12––just one week after the presidential election, giving attendees one of the first post-election opportunities to strategize and organize around issues key to our communities.

Facing Race is a multidisciplinary conference that coordinates closely with local community where the conference is held, while engaging individuals and organizations across the country, to offer resources on racial equity, best practices, and innovative models for successful policy and organizing initiatives. Facing Race takes place once every two years in cities around the country.

“This gathering provides a critical space for racial justice movement making, with people from all walks of life,” said Race Forward Executive Director and Publisher of Colorlines, Rinku Sen. “The last Facing Race, in 2014, was Race Forward’s largest ever, with over 1600 attendees, from 7 different countries. Our 2016 conference is expected to be even bigger, given the critical role that race is rightfully playing in our national discourse.”

In addition to inspiring keynote speakers, film screenings, and networking opportunities, Facing Race will present over 50 panels and breakout sessions on a wide array of key issues through the lens of organizing & advocacy, research & policy, and arts & media. The deadline to submit a proposal to lead one of these community driven sessions is January 21, 2016. Videos of past Facing Race keynote and plenary presentations can be found here.

Ticket prices are at the same as 2014 levels to ensure that as many people as possible can attend. Early bird registration discounts of 15% will be offered thru February 1, 2016. The earlybird discount code and information on group discounts can be found at facingrace.raceforward.org.

Facing Race is possible because of generous support from sponsors, who are acknowledged throughout the conference, and receive complimentary tickets and advertising opportunities. For more information, contact [email protected]. There will also be opportunities for vendors as well.

Press are encouraged to attend, with variety of resources offered, including interviews with keynote and plenary speakers. To apply for a press pass, or for any other media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

For more information or to register for Facing Race, visit https://facingrace.raceforward.org/.

ABOUT: Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

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[email protected]

Tool Serves Journalists and Thought Leaders in Discussions of Race and Racism

July 2, 2015 (New York, NY) – Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation is excited to announce its new Race Reporting Guide, an accessible and concise tool for journalists and thought leaders in the United States discussing about race, racism, and racial justice in the media. Race Forward’s Race Reporting Guide aims to provide critical support for the use of responsible language and story framing that reflects ethical and rigorous journalistic standards and affirms the dignity and human rights of people of all races.

“Recent events demonstrate it is necessary to address racial bias. In our Moving the Race Conversation Forward report, we found that most media coverage is not ‘systemically aware.’ This guide is another tool to help us reframe our conversations on race,” said Race Forward President Rinku Sen.

“Our Race Reporting Guide was met with great excitement when we released it at the 2015 Allied Media Conference,” said Senior Communications Manager Rebekah Spicuglia. “We invite journalists and media-makers to consider Race Forward a resource in story-development, experts available, and talking about race in the media.”

The purpose of the Race Reporting Guide is to provide important context and guidelines to inform reporting and language, and to encourage more conversation and understanding around race and racism. The guide includes:

• Guidelines for covering key issues with a racial lens
• Reporting on specific racial and ethnic groups
• Harmful racial discourse practices to avoid
• Key terms and concepts
• Online resources

Race Forward’s Race Reporting Guide will be regularly updated and is available for download at https://www.raceforward.org/reporting-guide. For more information, please contact [email protected].

It would take nearly 100 years and a Civil War for the ideals of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," words permanently ensconced in The Declaration of Independence, to even begin to apply to Black people in this country. The work of making sure those words are not applicable to some, yet hollow to others, continues. But recent Supreme Court decisions in health care (King v. Burwell), housing discrimination (Texas Department of Housing v. Inclusive Communities Project), and same-sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges) mean those who have been marginalized in our nation’s history have a little more life, a little more liberty, and can more fully engage in their pursuit of happiness. Race Forward celebrates these victories, and underscores their impact on people of color, while acknowledging there remains work to be done.

Today, there is a little more "Life" because subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, subsidies crucial for the poor and people of color, have been upheld. Fewer people will struggle with the consequences of not having health insurance.

Today, there is a little more "Liberty" because disparate impact claims are still permissible under the Fair Housing Act, a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. People of color can challenge the subtle, yet equally harmful discrimination in housing where the "intent" to discriminate isn’t clearly stated.

Today, more people can continue their "Pursuit of Happiness." Same-sex couples can be married and have those marriages recognized in all 50 states. This ruling is important to the lives of many members of this community, a community as diverse and colorful as the flag that symbolizes it.

Efforts to dismantle injustice and systemic racism will continue — they must, and we remain committed to that work. We join with other organizations to make sure disparate impact is not impossible to prove given the limits of this ruling. We join with other organizations in thwarting legislative challenges to affordable health care. We join with other organizations in addressing the many remaining issues that impact people of color within the LBGTQ community.

So we pause, we celebrate, and we continue the work until we have created a vibrant world in which people of all races create, share and enjoy resources equitably.

Rinku Sen
Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation

There is a universal truth and that truth is: we all desire to be safe.  And no place is that desire more deeply held than in a place of reverence, a place of worship. That is why Race Forward joins the Charleston community and the nation in condemning the horrific murder of 9 churchgoers at Emanuel A.M.E. Church on Wednesday night. We offer our deepest condolences to all impacted directly and indirectly.

Unfortunately, racism is something that people of color live with every day. Whether we want to admit it or not, racism is deeply woven into the fabric of this country. There are times in our history, however, when racism and hate rise to such a fever pitch that it cannot be explained away, it cannot be conveniently disguised, it cannot be ignored. This is one of those times. 

As we struggle in the days and weeks to explain this unspeakable action, let us collectively resist the desire to dismiss the actions of the shooter in Charleston as “extreme acts of a deranged gunman.” Instead, let's ask questions about our collective responsibility to prevent incidents like this, about the role of our institutions in upholding discrimination, whether deliberate or not, and about the impact of our collective decisions.  Let's ask the questions that will affirm the universal need - and indeed the right - for all people to feel safe. Let's ask the questions that result in finding solutions. 

Rinku Sen

Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation

[email protected]

“Clocking-In” Features Statistics, Stories, and Solutions for Restaurant, Retail, and Domestic Industries

June 15, 2015 (New York, NY) – Race Forward today announced the launch of “Clocking-In,” an interactive, multimedia tool that highlights racial and gender inequities in the restaurant, retail, and domestic industries. Based on the real life experiences of workers across the United States, “Clocking-In” brings data, stories, and resources to support the collective action for fair treatment at work. “Clocking-In” (clockingin.raceforward.org) was produced by Race Forward in partnership with Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), Retail Action Project (RWDSU), and National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA).

Race Forward’s “Clocking-In” project shows how people of color and women make up the majority of the low-wage workforce in restaurant, retail, and domestic industries and are disproportionately affected by unfair policies and practices related to wages, hours, mobility, and benefits.

“People of color and women are hit the hardest when they clock into service jobs that don’t allow them to provide for their families,” said Race Forward President Rinku Sen. “These unfair results are often a direct result of implicit racial and gender bias, not a natural consequence or a necessary by-product of capitalism. This needs to be addressed by employers, policy makers, consumers, as well as workers. We have the power to collectively create good jobs for all workers by supporting fair work practices.”

“Clocking-In” provides:

• Data showing racial and gender breakdown of income, poverty levels, and job types from 1980-2012.
• Examples that show how workers from the restaurant, retail, and domestic sectors who are denied living wages, full benefits, fair schedules, opportunities for advancement are harmed.
• Action & Resources to end workplace discrimination, ways for workers to get engaged and know their rights, and for consumers to support worker campaigns and take action in their daily lives.

Solutions for racial and gender equity in the workplace are included throughout the "Clocking-In" site and include:

• Connecting with workers’ organizations ROC United, Retail Action Project, and NDWA to learn about workers' rights, share stories, and advocate for fair treatment at work.
• Campaigns for increases in minimum wage, paid sick days, pay equity, protections from discrimination, workers’ rights to organize, removing barriers to unionization.
• Consumer support of ethical businesses that treat workers fairly, noticing workers and working conditions, and bringing potential problems or good practices to the manager’s attention.
• Sharing “Clocking-In” tool far and wide to raise awareness of racial and gender inequities in the workplace and advance solutions.

Ariel Jacobson, ROC, said, “Clocking-In turns years of ROC's research into a visually engaging and informative experience that we hope will help folks understand how discrimination rears its head throughout the restaurant industry, and ultimately empower restaurant workers to take action, speak up for fair treatment, and reach out to supportive organizations.”

Alicia Garza, NDWA, said, “Clocking-In is an important tool that shows how millions of domestic workers, mostly women of color and immigrant women, are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, yet also chronicles what can happen when workers come together to change their conditions. In a world increasingly dependent on technology, this is also a tool that workers can use to empower themselves to advocate on their own behalf.”

Darrah Sipe, said, "The Retail Action Project (RWDSU) is proud to partner with Race Forward on this groundbreaking initiative that will educate and agitate communities around the multiple forms of discrimination that retail workers face on the shop floor and beyond. By combining workers' voices, data analysis, and concrete action plans, Clocking-In provides unique means of engaging worker and ally audiences in the struggle for justice in the retail industry."

Race Forward’s “Clocking-In” website is clockingin.raceforward.org, and there is a supporting Tumblr clockinginraceforward-blog.tumblr.com for workers to submit their experiences, share success, and upload photos. On Tuesday June 23rd, Race Forward will host a Google Hangout with partner organizations ROC, RAP, and NDWA to introduce #ClockingIn, how to navigate the site, and discuss why the tool is important. There will also be ongoing Facebook and Twitter engagement with @raceforward and hashtag #clockingin, with a Twitter chat the week of July 6th.

For more information or for interview, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT: Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

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The conversation on race in our country is changing. Once a subject left to be discussed by civil rights leaders, organizers and a few non-profits, race is now a topic for many. Names like Renisha McBride, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and so many more have led to widespread conversations on race. The numerous anniversaries marking milestones of the Civil Rights Movement and, yes, that the President IS Black also factor in to discussions about the role race and racism play in our society.

Yesterday we saw a relatively new entrant into the discussion: Starbucks, in a partnership with USA Today. Starbucks has committed to socially conscious practices in the past including hiring vets, banning open weapons in their stores, and supporting gay marriage. A public dialog on race is new for Starbucks. While we applaud Starbucks for their effort to engage a topic that many seek to avoid, and while their efforts seem well intentioned, we, as a national racial justice organization, with a name similar to the hashtag used in the campaign feel compelled to say: As a nation, we need more.

Race Forward is unique in the racial justice world. While many organizations focus on the needs of a particular group, we are a multiracial organization that considers how race intersects with many different factors, including economic status, sexual orientation, and gender; we address race in many issue areas including employment, education and police brutality, to name a few. We also publish Colorlines, a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning investigative reporting and news analysis. We produce cutting edge, original research on pressing racial justice issues. We present trainings that offer to help individuals and organizations identify solutions to systemic racism. Finally, we produce Facing Race, a biennial conference that is the largest multiracial, multi-issue gathering of racial justice advocates in the country.

Effective conversations on race are grounded in the understanding that racial discrimination isn’t just, or even mostly, about what happens among individuals. It is about what happens as a result of systems. For example, if we consider that Ferguson was about an altercation between an unarmed teen and a police officer, we miss the opportunity to consider the entire picture. If, instead, we understand the shooting of Michael Brown as a result of a pattern of racially biased practices by law enforcement and the municipality of Ferguson, then we can identify policies and practices that truly change relations between residents and police. As we uncover in our report, “Moving the Race Conversation Forward”, too often our national discourse forces us to focus on individual issues. The result? We remain stuck in a circular discussion that generally consists of accusation and defense, with few solutions to be found.

We agree with Starbucks and USA Today that conversations about race can be constructive and rewarding, and that they are necessary. But just any old conversation won’t do.  A conversation that leads to something other than frustration requires preparation, a systems analysis, and potential solutions that reach beyond changing individual mindsets or behavior. We have to address the rules that govern our institutions and shape our lives -- many of which appear to be race-neutral in their intention, but are far from neutral in their impact. Luckily, Race Forward has plenty of resources for digging into exactly these issues.

I have heard some say, “Any conversation should be welcomed; even if it’s not great, it’s OK.” To that, my response is, “Communities of color have had to accept 'OK' for far too long." Just as Starbucks and USA Today strive for excellence in the way they approach coffee and journalism, those of us who are committed to racial justice are similarly committed to excellence. Communities who are the targets of racism deserve more than “OK” and our collective democratic ideals of fairness and inclusion demand more from all of us. Let us not settle for what is simply “OK” when we have full information on what can create lasting change.

If what I believe is true, that the leaders of Starbucks and USA Today really want the nation to race together, we offer the opportunity to partner with Race Forward.  There are so many things that we can do – together indeed – to move our country toward racial justice and unity. We’d be happy to discuss it over coffee, and the morning paper.

Rinku Sen

Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation            

Race Forward extends its condolences to the families and friends of Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, three Arab-Muslim students who were killed this week in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We hold Arab and Muslim communities in our thoughts, knowing well the terror that can arise in the wake of such horrific events.

We join the call for these murders to be investigated as hate crimes. Too often non-white lives are devalued; regardless of the explanation, there is no excuse. Hate does not exist in isolation, and the idea that an act cannot be a hate crime and have a triggering event must be vigorously challenged.

No matter how we might identify – Black, Hispanic, LBTGQ, Sikh, Muslim, Asian, Arab, or something else – many of our communities have experienced the feelings of fear and helplessness associated with violence rooted in racial discrimination.  It must stop.

For more on the murder of Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha and others in our communities, see the links below:

• Three Muslim Family Members Murdered in Chapel Hill 
• Guilty Verdict Returned in Renisha McBride Trial
• NYC Sikh Man Called 'Terrorist,' Run Over by Truck 
• Jordan Davis: What We've Come to Expect 
• Man Who Killed Latino For Pulling in to Wrong Drive Way Out on Bail
• Friends Raise Funds to Honor Undocumented Trans Activist After 'Suspicious' Death 
• Trayvon Martin and the Deadly Legacy of Vigilantism

Race Forward's Official Statement on the Grand Jury Decision

On August 9, 2014, a town in Missouri reminded the country and the world of the perils of being young and black. While tweeting and chanting “Black Lives Matter,” we waited and hoped that, this time, justice would be blind. That wait is now over. A grand jury has decided not to indict Darren Wilson in the killing of young Michael Brown, meaning there will be no charges, no further investigation, and no trial by the State of Missouri. Race Forward is deeply disappointed with this outcome.

The many questions that arise in the face of this decision can be boiled down to one: “What do we do now?” There are two answers:  First, we must continue to organize - in Ferguson and everywhere. The activism demanding police accountability towards communities of color has been nothing short of amazing and it must continue. To many Black people, this shooting had a recurring theme that re-ignited the emotions and indignation of millions. It is the same tragic story that spans from slavery to include Emmett Till, Tanisha Anderson, Rodney King, Trayvon Martin, Rekia Boyd, Tarika Wilson, Jordan Davis, Renisha McBride, Eric Garner and many, many more.

One way you can organize right now is by joining our allies at ColorofChange in asking the Department of Justice to step in to pursue Federal charges in the murder of Michael Brown. Click here to sign the petition.

Secondly, we must relentlessly focus on systemic racism, even while condemning the behavior of individuals. We cannot ignore the rules, both written and unwritten, that reduce Black existence to unfulfilled dreams. It is structural racism that allows the vast racial disparities between the police force and community. It is structural racism that leads to militarized policing of communities of color. It is structural racism that forces grieving parents to have to prove, and even appeal to the United Nations, that the life of their son or daughter did matter; that they did not deserve to die.

Like you, we mourn the loss of Michael Brown and so many more. We pledge to keep fighting until the system refuses to tolerate the unjustified killing of any human being. We pledge to keep fighting because Black lives matter.

Race Forward welcomes President Obama’s Executive Order taking action on the deep and urgent need for immigration relief. It is no small matter that the Order will enable millions of people to remain in the United States without fear of deportation.

The expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the relief for parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents goes a long way toward ending the separation of immigrant families that we reported in Shattered Families, our 2011 report estimating that thousands of children remain in foster care when the immigration, criminal justice and child welfare systems converge in their family’s life.

We are inspired by the enormous courage we’ve seen among the undocumented immigrants who spoke to us for that report, and who have come out over the last decade to change the course of the debate. We applaud the President for using his authority to bring justice and relief to the millions of our friends, neighbors, classmates, workers and family members whose daily lives will be positively affected by this Order.

This struggle is far from over. This Presidential action will lessen the instances of "Shattered Families,” but permanent solutions to family separation, discrimination and human rights abuses in this arena require a full overhaul of our immigration policy. We urge the White House and Congress to keep pushing in this direction, as we know communities across the nation will. 

September 16, 2014

When we issued our initial statement on September 15, we were maintaining journalistic integrity. We needed to respond to our readers, followers, donors, and supporters. And we did. However, in efforts not to legitimize attacks against our organization and colleagues that we knew were baseless, we made several mistakes:

• We did not publicly support and stand by our colleague, Aura Bogado.

• We did not clarify that multiple people at this organization were involved in writing the blog post.

• We did not reiterate the very real, fair critical question that we initially raised in our blog post— that it’s inexcusable to make money off of the death of black people.

In short, we ignored our humanity, and for that, we are sorry.

We are proud of the work we do at Colorlines and Race Forward every day, and we will continue to identify, discuss, and address racial inequities. Facing legitimate criticism, and taking responsibility, is part of that work. Sometimes we will disagree. Sometimes we will get it wrong. When we do, we are grateful to our community of supporters for criticism and feedback. We accept that this is one of those times you provided it, and we thank you.

Rinku Sen
Executive Director, Race Forward
Publisher, Colorlines

[email protected]

September 10, 2014 (New York, NY) --  Throughout 2014, Colorlines' “Life Cycles of Inequity” series explores the ways in which inequity impacts the lives of black men. Each installment focuses on a life stage or event in which that impact has been shown to be particularly profound. In the fourth installment of the series, Colorlines released today an exclusive interview and video feature, “The Hip-Hop Hustle, Then and Now.” Renowned blogger, radio host/DJ, and video producer Jay Smooth talks with the pioneering artists working against the odds to recreate that success today. With this interview and video, Colorlines presents an intimate human portrait and explains how the business of selling mix-tapes and CDs on the street evolved into a common strategy for young artists trying to make a living inside what is now a massive, global industry.

“The ‘rap CD hustlers’ New Yorkers walk by every day present a perfect microcosm of hip-hop's ever-evolving role in our culture,” said Jay Smooth. “A complex blend of art and commerce, these young people are committed to overcoming adversity on their own terms.”

Hawking their homemade CDs on street corners, these young rap artists are usually black and male, and generally viewed as a nuisance, sometimes a menace. But speak to these men firsthand and a different picture emerges, as they see few lanes open for them and are committed to working on their own terms to carve out a path toward their dreams.

“Young black artists deeply influence multibillion dollar cultural enterprise--without recognition or pay,” said Kai Wright, Colorlines Editor-at-Large.

“The Hip-Hop Hustle, Then and Now” includes:

• Exclusive interview with veteran rappers Percee P and Duo Live, who were among the first to work full-time selling their own music on the street in the early 1990s. Their work is traced directly to hip-hop's earliest traditions of "doing for self." While sharing misgivings about how the "CD hustle" has evolved, they take pride in having helped carve a path for young artists committed to working on their own to reach their dreams.
• Day-in-the-Life Video following rapper/producer Ryan Riggs and his "Rise Young" crew, showing the human story behind the "CD hustlers" that New Yorkers brush past every day. As fame and fortune prove elusive, and they find both society and the music industry's doors closed to them as young black males, Riggs leads a collective of artists that gather everyday in his Canarsie, Brooklyn basement studio, trying to eke out a future by selling homemade CDs.

Hip-hop is not the only place young black artists are trying to make a living, while finding their style, dance and sound appropriated by mainstream performers. Colorlines will also be publishing a photo essay tomorrow, excerpted from photographer Gerard Gaskin's recent book, "Legendary: Inside the House Ballroom Scene,” which chronicles the New York City ballroom scene, with intimate portraits that span decades. From Madonna's 1990 "Vogue" to the Scissor Sisters' 2012 "Let's Have a Kiki," Top 40 performers have consistently mined the house ballroom scene of black and Latino LGBTQ communities around the country for inspiration.

Previous installments in this series highlighted:

• EDUCATION - High schoolers experiencing implicit bias in the Classroom, an investigation into disability and the school-to-prison pipeline, and stats on how kids with disabilities are entering the criminal justice system.

• EMPLOYMENT - Job market for recent high school graduates and the lifelong impact of unemployment faced by black men, young men looking for work in Philadelphia, and an online discussion of black men and unemployment.

• CRIMINAL JUSTICE - Investigation into impact of violence on communities and the way crime victim funds leave black men behind, interviews with men formerly incarcerated in Angola state penitentiary, and an online discussion of the aftermath of gun violence.
  

The video for “The Hip-Hop Hustle, Then and Now” was produced by Jay Smooth and André Robert Lee, award-winning documentary filmmaker. As veteran reporters, analysts and chroniclers of the black male experience, they bring together different vantages over decades together in a unique collaboration. For interviews or more information, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT COLORLINES
Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning investigative reporting and news analysis. Colorlines is published by Race Forward, a national organization that advances racial justice through research, media and practice.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Rebekah Spicuglia
[email protected]
646-490-2772

Race Forward Announces Workshops for Facing Race National Conference
Program Tracks Focus on Arts & Culture, Activism, Research & Policy

September 2, 2014 (New York, NY) – Race Forward: The Center For Racial Justice Innovation today announced the program and workshop content for Facing Race: A National Conference, to be held in Dallas, TX, November 13-15, 2014. More than 60 workshops will be presented over two days, on a wide range of issues: the economy, housing, reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, education, health care, immigration, criminal justice, faith communities, and media. The full program and registration information can be found online at raceforward.org/facingrace.

“At Race Forward, we are intentional about race and boldly examine how race compounds and intersects with other societal issues,” said President Rinku Sen. “To fully realize our racial justice vision as a community we must be multi-racial, multi-disciplinary, multi-issue, intergenerational, and we are creating a space for that work at Facing Race.”

In a powerful intergenerational event that reflects the broad range of Facing Race attendees and individuals engaged in the racial justice movement, three generations of activists -  Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, her daughter Toshi Reagon, and granddaughter Tashawn Reagon - will keynote this year’s conference. Bernice Johnson Reagon, is a renowned scholar, singer/songleader, and activist for over half a century. Toshi is a composer, producer, founder, and leader of her own ensemble, and Tashawn is an emerging leader, facilitating dialogue on racial justice with student groups. Together, in this special appearance, the Reagons will tell a story of how art and activism help us transcend barriers - mobilizing generations and our nation toward justice.                  

Race Forward staff will be presenting a number of workshops and panels, including: “Designing Interactive Web Tools to Fight Racial Discrimination at Work,” “Reframing Stories from a Racial Justice Perspective,” “Queering Racial Justice Organizing in the South,” “The Beautiful Struggle: Towards A Multi-Faith Movement,” and Colorlines journalists on “Why Tribal Sovereignty Matters,” and “Life Cycles of Inequity: A Colorlines Series on Black Men.”

As part of an exciting and beneficial collaboration, Research and Policy Workshops including: “Implicit Bias: State of the Science and Moving From Research to Action,” “Innovation is Housing Equity for Communities of Color,” and “The Pipeline from School to Economic Opportunity,” will be presented by The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.

“The Kirwan Institute is excited to partner with Race Forward to host and participate in Facing Race’s research and policy workshops,” said Sharon Davies, President of the Kirwan Institute. “Collaborations such as this can only strengthen the racial justice field to ensure all people and communities have opportunity to succeed.”

In all, more than 40 national and grassroots organizations are represented in Facing Race’s program offerings; highlights include:

Arts, Culture & Media

• “Keeping it Unreal: Decoding Gender, Race and Reality TV — a Media Literacy Workshop” sponsored by Women in Media & News (WIMN) will be presented by Jennifer L. Pozner.

• “The End of the Open Internet and The Silencing of Racial Justice Movements” sponsored by Center for Media Justice will be presented by Steven Renderos.

• “Rainbow Warriors: Lifting Up Queer and Trans Youth Resiliency” sponsored by Forward Together and presented by Amanda Wake.

Organizing, Advocacy & Activism

• “Multiply and Mobilize: Resisting Divide and Conquer Tactics in Multiracial Work”

• “Reclaiming Government: A Dialogue about the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity and the Public Sector’s Role in Advancing Equity” sponsored by Public Works will be presented by Anika Fassia.

• “Controlling Our Bodies, Taking Our Children: The Abortion/Adoption Nexus in Conservative Politics” sponsored by Political Research Associates will be presented by T.F. Charlton and Dr. Andy Smith

Research & Policy

• “Innovating for Health Equity in Dallas” sponsored by United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and Health and Wellness Alliance for Children will be presented by Stephanie Farquhar

• “Poison Crossroads - Interventions at the Intersection of Disaster Capitalism and Environmental Racism” sponsored by Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, T.E.J.A.S. and presented by Monique Harden, Dr. Robert Bullard, Yudith Nieto

• “Opportunities under Obamacare to Tackle Racial Disparities in Health: Bringing the Fight for Access and Care to Your Home State” sponsored by Alliance for a Just Society and presented by LeeAnn Hall

Facing Race is for people from all walks of life who desire to build awareness of racial equity, identify solutions, and come together with people who share a passion for racial justice. Facing Race welcomes people of all ages, races, ethnicities, occupations, sexual orientation, gender identity, faith, and political ideology.

For more information on the conference including registration information and the full list of workshops and plenaries, please visit raceforward.org/facingrace.  Press passes may be requested by contacting [email protected].

Facing Race local funders include the Embrey Family Foundation, The Boone Family Foundation and the Dallas Women’s Foundation. National funders include the Kirwan Institute for Race and Ethnicity, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

ABOUT: Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

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En Español

PARA PUBLICACIÓN INMEDIATA
Contacto:
Rebekah Spicuglia
[email protected]
646-490-2772

Race Forward Anuncia los Talleres de la Conferencia Nacional Facing Race
Programa de talleres se centrará en Arte y Cultura, Activismo, Investigación y Política

02 de Septiembre, 2014 (New York, NY) — Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation anunció hoy en contenido de programas y talleres para Facing Race: A National Conference, que tomará lugar en Dallas, TX, 13 a 15 de Noviembre 2014. Más de 60 talleres serán presentados en dos días, en una amplia gama de temas: la economía, la vivienda, la justicia reproductiva, los derechos de gente LGBT, derechos de voto, la educación, la salud, la inmigración, la justicia penal, las comunidades religiosas y los medios de comunicación. La información completa del programa y la inscripción se puede encontrar en la red en raceforward.org/facingrace.

"En Race Forward, somos intencionales  en hablar sobre la raza y examinamos cómo las cuestiones  de raza se cruzan con otras cuestiones  sociales,” dijo la presidenta Rinku Sen. "Para realizar nuestra visión de la justicia racial para nuestra comunidad, debemos ser multi-racial, multi-disciplinarios, multi-tema, intergeneracional, y estamos creando un espacio para esta meta en Facing Race."

En un evento de gran alcance intergeneracional que refleja la amplia gama de asistentes de Facing Race que participan en el movimiento por la justicia racial, tres generaciones de activistas - Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, su hija Toshi Reagon, y nieta Tashawn Reagon - serán las oradoras principales de esta conferencia. Bernice Johnson Reagon, es una erudita de renombre, cantante, y activista durante más de medio siglo. Toshi es una compositora, productora, fundadora y líder de su propio grupo y Tashawn es una líder emergente que facilita diálogo sobre la justicia racial con grupos de estudiantes. En esta presentación especial, las Reagons contarán una historia de cómo el arte y el activismo nos ayudan a trascender las barreras - movilizando generaciones y nuestra nación hacia la justicia.

Empleados de Race Forward van a presentar una serie de talleres y paneles, incluyendo: “Designing Interactive Web Tools to Fight Racial Discrimination at Work,” “Reframing Stories from a Racial Justice Perspective,” “Queering Racial Justice Organizing in the South,” “The Beautiful Struggle: Towards A Multi-Faith Movement,” y perdiodistas de Colorlines sobre “Why Tribal Sovereignty Matters,” y “Life Cycles of Inequity: A Colorlines Series on Black Men.”

Como parte de una colaboración emocionante y beneficiosa, los talleres de ‘Research and Policy’ incluyendo: “Implicit Bias: State of the Science and Moving From Research to Action,” “Innovation is Housing Equity for Communities of Color,” y “The Pipeline from School to Economic Opportunity,” serán presentadas por el Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.

“El Kirwan Institute está encantados de asociarse con Race Forward para acoger y participar en los talleres de ‘Research & Policy’ de Facing Race," dijo Sharon Davies, Presidenta del Kirwan Institute. "Colaboraciones como ésta sólo pueden fortalecer el campo de la justicia racial para garantizar que todas las personas y las comunidades tengan la oportunidad de tener éxito."

En total, más de 40 organizaciones nacionales y de base están representadas en las ofertas del programa; algunos de los talleres incluyen:

Arts, Culture & Media

• “Keeping it Unreal: Decoding Gender, Race and Reality TV — a Media Literacy Workshop” patrocinado por Women in Media & News (WIMN) será presentado por Jennifer L. Pozner.

• “The End of the Open Internet and The Silencing of Racial Justice Movements” patrocinado por Center for Media Justice será presentado por Steven Renderos.

• “Rainbow Warriors: Lifting Up Queer and Trans Youth Resiliency” patrocinado por Forward Together y será presentado por Amanda Wake.

Organizing, Advocacy & Activism

• “Multiply and Mobilize: Resisting Divide and Conquer Tactics in Multiracial Work”

• “Reclaiming Government: A Dialogue about the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity and the Public Sector’s Role in Advancing Equity” patrocinado por Public Works será presentado por Anika Fassia.

• “Controlling Our Bodies, Taking Our Children: The Abortion/Adoption Nexus in Conservative Politics” patrocinado por Political Research Associates será presentado por T.F. Charlton y Dr. Andy Smith

Research & Policy

• “Innovating for Health Equity in Dallas” patrocinado por United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and Health y Wellness Alliance for Children será presentado por Stephanie Farquhar

• “Poison Crossroads - Interventions at the Intersection of Disaster Capitalism and Environmental Racism” patrocinado por Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, T.E.J.A.S. y presentado por Monique Harden, Dr. Robert Bullard e Yudith Nieto

• “Opportunities under Obamacare to Tackle Racial Disparities in Health: Bringing the Fight for Access and Care to Your Home State” patrocinado por Alliance for a Just Society y será presentado por LeeAnn Hall

Facing Race: Una Conferencia Nacional será  presentada por Race Forward y tomará lugar en Dallas, TX, 13 a 15 de Noviembre 2014. Facing Race es para personas de todos caminos de la vida que abogan por la igualdad  racial, quienes quieren identificar soluciones y reunirse con personas que comparten una pasión por la justicia racial. Facing Race invita a personas de todas las edades, razas, grupos étnicos, ocupaciones, orientaciónes sexual, identidades de género, la fe y la ideología política.

Para obtener más información sobre la conferencia que incluye información de registro y la lista completa de los talleres y plenarias, por favor visite raceforward.org/facingrace. Los pases de prensa se pueden solicitar poniéndose en contacto con [email protected].

Financiadores locales de Facing Race incluyen Embrey Family Foundation, The Boone Family Foundation y Dallas Women’s Foundation. Patrocinadores nacionales incluyen el Kirwan Institute for Race and Ethnicity, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, y Annie E. Casey Foundation.

ACERCA DE: Race Forward es una organización que avanza la justicia racial a través de la investigación, los medios de comunicación y la práctica. Fundada en 1981, Race Forward trae el análisis sistémico y un enfoque innovador para temas y complejos raciales para ayudar a personas tomar... hacia la igualdad  racial. Race Forward publica Colorlines, el sitio de noticias diarias  y presenta Facing Race, la conferencia más multirracial del país en la justicia racial.

[email protected]

August 4, 2014 (New York, NY) – In the third installment of its investigative series “Life Cycles of Inequity,” Colorlines released today an unprecedented investigation into crime victims funds and how they under-serve those who are among those most likely to be victims of violent crime – young black men. “Criminals, Victims, and the Black Men Left Behind,” authored by Carla Murphy and reported in partnership with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute, raises profound questions about who's considered a "victim" – and what consequences society pays for that narrow definition.  

The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984 established an $11 billion fund to support victims by providing services and compensation necessary in the aftermath of violent crime. This federal program is active in 50 states, and many states have their own programs as well. However, victims are often barred from receiving compensation because they are not deemed “innocent,” and local community groups often don’t know this money exists, leaving victims, their families, and communities shouldering the financial and psychological costs of crime.

“The biases that exist around black men lead people to think of them first and foremost as perpetrators,” said Kai Wright, Colorlines Editor-at-Large. “Law enforcement should not be the arbiter of who's a victim.”

The investigation is set in Chicago, with its now infamous rate of gun violence, as a case study in the larger problem. In one of the hospitals Murphy looked at, 80% of gunshot victims returned home, still requiring a range of after-care services that they couldn't afford and financial support as they recover and get back to work. Currently, the nation’s victim compensation programs reimburse under 3 percent of crime victims, and Illinois is one of the least generous. Still, some say the biggest failure of these funds may lie in the near absence of funding for community groups that could provide counseling and support to heal and to interrupt violence and retaliations.

Murphy’s year-long investigation of this issue included substantive research on the collection and distribution of crime victim funds; a review of the history of the victim's rights movement; and interviews with service providers, community groups youth, clergy, doctors, social workers, academics, lawyers, Department of Justice, agencies that help decide how the funds are distributed -- and of course victims, parents of victims, direct service victim advocates (some of whom have been in the field for 20-30 years, since the founding of law that provides these funds), and people working for policy change.

As part of this third installment of “Life Cycles of Inequity,” which looks at the relationship between black men, crime and justice, filmmaker André Robert Lee produced “Out of Prison, but Not Free.” The video features men formerly incarcerated in Louisiana's infamous Angola state penitentiary, discussing the challenges of reentering society with their families, lovers, friends and coworkers. This video is critical to a discussion on those impacted by the criminal justice system because Louisiana incarcerates a greater share of its residents than any government in the world, and nearly one in seven black men in the state are either in prison or on parole or probation.

An online discussion will be held on Twitter Tuesday, August 5th at 1:00pmET. Community members will share their personal stories and solutions--both personal and systemic--with Colorlines’ 58,600 followers, led by Colorlines (@colorlines), using hashtag #livesofblackmen.

Throughout 2014, Colorlines' "Life Cycles of Inequity" series will focus upon on a life stage or event that for black men in the United States is uniquely confined by broad, societal inequities. We began with high school boys—Trayvon Martin’s peers—and we will conclude with the early mortality that takes too many of our fathers, uncles and partners in their middle ages. Previous installments in the series include:

• Race, Disability and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

• Navigating Implicit Bias in the Classroom [Video]

• From Disability to Criminality [Infographic]

• A Day in the Shop [Photos]

• Why Young, Black Men Can't Work

• ‘I Can’t Be Boxed In’ [Video]

ABOUT COLORLINES
Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning investigative reporting and news analysis. Colorlines is published by Race Forward, a national organization that advances racial justice through research, media and practice.

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[email protected]

New Investigation, Video, and Photo Essay from Colorlines “Life Cycles of Inequity” Series

June 26, 2014 (New York, NY) – In the second installment of “Life Cycles of Inequity: A Series on Black Men,” Colorlines explores the inequities that have helped create dramatic unemployment numbers among young black men. Through an investigative article, video feature, and photo essay, the series looks at the impact that inequity in employment has had on black men and black families overall.

“Black and white men who enter the workforce without college degrees face strikingly different realities--and that disparity has long term consequences that not only shape the lives of black men but help fuel the ongoing rise in poverty among black families,” said Kai Wright, series editor and Colorlines Editor-at-Large.

Nearly a fifth of high school graduates aged 17 to 20 today are neither employed nor in further schooling. When sorted by gender, the rate climbs higher still; the non-college educated workforce is deeply gendered, and the jobs available to men are the most vulnerable to recessions. Wright’s investigation follows Dorian Moody, a 21-year-old New Jersey native whose own job search reveals the disparities that shape the labor market, locking black men out of the higher wage, skilled jobs that can make the difference between poverty and middle class for people without college degrees. Research shows that the earnings of Dorian and his peers are likely to be depressed throughout their careers, intensifying the poverty that is rapidly growing among black families.

The Colorlines series also includes two multimedia pieces:

• Video feature on young black men in Philadelphia trying to start their professional lives. Produced by filmmaker Andre Robert Lee.

• Photo essay documenting the efforts of young black men in Newark who are training for the kinds of high wage, skilled labor jobs of which they’re often boxed out. Produced by Colorlines News Editor Aura Bogado.

“We are proud of the work of Colorlines. The Life Cycles of Inequity series, like all of the work we engage in at Race Forward, highlights significant structural factors that contribute to inequity,” said Rinku Sen, Executive Director of Race Forward.

“Life Cycles of Inequity” challenges conventional wisdom which holds that black men have held themselves back, pointing to research that shows white men with similar backgrounds are employed at far higher rates, making far higher wages. Inequities in the labor force stretch back generations, and the consequences of this inequity are likely to stretch forward generations as well.

An online discussion about the inequity in unemployment and its impact on black men and families will be held on Twitter Monday, June 30, at 1:30pmET. Community members will share their personal stories and solutions--both personal and systemic--with Colorlines’ 58,600 followers, led by Colorlines (@colorlines), using hashtag #livesofblackmen.

“Life Cycles of Inequity: A Series on Black Men” is a monthly series that explores how injustice shapes the lives of black men, from birth to death, using short films, investigative journalism, and infographics to illustrate the issues. The first installment of "Life Cycles of Inequity: A Series on Black Men" looked at implicit bias in education. For interviews or more information, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT COLORLINES

Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning investigative reporting and news analysis. Colorlines is published by Race Forward, a national organization that advances racial justice through research, media and practice.

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[email protected]

June 4, 2014 (New York, NY) – Race Forward: The Center For Racial Justice Innovation is pleased to announce that keynote speakers for this year’s Facing Race National Conference will be Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon and Toshi Reagon. Facing Race: A National Conference is presented by Race Forward and will be held in Dallas, Texas, November 13-15, 2014. This year’s location will allow Facing Race to focus on the unique aspects of organizing in the South and the work that has been done and is currently taking place.

Bernice Johnson Reagon, a scholar, singer/songleader, and activist for over half a century, has been a profound contributor to African American and American culture. Born in Southwest Georgia, her singing style and traditional repertoire are grounded in her experiences in church, school, and political activism. As a composer, she has created a narrative of her social and political activism through her songs and larger compositions. She performed as a member of the SNCC Freedom Singers during the sixties; founded an all women a capella ensemble, The Harambee Singers, during the Black Cultural Movement; and founded and led the internationally acclaimed Sweet Honey In The Rock for thirty years until retirement. Paralleling her work in music, Reagon is one of the leading authorities in African American Cultural History. 

Her strongest musical collaborator is her daughter, Toshi Reagon. Described as “a one-woman celebration of all that’s dynamic, progressive and uplifting in American music," Toshi is a composer, producer, founder, and leader of her own ensemble, Toshi Reagon and Big Lovely. Taking the stage at 17, singer, songwriter, guitarist Toshi Reagon moves audiences with her cross genre offerings of blues, rock, gospel, and incredible original songs. Collaboratively, these two socially conscious women artists have masterfully created two operas, “The Temptation of St Anthony” and “Zinnias: The Life of Clementine Hunter.” They also created the music scores for “Africans in America” on PBS and “BEAH: A Black Woman Speaks” for HBO, in addition to numerous studio recordings. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, Bernice Johnson Reagon and Toshi Reagon join each other on stage in live performance.

“Facing Race is an important way to stay connected to past struggles and triumphs, as we also embrace the intersections of different generations and experiences,” said Rinku Sen, President of Race Forward. “Dr. Reagon and Toshi Reagon have a story to tell that illustrates how art and activism can come together in an intergenerational setting and mobilize us all.”

For more information on the conference, visit raceforward.org/facingrace. Early bird discounted registration is available until June 30 with code “FR14Welcome.” Press passes may be requested by contacting [email protected].

ABOUT: Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Rebekah Spicuglia
[email protected]
646-490-2772

Facing Race National Conference Announces Key Speakers
Conference to be held in Dallas, TX November 13-15, 2014

May 15, 2014 (New York, NY) – In a media briefing today in Dallas, TX, national racial justice organization Race Forward announced key speakers and details for the upcoming Facing Race National Conference. Local partner Dallas Faces Race highlighted local Dallas engagement in preparation for the conference and long-term racial equity capacity building.

“Racial inequity is a national issue and occurs across the country. Our desire to create an equitable and just society unites us all beyond any local and/or regional differences we may have,” said Rinku Sen, President of Race Forward. “We appreciate our partnership with Dallas Faces Race, which has allowed us to incorporate local and regional needs, desires, and realities in the planning of our Facing Race national conference.”

Facing Race: A National Conference is presented by Race Forward and will be held in Dallas, TX, November 13 – 15, 2014. Facing Race is for people from all walks of life who desire to build awareness of racial equity, identify solutions, and come together with people who share a passion for racial justice. Facing Race welcomes people of all ages, races, ethnicities, occupations, sexual orientation, gender identity, faith, and political ideology. Announcements included:

• Key presenters:
  • Van Jones, President and Co-Founder of Rebuild the Dream, former White House advisor on green jobs, best-selling author and CNN host
  • Ai-Jen Poo, Director of the Domestic Workers Alliance, co-director of Caring Across Generations
  • Deon Haywood, Executive Director of Women With a Vision
• Conference Tracks: "Arts, Culture & Media," "Organizing, Advocacy & Activism," and "Research & Policy." Research and Policy Workshops will be presented by Race Forward in collaboration with the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity.
• Plenary Topics: "With Shifting Demographics, Will the Kids be Alright?" "Racial Justice History & Future in the South," "The Next 50." The final plenary will be presented by multiple speakers through a series of short-form presentations.
• Workshops to include the following subjects:
• Dreaming Change: Collective Visionary Storytelling Innovating for Health Equity in Dallas
• Engaging White People in Racial Justice
• The Abortion/Adoption Nexus in Conservative Politics
• Marijuana, Racism, and the Future of Reform
• Moving Foundations Toward Racial Justice Grantmaking
• The New Economy: A Long-Term Structural Reform Strategy for Racial Equity
• Moving From “Ratchet Baby Mamas” and “Thugs” Toward a Transformed Media Landscape
• Criminal Records and Employment

Race Forward will  announce this year’s keynote speaker in late May 2014. Previous keynote speakers included Junot Díaz, Melissa Harris-Perry, Sherman Alexie, Walter Mosley, Tavis Smiley.

Early bird discounted registration is available until May 31 with code “FR14Welcome.” Facing Race press passes are available as well.  Please contact Rebekah Spicuglia at [email protected] to RSVP. For more information on the conference visit facingrace.raceforward.org.

Facing Race local funders include the Embrey Family Foundation, The Boone Family Foundation and the Dallas Women’s Foundation. National funders include the Kirwan Institute for Race and Ethnicity, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

ABOUT: Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

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Life Cycles of Inequity: A Colorlines Series on Black Men
How Injustice Shapes Lives From Birth to Death

May 13, 2014 (New York, NY) – Colorlines this week released the first installment of its new "Life Cycles of Inequity: A Series on Black Men." The monthly series will explore how injustice shapes the lives of black men, from birth to death, using short films, investigative journalism, and infographics to illustrate the issues.  Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, published by Race Forward, a national racial justice organization.

“Life Cycles of Inequity” is led by Kai Wright, Colorlines Editor-at-Large; André Robert Lee, award-winning documentary filmmaker; and Jay Smooth, founder of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show and Race Forward Video & Multimedia Producer. As veteran reporters, analysts and chroniclers of the black male experience, the team brings together different vantages over decades together in a unique collaboration.

“The murders of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis reminded the nation just how fleeting life and opportunity can be for black men,” said Wright. “As remarkable new energy and activism emerge to change that reality, we seek to broaden the discussion from a singular point of violence and into the full lifecycle of inequity that shapes so many black male lives.”

The opening theme of “Life Cycles of Inequity” is implicit bias and inequity in education. Lee directed a short film on the bias high school boys face in their daily lives. Additionally Colorlines published an infographic and 4,000 word dispatch on “Race, Disability, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline" by Colorlines reporter Julianne Hing and Graphic Design Manager Erin Zipper.

The Colorlines approach with “Life Cycles of Inequity” highlights:

• Systemic problems - Beyond individual experiences of oppression and triumph, to how individuals interact with systemic inequity.
• Poverty matters – Beyond a middle class experience of the economic downturn and record-setting income inequality, to men who have been driven out of the mainstream economy.
• Life stages - From birth to death, issues range from school discipline to fatherhood, from job markets to health care access.

Colorlines' most ambitious investigative and enterprise work has been done through serial reporting and storytelling projects: "Shattered Families" unearthed the ways in which the deportation pipeline destroys immigrant homes;  "Voting Rights Watch" explored the intersection of race and democracy; and "Gender Matters" column and investigative series explored reproductive rights for women of color. "Lifecycles" will be Colorlines’ 2014 serial reporting work.

For interviews or more information, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT COLORLINES

Colorlines is a daily news site where race matters, featuring award-winning investigative reporting and news analysis. Colorlines is published by Race Forward, a national organization that advances racial justice through research, media and practice.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Rebekah Spicuglia
[email protected]
646-490-2772

NEW REPORT: Moving the Race Conversation Forward

Race Forward Research Presents Solutions for Real Race Talk 

January 22, 2014 (New York, NY) -- A new report released today by Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation aims to reshape and reform the way we talk about race and racism in our country. "Moving the Race Conversation Forward" includes a content analysis of mainstream media, an overview of harmful racial discourse practices, recommendations, five powerful case studies and profiles of five successful campaigns, and an accompanying video.

Part One of the report features a content analysis of mainstream media in 2013, finding that two-thirds of race-focused media coverage fails to consider how systemic racism factors into the story, instead typically focusing upon racial slurs and other types of personal prejudice and individual-level racism.

“We looked at nearly 1,200 articles and transcripts from the highest circulation newspapers and cable TV outlets across the country to better understand the portrait that mainstream media paints of contemporary racism,” said Race Forward research director Dominique Apollon. “The majority of coverage gives readers the impression that racism is simply a personal failing, or even worse, that racism is no longer a problem at all."

Seven harmful racial discourse practices are identified, which reinforce the common misconception that racism is simply a problem of rare, isolated, individual attitudes and actions:

• Individualizing Racism - concentration attention on thoughts or acts of personal prejudice

• Falsely Equating Incomparable Acts - drawing a parallel between an act or expression of racial bias from whites and people of color, without taking power dynamics into account, encouraging a blanket standard of “colorblindness”

• Diverting From Race - asserting that other social identities (such as class, gender, sexual orientation) are the real determining factors behind social inequity, inhibiting an understanding of compounding effects

• Portraying Government as Overreaching - depicting government efforts to promote racial equity as misguided, unnecessary, or improper

• Prioritizing (Policy) Intent over Impact - focusing on intention and far less on the daily impact on people and communities of color

• Condemning Through Coded Language - substituting racial identity with seemingly race-neutral terms

• Silencing History - omitting, dismissing, or deliberately re-writing history

Part Two of “Moving the Race Conversation Forward” provides case studies and profiles of recent interventions and initiatives advanced by the racial justice field to challenge mainstream discussions of race and racism, and the negative policy impacts that dominant frames and narratives have on people of color. They include: Drop the I-Word, Migration is Beautiful, ALEC on the Run, Fruitvale Station, and Ending the Schoolhouse-to-Jailhouse Track.

The accompanying video, produced by Jay Smooth, breaks down the report in engaging, accessible ways. Smooth is the founder of New York's longest running hip-hop radio show, WBAI's Underground Railroad, and Race Forward Video & Multimedia Producer.

Race Forward Executive Director Rinku Sen and Research Director Dom Apollon are available for interview. For media requests or more information, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT RACE FORWARD

Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Race Forward was formerly known as the Applied Research Center.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Rebekah Spicuglia
[email protected]
646-490-2772

Facing Race National Conference Opens Registration for 2014

Largest Racial Justice Conference to be held in Dallas TX

November 12, 2013 (New York, NY) - Facing Race: A National Conference today opened registration for the next conference to be held in Dallas, Texas on November 13-15, 2014. A unique collaborative space for racial justice movement-making, Facing Race is the largest multiracial, inter-generational gathering for organizers, educators, and creatives in the country. Facing Race is presented by Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation, formerly the Applied Research Center.

Created in 2004, Facing Race has a mission to Define Justice and Make Change, with a focus on political and cultural strategy. A national conference held in cities across the country - New York, Oakland, Chicago, Berkeley, Baltimore - this is the seventh Facing Race and the first to be held in the South. Following tradition, the 2014 conference will coordinate with the local community to offer unprecedented access to information and resources on racial equity, exchanging best practices, innovative models and successful policy and organizing initiatives.

“There is a growing racial justice movement in the South,” said Race Forward President Rinku Sen. “Our Facing Race National Conference is known as the place to be for conversations about race and racism. That place is in Dallas November 2014.”

An array of local organizations and initiatives are engaged in innovative and intersectional work across the South, explicitly addressing race to build multi-racial cohesion and power; and creatively using the arts to elevate the voices of people of color. An example is Dallas Faces Race, an independent local initiative working with nonprofits to build their racial equity capacity and collaborate to make change.

Race Forward, formerly the Applied Research Center, recently rebranded to highlight the urgency of paving the way forward to racial justice and having an explicit dialogue on race. Facing Race is a multidisciplinary conference featuring:

• Inspiring keynotes, presenters and networking opportunities.

• Dozens of panels, film screenings, and breakout sessions on racial justice organizing, skill building, research, policy, arts, culture, media.

• Key issues such as the economy, reproductive justice, LGBT movement, faith, voting rights, health care, immigration, criminal justice, and faith communities.

Previous Facing Race speakers include Junot Diaz, Melissa Harris Perry, Janet Mock, Van Jones, Jose Antonio Vargas,  W. Kamau Bell, Winona Laduke, and FCC Commissioner Clyburn. Videos of past Facing Race keynote and plenary presentations can be found here.

For more information or to register for Facing Race, visit https://facingrace.raceforward.org/. For press passes, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT RACE FORWARD

Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Race Forward was formerly known as the Applied Research Center.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Rebekah Spicuglia
[email protected]
646-490-2772

APPLIED RESEARCH CENTER REBRANDS AS RACE FORWARD

National Racial Justice Organization Urges Explicit Dialogue on Race

November 6, 2013 -- The Applied Research Center today rebranded itself as Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation. The new name highlights the centrality of addressing race and the urgency of paving the way forward to racial justice. A conference call will be held at 4pmET today addressing the rebrand and why being explicit about race matters.

A recognized leader in the field, Race Forward is known for its systemic analysis and innovative approach to complex race issues that addresses:

• The impact of individual acts of racial discrimination within a deeper analysis of systemic racial injustice.

• How race compounds and intersects with other societal issues

• The consequences of unconscious racial bias.

Recent attempts to undo civil rights gains of the 20th century are compounded with a “post-racial” colorblind approach to race that popularizes the notion that racial disparities and discrimination will simply go away as demographics change. Race Forward highlights the impact of unconscious bias in perpetuating racial injustice, while moving the conversation beyond anti-racism and diversity, towards racial justice: the systematic fair treatment of people of all races that results in equal opportunities and outcomes for all.

“Now is the time to Race Forward. We advance racial justice every day, taking action for the challenges that lie ahead," said Race Forward President Rinku Sen. “Racial justice benefits all people.”

Race Forward’s areas of work are in research, media, and practice, with notable recent achievements:

• Drop the I-Word campaign that led to Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times and others dropping the word “illegal” to describe immigrants

• Shattered Families report, which provided ground-breaking national data on parental deportations and child welfare.

• Facing Race: A National Conference trending nationally on Twitter

• Colorlines: our daily news site reaches a million readers in a month

Registration for Race Forward’s biennial Facing Race conference will open on November 12. For more information about Race Forward, media inquiries, or to RSVP for the conference call scheduled at 4pmET on November 6, contact [email protected].

ABOUT RACE FORWARD

Race Forward advances racial justice through research, media and practice. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country’s largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

Race Forward was formerly known as the Applied Research Center.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rebekah Spicuglia
[email protected]

July 31, 2013 (Washington, DC) — The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) and the Applied Research Center (ARC) released today a comprehensive guide for researchers, think tanks, and policymakers on how to best document and report on the diversity, challenges and needs of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) communities.

Although AA & NHPIs are the fastest growing racial groups in the nation, most research and data oversimplify the ethnically and socioeconomically diverse communities and perpetuate the “model minority” myth. The 20.3 million AA & NHPIs in the United States face varying challenges and needs related to education, health care, discrimination and economic security. With accurate, disaggregated data on AA & NHPI communities, we can ensure that policies and programs include and reflect the needs of all communities.

“Best Practices: Researching Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders” is geared towards researchers, governmental agencies, philanthropic institutions and community groups. The guide details research gaps, tips for working with data, common pitfalls and best practices for conducting research including recommendations for engaging with community members.

“Often, AA & NHPI communities are painted with a broad brush in terms of research and data collection,’’ said Deepa Iyer, NCAPA chair and executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together. “We offer recommendations and suggestions that can be helpful to government agencies, research institutions, and community organizations alike to ensure that AA & NHPI communities are a real part of our data collection efforts on issues ranging from health to education to job attainment.”

"We urge researchers to check their assumptions about Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities when designing their studies," said ARC President Rinku Sen. "Failing to account for diversity further marginalizes millions of people and the challenges these communities face. Our hope is that this guide will lead to more transparent, accurate and inclusive data and research on groups that have too often been misrepresented by mainstream research and media.”

AA & NHPI communities have significant research needs. Recommendations for researchers include:

• Disaggregating data to capture disparities across ethnic groups
• Examining class, poverty and access to jobs/services of underserved ethnic groups
• Examining racial and religious profiling and discrimination based on immigration status, skin tones, accents, sexual orientation, gender identity and more
• Studying health care disparities as one in seven AA & NHPIs is uninsured

The “Best Practices” guide advises researchers to collaborate with community-based organizations, whose work and knowledge of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders help dispel misconceptions about the communities. In addition, the guide recommends that researchers provide separate race categories for AA & NHPIs as two distinct groups, oversample AA & NHPIs in order to ensure meaningful analysis and provide Asian-language and culturally appropriate support.

“We have seen a rapid increase in the availability of policy-relevant data on AA & NHPI communities in the past decade,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, professor at University of California, Riverside and director of the National Asian American Survey. “Now the focus is on improving the quality of the data collections, with various government, academic, and community-based research showing that these advancements are important and feasible.”

Many of these improved data collections can be found at one accessible site that Ramakrishnan developed in collaboration with NCAPA. The goal of this site is to house data on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in one location for researchers, journalists, and government agencies to use. The AA & NHPI Data Repository was launched simultaneously with the “Best Practices” guide, and can be found on the NCAPA web site at aapidata.com/repository.

The working group that produced the "Best Practices" guide grew out of a half-day, pre conference convening in November 2012 co-sponsored by ARC and NCAPA at the latter organization’s Facing Race conference.

To read the report, go to: Best Practices: Researching Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders http://ncapaonline.org/BestPracticesAANHPI.pdf

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The Applied Research Center (ARC) is a thirty-year-old, national racial justice organization with a mission to build awareness, solutions and leadership for racial justice by generating transformative ideas, information and experiences. We define racial justice as the systematic fair treatment of people of all races, resulting in equal opportunities and outcomes for all and we work to advance racial justice through media, research, and leadership development. The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), founded in 1996, is a coalition of 30 national Asian Pacific American organizations. Based in Washington D.C, NCAPA serves to represent the interests of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) communities and to provide a national voice on policy issues and priorities.

Undocumented immigrants and their allies insist the Grey Lady get with the times

NEW YORK, April 23, 2013 -- Major national organizations in support of the Applied Research Center’s Drop the I-Word public education campaign together delivered more than 70K signatures to The New York Times today calling on the newspaper to stop describing people as "illegal.” The signatures were collected by a collaborative effort through Drop the I-Word, Define American, Presente.org, and through a MoveOn.org petition started by Helen Chavez, the widow of Cesar Chavez. Today is the 20th anniversary of the civil rights icon’s death.

The petitions were delivered by the Chavez family, Jose Antonio Vargas and Abraham Paulos, Executive director of Families for Freedom, a New York based multi-ethnic defense network by and for immigrants facing and fighting deportation.

Since the Drop the I-Word campaign launched in September of 2010, undocumented people, their allies and a diverse group of supporters including linguists, and the legal community have called on all media organizations to drop the legally inaccurate and dehumanizing term. And last fall, Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and founder of Define American, publically challenged the Associated Press and The New York Times to drop the term, a year and a half after coming out as undocumented in The Times.

"The use of dehumanizing, inaccurate language to describe immigrants is no longer acceptable, as indicated by style guide updates at the AP, USA Today, ABC, and many other news outlets," said ARC President Rinku Sen. "The New York Times needs to do the same and hold itself up to the journalistic standards for which it is known."

After months of consideration, Public Editor Margaret Sullivan now favors the use of “undocumented” or “unauthorized” as alternatives, but the news organization has yet to announce an official policy. Earlier this month, advocates secured two major victories when the Associated Press dropped the term, followed by USA TODAY. The Huffington Post, Univision News, ABC, CNN, NBC Latino, NBC News, Fox News Latino, The Nation and Colorlines.com are among leading national news outlets that don’t use the term, and instead use “unauthorized” “undocumented” and varying more precise descriptions.

Last year a report commissioned by the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) and conducted by Latino Decisions, found that non-Latinos no matter what the media format, think that Latinos and “illegal immigrants” are one and the same. Additionally the study revealed “over 30 percent of respondents believed a majority of Latinos (50 percent or greater) were undocumented.

Core supporters of the Applied Research Center's Drop the I-Word campaign are: Define American, GLAAD, Presente.org, Move-on.org, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Cuentame.org.

Additional supporters of Drop the I-Word are:
Alliance for a Just Society; American Anthropological Association’s The Committee for Human Rights; Anti-Defamation League; Black Alliance for Just Immigration; California Council of Churches; Campus Progress; CARECEN San Francisco; Center for Community Change; Center for Constitutional Rights; Coalition for Humane Rights of Los Angeles; Drum Major Institute; Equal Justice Society; General Commission on Religion and Race of the United Methodist Church;
Hip Hop Congress; Latinos for Community Transformation; National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities; National Day Laborer Organizing Network; National Immigration Law Center; National Korean American Service & Education Consortium; New York Immigration Coalition; New York State Youth Leadership Council; One America; South Asian American Leaders for Tomorrow; The Association for Community Development, Bangladesh; The Nation Institute; The Sound Strike; Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action; Voto Latino; UNITY comprised of: the Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Native American Journalists Association and most recently, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association; WARBE Development Foundation; Washington Community Action Network; and Women’s Media Center.  

About Drop the I-Word
Presented by the Applied Research Center, Drop the I-Word is a public education campaign powered by immigrants and diverse communities across the country that value human dignity and are working to eradicate the dehumanizing slur "illegals" and other forms of the term, from everyday use and public discourse. No human being is "illegal."

Media Contact:
MoveOn.org/Fernando Chavez: Brett Abrams: [email protected], 516-841 1105
Applied Research Center/Rinku Sen: [email protected], 347-864-0519
Define American/Jose Antonio Vargas: [email protected]
National Hispanic Media Council/Alex Nogales: [email protected]
Presente/ Arturo Carmona: [email protected], 202-503-6141


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Recommends Better Collaboration To Advance Racial and Economic Equity
 

July 10, 2012 (New York, NY) – A new report released by the Applied Research Center finds stronger collaboration is needed between movements for “good food” and “good jobs” in order to advance racial and economic equity in the food system. ARC report “Good Food and Good Jobs For All” is available at arc.org/foodjustice.

Report findings show that low-income people and people of color are most disproportionately, negatively impacted by: obesity, food security, “food deserts,” wage and hour violations, and lack of benefits. Yet, the movements for good food and labor rights do not typically work together towards food justice.

"What's at stake here is the future of food justice," said Yvonne Yen Liu, senior researcher at ARC and author of the report. "Healthy food is a human right that all people should have access to, regardless of race, class, or gender. Workers should be treated with dignity and respect.  We show in this report that food justice is a combination of the two: healthy, good food and sustainable, good jobs."

The “good food” movement promotes healthy food, available to all, that is sustainably grown through small-scale, local, seasonal, organic production. The “good jobs” labor rights movement strives to win dignity and respect for workers in the form of family-sustaining wages and benefits, healthy and safe working conditions, and career pathways. The good food movement often leaves out crucial factors such as living wages, immigration status, and enforcement of safe working and living conditions. Similarly, many labor advocates don't address how and why good food and land sovereignty relate to their struggles for workers. Developing collaborative efforts between these movements is key to winning both good food and good jobs.

"These are critical issues that affect everyone – those who produce our food, and all of us who consume it,” said ARC President Rinku Sen. “We hope that this report will help fuel robust collaboration between these two fields."

Key Recommendations of “Good Food and Good Jobs For All: Challenges and Opportunities to Advance Racial and Economic Equity in the Food System:”

• Pursue intersectional analysis and foster collaborative leadership of those most negatively impacted in the food chain
• Create alternatives while challenging current dominant food and economic systems
• Build multiracial coalitions that overlap between good food and labor and promote both
• Conduct additional research and develop resources such as tools and training

A free webinar will be held on July 12, 2012 at 1pmET/10amPT to present the findings of “Good Food and Good Jobs For All.” Presenters include Yvonne Yen Liu, ARC Senior Researcher and report author; Liana Foxvog, Director of Organizing and Communications at International Labor Rights Forum; and Jose Oliva, Program Director at ROC United. ARC Research Director Dom Apollon will moderate. For more information visit arc.org/webinars.

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT ARC – The Applied Research Center (ARC) is a 30-year-old racial justice think tank that uses media, research and activism to promote solutions. ARC’s mission is to popularize racial justice and prepare people to achieve it. ARC also serves as the publisher of Colorlines.com, a daily news site offering award-winning reporting, analysis, and solutions to today’s racial justice issues. For more information on ARC’s work, please visit www.arc.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Rebekah Spicuglia, Communications Manager at [email protected] or (415)290-2970

Download the full "Better Together" report here. 

September 15, 2010 (New York, NY) – A new, landmark study on the relationship between racial justice organizations and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities finds the lack of resources, funding, and community support are obstacles to engagement. The study, titled, “Better Together: Research Findings on the Relationship between Racial Justice Organizations and LGBT Communities,” was produced by Applied Research Center (ARC) in partnership with the Arcus Foundation. 

There are damaging perceptions about LGBT communities and racial justice groups, specifically that LGBT identity and politics are for white people and that communities of color are disproportionately homophobic. "These myths harm LGBT communities of color and continue to be perpetuated by divisive, politically motivated platforms such as the Proposition 8 Campaign,” says Rinku Sen, President and Executive Director of ARC.  

"Better Together” is a result of surveys and interviews with more than 80 organizations and 30 key leaders, based on the premise that significant numbers of LGBT people are of color and comprising an important part of the racial justice constituency. The report focuses on current engagement efforts, perceived barriers, potential opportunities, and key recommendations for advancing work in this intersectional area. Said Sen, “When racial justice groups, including those focused on LGBT people, take on the intersection of race and sexuality, they can build enduring political power to make the policy and practice changes that improve communities nationwide.”

Primary recommendations are to increase funding and support for LGBT organizations of color, invest in tools for strategic clarity, support leadership development for LGBT leaders of color, and build media and communications infrastructure. "The significance of philanthropic support for racial justice engagement of LGBT issues cannot be overestimated,” says Roz Lee, senior program officer for Arcus Foundation’s Racial Justice, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity program. “There is a critical need for general and targeted funding for LGBT organizations of color and partnership-building. Additionally, funders must support media and leadership development in order to increase visibility for the incredible work that is happening every day."

Though generally optimistic about the opportunities for more organizations to engage, “Better Together” also warns that many existing programs focused on LGBT people of color do exist but are not receiving media attention and visibility that would support expansion, much less impact public perception of the issues necessary for policy change. Through its daily news site, ColorLines.com, Applied Research Center has already devoted a considerable amount of coverage to exposing racial injustices related to the LGBT community. “We applaud concerted efforts by news outlets and organizations that extend a platform beyond the established voices to include LGBT leaders of color.” said Sen.

As the study shows, there are compelling reasons and opportunities to address barriers to effective engagement explicitly over the long term.  Lee said, "Arcus is proud to support the Applied Research Center's research on racial justice engagement of LGBT issues, and it is our hope that more funders provide targeted funding to support critical research on this intersectional area, partnerships between these overlapping communities, and capacity-building for budding LGBT organizations of color."

The executive summary of the report was published online today, with the full report to be released at ARC’s Facing Race conference in Chicago next week. A press teleconference will be held on Thursday, September 23. To RSVP for the teleconference or to interview ARC president and executive director Rinku Sen, contact Rebekah Spicuglia at [email protected] or (415) 290-2970.

Founded in 1981, Applied Research Center is America's leading think tank on racial justice. ARC investigates the racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks and solutions to address racial inequality, engaging in media and journalism, strategic research and policy analysis, and leadership development. ARC publishes daily news at ColorLines.com.

The Arcus Foundation is a leading global foundation advancing pressing social justice and conservation issues. Specifically, Arcus works, in part, to advance LGBT equality and to increase respect and equality for LGBT people of color. For more information, contact Roz Lee, senior program officer, Racial Justice, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity program at [email protected].

Media contact: Rebekah Spicuglia, Communications Manager at [email protected] or (415) 290-2970 

August 24, 2010 (New York, NY) – Applied Research Center, the nation’s leading think tank on race, is thrilled to present Facing Race 2010, the largest multi-racial gathering of leaders, educators, journalists, advocates and activists on racial justice in the country. With a comprehensive lineup of presentations and workshops covering a breadth of racial justice issues, prestigious speakers,and expected numbers of more than 1,000 participants, Facing Race is the nation’s premier conference on racial justice, to be held September 23-25 at the McCormick Hyatt Regency in Chicago, IL.

"Facing Race has become a pivotal event for galvanizing communities on racial justice issues," said Applied Research Centerpresident and executive director Rinku Sen. “Facing Race 2008 was held ten days after the historic election of President Obama, with meaningful discussions on hot-button race issues. With this year’s conference, we will acknowledge strides that have been made, while offering criticism and innovative strategies for real change.”

Key issues to be covered at Facing Race include debunking“post-racial America;” economy and green jobs, reproductive justice; lesbian,gay, bisexual, and transgender communities; millenials and the 2010 elections;disparities in health care reform; SB1070 and immigrant rights; educational equity; welfare; and criminal justice.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University, will serve as keynote speaker for the conference. “America's failings to substantively address the continuing challenges of race emerges from a lack of shared vocabulary and experiences, collective understanding of the difference between personal attitudes and systematic discrimination, common data about racial inequity, and historical knowledge about how power and privilege operate,” said Harris-Lacewell. “Most importantly, however, we lack a collective vision of a racially just future. These are the aspects of race that we must face, working in communities across America among people of good faith. That is why I am so pleased to be a part of this conference.”

Facing Race 2010 presenters include Van Jones, Center forAmerica Progress; Tim Wise, anti-racist writer and educator; Maria Teresa Kumar, Votolatino; FCC Commissioner Clyburn; Dr. Manuel Pastor, Professor of Geography and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California; Ai-jen Poo, Domestic Workers United; John Jackson, The Schott Foundation for Public Education; LeeAnn Hall, Northwest Federation of Community Organizations; Malkia Cyril, Center for Media Justice; and Kamau Bell, comedian and social commentator.

Founded in 1981, Applied Research Center is America's leading think tank on racial justice. ARC investigates the racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks and solutions to address racial inequality. With offices in New York and Oakland, and staff in Chicago and Los Angeles, ARC engages in media and journalism, strategic research and policy analysis, and leadership development. ARC publishes ColorLines magazine.

Facing Race 2010 sponsors include Arcus Foundation, The Schott Foundation, Center for Social Inclusion, Center for Community Change, The Opportunity Agenda, Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP),Campus Progress, Everyday Democracy, Free Press, Green for All, KirwanInstitute, Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity, and Policy Link.

Press passes are available. For more information or to interview ARC president and executive director Rinku Sen, contact Rebekah Spicuglia at [email protected] or (415) 290-2970.

04.27.2010 -- Media Contact: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 or [email protected]

April 27, 2010: Amid nationwide protest and presidential criticism, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed immigration bill SB 1070 into law on April 23. The Applied Research Center condemns the law as an attack on immigrants and communities of color already grappling with racial profiling and disproportionately high rates of arrest and incarceration, resulting in broken trust between law enforcement and our communities.

“SB 1070 exchanges the security of Arizona’s communities of color to buy false comfort for a state on the brink of economic collapse,” said Rinku Sen, executive director of Applied Research Center and coauthor of The Accidental American. “What about the right of communities of color to live without fear of random detention or their ability to report crimes without reprisal?”

Observers across the political spectrum have acknowledged that this bill will legalize racial profiling of Latinos and other communities of color by giving police license to stop anyone and ask for their papers under a vaguely defined “suspicion” of undocumented status. Governor Brewer claimed not to know what an undocumented immigrant looks like, but in Maricopa County, AZ, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a long-documented history of terrorizing Latinos under the guise of immigration enforcement.

President Obama has rightly characterized SB 1070 as “misguided” and threatening to “undermine basic notions of fairness.” But his administration has yet to develop serious policy proposals to overhaul the flawed federal immigration enforcement system that snares Latinos and other communities of color across the U.S. For example, the Administration continues to carry out ICE raids, even amid the Census count, a move guaranteed to tamp down participation among immigrants and people of color.

Policies like SB 1070 which clearly have disproportionate adverse impacts on people of color are emblematic of institutional racism. The Administration must take a step back from a problematic policy framework, starting with taking seriously the government’s own documents and reports highlighting the ways in which immigrants face discriminatory raids, unjust detentions and deportation quotas. What should not be lost in the SB 1070 outcry is that Arizona is taking existing federal immigration policy to its logical conclusion.

To learn more and take action:
•    Join this weekend’s May 1st rallies across the U.S.
•    Participate in the Shame on Arizona campaign
•    Learn more about SB 1070

04.07.2010 – Media Contacts: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 or [email protected]
                    Linda Jue 415.321.1733 or [email protected]

April 7, 2010: As the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, many have taken a renewed interest in New Orleans. Last August, Dave Eggers published Zeitoun, following one family’s harrowing experience in post-Katrina New Orleans. Next Sunday HBO premieres Treme, a dramatization of residents rebuilding since the hurricane.

But as always, fact is more compelling than fiction. Housing crisis? Corporate giveaways with public money? It’s already happened in the Big Easy, where, out of demolitions and displacement, has come a new demand: housing as a human right. Journalist Tram Nguyen details this struggle in “Pushed Out and Pushing Back in New Orleans,” published today by ColorLines magazine. The story was produced under the George Washington Williams Fellowship, sponsored by the G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism, a project of Tides Center.

Read “Pushed Out and Pushing Back in New Orleans ” at ColorLines.com.

“Pushed Out and Pushing Back in New Orleans” finds that almost 20,000 people -- all Black and low-income -- remain displaced and separated from their communities, representing nearly 6 percent of New Orleans residents. This journalistic collaboration between two members of The Media Consortium exposes the parallels between the national housing crisis and post-Katrina New Orleans. Nationwide, nearly half of all renters face unaffordable costs, defined as paying more than 30 percent of one’s income for housing.

“In the wake of Katrina, Louisiana became a bonanza of federal subsidies for firms ready to take advantage of the opportunity to rebuild,” writes Nguyen. “The developers, as a former staffer for one private company put it, stood to ‘make money hand over fist’… It costs the developers literally a dollar a year for a 99-year lease of this [public housing] land—all of it potentially prime real estate near the center city and downtown areas. With the total cost of replacing the Big Four [public housing] estimated at $762 million, taxpayers are paying developers an average of $400,000 per new apartment.”

Meanwhile, the political consequence of mass displacement of Black voters from New Orleans has already been seen in recent elections. “The racial power shift in a majority-Black city reflected the fact that more than 200,000 residents did not or could not return or participate in elections,” notes Nguyen. The November 2009 city council elections brought the first white majority in two decades, while February’s mayoral election resulted in New Orleans’ first white mayor in thirty years. As one source observed, “I think it’s going to be one for the history books.”

Read the full story at ColorLines.com.

Founded in 1981, Applied Research Center is America's leading think tank on racial justice. ARC investigates the racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks and solutions to address racial inequality. With offices in New York and Oakland, and staff in Chicago and Los Angeles, ARC engages in media and journalism, strategic research and policy analysis, and leadership development. ARC publishes ColorLines magazine.

The San Francisco-based G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism develops regional and national reporting projects to support more journalists of color, women and youth in pursuing public interest and investigative journalism. The Center’s George Washington Williams Fellows have won journalism awards, secured book contracts, appeared on talk shows and won attention from mainstream, ethnic and independent media, as well as government officials and politicians. In addition to ColorLines, Fellows’ stories have appeared in Mother Jones, The Nation, CorpWatch, Salon, Orion, Earth Island Journal, AlterNet, In These Times, The Progressive and numerous other outlets.

02.16.2010 – Media Contact: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 or [email protected]

February 16, 2010: Kai Wright, writer, editor and author of Drifting Toward Love joins Applied Research Center and ColorLines as the new Editorial Director. Kai has written extensively for ColorLines, and his pieces include The Colorblind Attack on your Health and A Fragile Union , which recently won Best Feature at the Ippies . He also guest edited My High School Sex Life .

Wright is The Nation Institute’s 2010 Knobler Fellow, and writes prolifically about the politics of race, sex, health and communities of color. His investigative reporting, blogs and commentary have been published regularly in The Nation, The Root and The American Prospect.

"I'm so excited to join the ColorLines team and get the chance to do ambitious, investigative journalism that makes sense of a fast-changing world," says Wright. "As corporate news media retracts, journalism is charting a new course. At ColorLines, we think that's a good thing and we plan to lead the way forward."

Wright brings his award-winning journalism to ARC and ColorLines to lead the editorial team. His arrival coincides with the upcoming ColorLines site re-design and ARC's shift toward expanded online and multimedia content.
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FOUNDED IN 1981, Applied Research Center is America's leading think tank on racial justice. ARC investigates the racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks and solutions to address racial inequality. With offices in New York, Chicago and Oakland, ARC engages in media and journalism, strategic research and policy analysis, and leadership development. ARC is the publisher of ColorLines magazine.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | FEBRUARY 11, 2010
Media Contact: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 or [email protected]

Download California Report Card at www.arc.org/reportcards

February 11, 2010: Applied Research Center has published its fifth edition of the “California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity” today, February 11, as people of color look to legislative solutions to pull their communities out of the recession. Unfortunately, California lawmakers are failing the grade. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger scored an “F” in racial equity, while the State Assembly scored a “D” and the State Senate scored an “F.”

Though communities of color represent nearly 60 percent of the population, the state of California’s leadership has not addressed this majority population’s needs. California state lawmakers slashed budgets across social, educational and health services last year, exacerbating long-standing racial disparities. This month, they are again threatening more of the same.

The majority of progressive racial equity bills were authored in the Assembly, with Speaker Karen Bass and members Kevin de Leon, Hector De La Torre, Tom Ammiano and Jose Solorio among the leaders. The Senate scored worse overall though President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg received a “B.” Schwarzenegger scored well on criminal justice bills supporting juveniles. But the governor’s overall score dropped 24 percent since 2007.
 
“From school funding to strengthening the safety net for those most in need, the Governor and the legislature have repeatedly failed to effectively root out racial disparities,” said Tammy Johnson of Applied Research Center. “The legislature is even debating the elimination of CalWORKS at a time when unemployment in communities of color remains in double digits.”

“These grades resulted from an exhaustive effort of communities state-wide to identify bills that most impacted the quality of life of people of color in 2009,” said Goro Mitchell of Community Development Institute. “It is hard to grasp that in a state with majority people of color the legislature and the governor were so unresponsive to our needs--this racial justice report card is key to promoting accountability.”

Beyond the budget, California lawmakers scored poorly on a range of bills impacting racial equity, including housing and economics, health equity, education equity, criminal justice, civil rights, and green equity. Worse still, some lawmakers authored bills that would have resulted in institutionalizing racial inequities.

“Last year’s budget meant domestic violence shelters closed, children were put on waiting lists for health care and homebound elderly and disabled people were left without adequate care,” said Nancy Berlin of California Partnership. “We need a state budget that puts families first, creates jobs and provides a strong safety net to help Californians through these tough economic times.”

Additional experts who can speak to sections of the “California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity” include Elizabeth Sholes of California Council of Churches (budget), Sumayyah Waheed of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (juvenile justice) and Evelyn M. Rangel-Medina of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (green equity).

Experts Available

Tammy Johnson, Applied Research Center
Director of Strategic Partnerships
(510) 338-4921 office
(510) 289-2061 cell
[email protected]

Goro Mitchell, Community Development Institute
Executive Director
(650) 327-5846 x 301
[email protected]

Nancy Berlin, California Partnership
Director
213-385-8010
[email protected]

Elizabeth Sholes, California Council of Churches
Director of Public Policy
916-488-7300
[email protected]

Abel Habtegeorgis, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Media Relations Manager
510.428.3939 ext. 232
[email protected]
(Contact for Sumayyah Waheed and Evelyn M. Rangel-Medina)

11.19.2009 –Media Contact: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 or [email protected]

November 19, 2009:  Applied Research Center (ARC) is today releasing “Greening Los Angeles: A Case Study of Green Retrofits of City Buildings as a Model for Regional Equity in the Green Economy.” The study profiles how community organization Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) and the Los Angeles chapter of the Apollo Alliance won passage of a green retrofit ordinance for municipal buildings that will create high-quality jobs for women and communities of color struggling with the economic crisis.

 
Visit http://www.arc.org/greenjobs to read and download “Greening Los Angeles” and the Green Equity Toolkit.

“This report highlights the work to revitalize Los Angeles, making it an innovator and hub for green industries and sustainable jobs,” says Yvonne Liu, Senior Research Associate at the Applied Research Center and author of “Greening Los Angeles.” “L.A. is positioned to be a regional and national leader in the green economy, setting the standard for expanding the mutual benefits of equity and green growth.”

Though President Obama hopes to create five million green jobs within a decade, women and people of color will be left behind without active policies to ensure participation. Blacks and Latinos comprise less than 30 percent of those employed in green industries and occupations. Black women are employed in only 1.5 percent of jobs in the energy sector, with Latino and Asian women employed at 1.0 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. White executives dominate the key sectors going green, construction and energy.

“Greening Los Angeles” is part of the Green Equity Toolkit, intended to help community organizations, public agencies and individuals maximize and share the benefits of green economy jobs. The Toolkit provides a guide for creating high-quality jobs that are fully accessible to people of color and women.

11.10.2009 – Media Contact: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 or [email protected]

November 10, 2009: Applied Research Center (ARC) is releasing a Green Equity Toolkit: Standards and Strategies for Advancing Race, Gender and Economic Equity in the Green Economy  today to help community organizations, public agencies and individuals maximize and share the benefits of green economy jobs. The Toolkit provides a guide for creating high-quality jobs that are fully accessible to people of color and women.  

Visit http://www.arc.org/greenjobs to read and download the toolkit.

More than $200 billion in the Recovery Act was earmarked for green jobs programs. Though stimulus recipients must comply with anti-discrimination laws, racial and gender equity are not mandated in the recovery nor is race or gender data being collected. The Toolkit highlights the impact of recovery monies and provides analysis of recently released Recovery Act data. 

On November 18 at 10AM PST/1PM EST, ARC will convene a Webinar on the Green Equity Toolkit. The webinar will feature Toolkit coauthors Yvonne Liu and Terry Keleher of the Applied Research Center along with Elsa Barboza of Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE). In Los Angeles, SCOPE convened the local chapter of the Apollo Alliance and won passage of a green retrofit ordinance for municipal buildings that will create high quality jobs for communities of color struggling with the economic crisis. Register here for the webinar.

ARC has carried out comprehensive research to define good, green jobs and demonstrate how communities of color and women might experience shared benefits. The Toolkit includes Principles, Goals, Outcomes, Strategies, Success Indicators and Examples for making race, gender and economic equity a priority in green-collar job creation. In the months ahead, the Toolkit will be supplemented by Case Studies and a Model Policy Bank.  

“The Toolkit highlights green equity success stories and provides practical steps for how labor and community advocates can create equity and inclusion in the green economy,” says Yvonne Liu, Senior Research Associate at the Applied Research Center and coordinator of the Green Equity Toolkit. “The green promise means those communities most devastated by the recession -- women and people of color – can mobilize to ride the green wave.” 

Visit http://www.arc.org/greenjobs to read and download the toolkit. 

FOUNDED IN 1981, the Applied Research Center is America's leading think tank on racial justice. ARC investigates the racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks and solutions to address racial inequality. With offices in New York, Chicago, and Oakland, ARC engages in media and journalism, strategic research and policy analysis, and leadership development. ARC is the publisher of ColorLines magazine.  

From New York to Jamaica, Families Struggle to Stay Together 

Media Contact: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 [email protected] 

October 22, 2009: ColorLines magazine went on the road from New York to Jamaica this summer to investigate the collateral effects of deportation on immigrant communities. The resulting Torn Apart article series and multimedia project is being released today at http://www.colorlines.com/tornapart

Earlier this month, Obama administration officials announced plans to reform immigrant detention policy ostensibly to make improvements to the broken system. The New York Times reported on the detention framework’s serious flaws namely that people who have committed no crime are being swept up into the system and locked away in detention. Meanwhile the 287(g) program begun under President Bush and continued by President Obama has come under fire for widespread abuses

Harsh immigration policy, compounded by systemic inequities built into the criminal justice system, might not be thwarting terrorists or making our country a whole lot safer. But the laws are doing a great job of breaking up another entity: families of color. This broken immigration system inflicts as much harm on Black immigrants as other immigrants of color. 

“Immigrants face de facto double jeopardy,” says Torn Apart coauthor Julianne Ong Hing. “Even legal residents caught in the criminal justice system for the most minor crimes are vulnerable to deportation. After their criminal cases end, immigrants are subject to the civil procedures of immigration courts. Deportation follows incarceration.” 

Visit http://www.colorlines.com/tornapart today for the Torn Apart article series, video, photo essay, and more.  

FOUNDED IN 1981, the Applied Research Center is America's largest think tank on race. ARC investigates the hidden racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks to resolve racially charged debates. With offices in New York, Chicago, and Oakland, ARC serves its mission through three program areas: Media and Journalism, Strategic Research and Policy Analysis, and the Racial Justice Leadership Action Network. ARC also publishes ColorLines magazine. 

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  Changing the Race comprises a collection of thoughtful essays analyzing the complexities of how race played out in the presidential race. These writers identify the trends, the lessons, the facts and the lies.

Each contributor to Changing the Race provides a different dimension of the racial puzzle. Among the 16 essays include "Obama's Candidacy: The Advent of Post-Racial America and the End of Black Politics?” by Women of Color Resource Center cofounder Linda Burnham and "Swinging Virginia in Roanoke" by The Nation and Guardian (UK) columnist Gary Younge.

Race is a defining factor in the way our society is structured and in the way our elections and politics are contested. Much progress has been made since the Civil Rights era, but much ground has also been lost. The popular notion of racism as personal prejudice ignores the historic and systemic inequities that continue to produce everyday benefits and burdens based on race.

"Changing the Race asks and answers compelling questions about the 2008 election, including whether President Obama's election has ushered in a new &l'post-racial' era," says ARC executive director Rinku Sen. "The authors provide a resounding 'no.' Obama's presidency may be a most important cultural symbol of racial progress, but on the ground, people are still waiting and working for change."

FOUNDED IN 1981, the Applied Research Center is America's largest think tank on race. ARC investigates the hidden racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks to resolve racially charged debates. With offices in New York, Chicago, and Oakland, ARC serves its mission through three program areas: Media and Journalism, Strategic Research and Policy Analysis, and the Racial Justice Leadership Action Network. ARC is also the publisher of ColorLines magazine.

For Immediate Release: May 18, 2009

Media Contact: Yana Walton - 347.296.8921 or [email protected]

NEW REPORT FINDINGS LINK RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
TO ECONOMIC RECESSION

Applied Research Center Says Solving Structural Inequities will Alleviate Recession

To learn more and download the report, go to www.arc.org/recession

New York: A report released today by the Applied Research Center (ARC), a racial justice think-tank, finds that an inclusive and equitable national economic recovery will require that the country address deep patterns of racial discrimination and disparities. The report, titled “Race & Recession,” found that numerous policies and institutional practices that create racial inequity are among the root causes of the subprime mortgage crisis and economic downturn.  While several economists and analysts have focused on the “what” and “how” questions behind the current recession, an in-depth analysis of income, unemployment, foreclosures, and public benefits brings the largely overlooked “who” into the analysis: Who were predatory loans targeted towards? Which Americans are losing jobs?

The current crisis has brought soaring national unemployment rates, record foreclosure filings, and record lows in the stock market, with global repercussions.  However, the most bruising effects have been unevenly distributed - overwhelmingly to people of color.  

The report examines systemic patterns of racial inequality, including unemployment levels for people of color, which are consistently higher than those of whites and considerably higher during recessionary times. In March of this year, when unemployment reached 8.5% nationally, 13.3% of Black workers and 11.4% of Latinos were out of work, compared to only 7.9% of whites.  In contrast, Black unemployment has dipped below 8% only once since 1973.

Sizeable income gaps between people of color and whites also still persist. Seth Wessler, the report’s author, explains, “Racial disparities in income leave communities of color making about 60 cents for every dollar earned by whites.  This huge difference a direct result of institutional policies and practices that collectively block people of color from opportunity.”

ARC’s analysis of the housing crisis also demonstrates that communities of color were disproportionately saddled with subprime loans at very high rates. Wessler says “The cumulative effects of historic and current housing discrimination – including restrictive racial covenants, redlining and neighborhood segregation – have left people of color with less equity and access to credit, making them prime targets for largely unregulated predatory lending practices.” High-cost loans were aggressively marketed in communities of color.” Yet, Wessler says, most troubling is that “many who could have qualified for prime loans were sold high-cost loans instead – 35 % of subprime loans were sold to people who could have qualified for a traditional, fixed rate, prime loans.  And clearly, subprime loans were responsible for the crash.”

ARC’s Executive Director, Rinku Sen, says “This study reveals that a healthy economy requires explicit attention to ensuring racial equity in our public and private institutions. Thankfully, there are many clear solutions to move us toward fair policies and shared prosperity.”  

The report recommends the use of Racial Equity Impact Assessments, modernization of the Community Reinvestment Act, a moratorium on foreclosures, a lifting of time limits in Temporary Aid for Needy Families, expunging past criminal records, protections for immigrants, passing the Employee Free Choice Act, raising the minimum wage, establishing universal healthcare and the full enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.

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The Applied Research Center (ARC) is a racial justice think tank built on rigorous research. Founded in 1981, ARC investigates the hidden racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks to resolve racially charged debates.

April 28th at 1:00 pm PST/4:00 pm EST briefing and Q&A for journalists 

See ARC's full coverage of Barack Obama's first 100 Days at www.arc.org/100days.

04.27.2009 – Media Contact: Yana Walton 347.296.8921 or [email protected]

April 27, 2009: The Applied Research Center (ARC) is releasing their report on President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office, examining both highs and lows of policy decisions on the economy, health care, immigration, and civil rights, all through the lens of racial justice.

In conjunction with the release, ARC’s Compact for Racial Justice Forum is hosting a panel press conference call titled “Race In Review” on Tuesday, April 28th at 1:00 pm PST/4:00 pm EST to review policy decisions and provide analysis for journalists. Featured speakers include Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of Policy Link; Tarso Luis Ramos, Director of Research at Political Research Associates; and Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together.

To attend the call, please click under "Resource Links" on the right register and receive your call-in information.

Tammy Johnson, Director of Strategic Partnerships for ARC said today, "A review of the Obama Administration’s activities from closing Guantanamo, to the unfolding of the stimulus plan, to the inclusion of immigrant children in SCHIP, along with other major decisions will help us understand this Administrations’ priorities, while we analyze whether equity has been the underlying principle behind the change President Obama is bringing.” Johnson will moderate Tuesday’s panel.


FOUNDED IN 1981, the Applied Research Center is America's largest think tank on race. ARC investigates the hidden racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks to resolve racially charged debates. With offices in New York, Chicago, and Oakland, ARC serves that mission through three program areas: Media and Journalism, Strategic Research and Policy Analysis, and the Racial Justice Leadership Action Network. ARC is also the publisher of ColorLines Magazine.

# # #

Low Income and Minority Children Disproportionately Affected

Download the report and learn more at www.arc.org/childcare.

04.22.2009 – New York: A national study released today by the Applied Research Center (ARC) shows the effects of unlicensed care on the quality and safety of childcare for low-income families. Fourteen states, including AL, AR, FL, IL, IN, LA, MD, NY, and VA have exemptions from licensure, allowing some faith-based, private school, and/or other unlicensed childcare centers to operate without basic standards that protect children. Such licensing exemptions include immunity from staff-to-child ratios and from staff educational and safety requirements. In the most egregious states, unlicensed centers receive exemptions with ease from state authorities who provide little to no oversight. Often such unlicensed programs nevertheless qualify for state subsidies for the care of low-income children.

While some unlicensed childcare centers are of excellent quality, others of questionable safety and quality have opened in increasing numbers in those states without supervision, standards, and oversight. The ARC study examines national trends in the state administration of childcare and provides detailed case studies of three states, Alabama, California and Maryland. It finds that Alabama, for example, has seen an increase of 31% of its unlicensed centers (from 628 to 821) since 2000, and a decrease of 17% of its licensed centers (243 of 1429).

The report quotes a county-level health inspector in Mobile, AL who said “I saw a center with 58 kids spread across three rooms and only one or two adults looking after them. We saw a center with one adult and nine babies in a building that wasn’t [fireproof] sprinkled!” Such unlicensed facilities are not inspected by the Department of Human Resources, the state agency that licenses and inspects all licensed facilities in Alabama. And because unlicensed facilities do not have the same business overhead costs, they are often able to charge lower fees than licensed care, providing an incentive to low-income families to choose these unregulated centers.

“If we believe that a set of minimum standards for childcare is necessary to protect the health, safety, and well-being of children, then why do we choose to protect some children and not others?” asks Sophia Bracy Harris, Executive Director of the Federation of Child Care Centers of Alabama (FOCAL).

However, safety concerns in childcare facilities do not exist solely in states with licensure exemptions. For example, in California, a state with no licensure exemptions, insufficient funding for oversight has resulted in similar problems. The state ranks among the nation’s most lenient on frequency of inspections (once every five years), yet California has not been able to meet its inspections targets, according to the state auditor.

“The key point is that when there are no mechanisms in place for monitoring and reporting in so many states, or when oversight funding is woefully inadequate, we are in the dark about the safety of many of our most vulnerable children,” says the reports principal author and ARC Research Director Dominique Apollon. “We are simply running on faith in these states that unlicensed, unmonitored facilities are following basic health and safety standards, and that’s just not good enough.”

Often, it’s low-income children that are suffering from the underserved and underfunded systems. Because high-quality childcare is not accessible or affordable for many low-income families, government assistance is a critical issue for states. Yet with the recent national economic downturn, state subsidy programs are in jeopardy from coast-to-coast, which will exacerbate access problems. ARC Executive Director Rinku Sen stresses “It is precisely during such times of economic crisis that we must maintain and even increase federal and state funding for childcare subsidies and oversight. Otherwise we will make it even more difficult for low-income parents, who are disproportionately people of color, to find and retain work during this recession, and we will also disrupt the continuity of care for those subsidized children who are lucky enough to be in quality programs currently.”

The report concludes with recommendations for all states to:
Abolish state exemptions and fund transition costs, strengthen licensing requirements and adequately fund state oversight, and improve record keeping in state government.

Media Advisory:
February 20, 2008

Contact: Laurie R. Glenn, Tel: (773) 252-8672, ext. 301, Mobile: (773) 704-7246, [email protected]

Josina Morita, Tel: (312) 376-8235, Mobile: (773) 844-7296, [email protected]

Chicago, IL—The Applied Research Center will release a new report Thursday assessing the track record of Illinois lawmakers on bills related to racial equity.  The report, Facing Race: Illinois Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2007-2008, details widening racial inequities in Illinois, identifies the top 2007-2008 bills with the potential to improve racial equity, and gives letter grades to individual lawmakers based on their support for racial equity bills.  The report will also identify the top-10 legislators who support racial equity--and the bottom-10 legislators who don't.  The release will take place at dual press conferences in Chicago and Springfield.

WHAT: 

PRESS CONFERENCES in Chicago and Springfield to present findings and individual legislator grades from FACING RACE: Illinois Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2007-2008. Printed and electronic copies of the report will be made available.

Details Below by City:

CHICAGO, IL   
James R. Thompson Center   
100 W. Randolph Street       
Press Room, 15th Floor   
10:00am  
Josina Morita, Applied Research Center   
Rev. Patricia Watkins & Jesus Garcia, Co-founders of the United Congress of
Community and Religious Organizations   

SPRINGFIELD, IL
State Capitol
Blue Room, Mezzanine Level
1:00 PM
Terry Keleher, Applied Research Center
Senator John Cullerton (D-6)
Senator Iris Martinez (D-20)
Rev. Ron Taylor & Jhatayan Travis, Co-founders of the United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations
 
Also that evening, the United Congress and the national Equal Voice for America's Families Campaign will host a State of Unity Town Hall meeting and recognition dinner in Springfield for the six legislators whose leadership records qualified them for the racial-equity honor roll as well as the 17 legislators who received an “A”.  

The Applied Research Center (ARC) is a public policy institute advancing racial justice through research, advocacy and journalism. 

The United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) is a broad-based, multicultural and multi-religious movement for justice, equity, and human dignity.

The Equal Voice for America's Families Campaign is a year-long initiative sponsored by the Marguerite Casey Foundation to develop and advance a national agenda that puts families first.

For Immediate Release:
February 21, 2008 

Contact: Laurie R. Glenn, Tel: (773) 252-8672, ext. 301 Mobile: (773) 704-7246, [email protected] 

ARC GIVES ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS LOW GRADES ON RACIAL EQUITY 
New Report Says State Legislators Show Poor Leadership On Racial-Equity Bills--

Racial Divide Deepening Even As Progress Is Seen In Some Areas 

Chicago, IL—Today, the Applied Research Center (ARC) released the findings of its second annual report, Facing Race: Illinois Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2007-2008, at a daylong series of events in Chicago and Springfield.  While the State Senate held steady with a grade of 'B', the House received a grade of 'C', a decline from last year's showing. 

The House's particularly lackluster support for legislation that could help mend the state's longstanding racial divide is troubling.  Between 1980 and 2005, the hourly wage gap in Illinois between white and Latino workers widened by 21 percent, and the gap between whites and Blacks widened by 143 percent. 

"Illinois' racial divide is deepening and it is going to take above average leadership to work towards solutions," said Josina Morita, senior research associate for the Applied Research Center and author of the report.  "While racial disparities are pervasive here, they need not be permanent. Overcoming institutional racism involves restructuring the distribution of rights and resources in this state." 

Report Card Highlights

The Report Card assigned letter grades to Illinois lawmakers based upon their support in 2007 for legislation aimed at improving racial equity in health, education, income and other key areas.  Highlights include:

• The House received a 'C' for supporting racial-equity bills only 78 percent of the time.  Eight representatives received a top grade of 'A', while 29 representatives received an 'F'.
• The State Senate received a 'B', for supporting racial-equity bills 82 percent of the time.  Eight senators received an 'A', while eight senators received an 'F'.
• Legislators of color averaged an 'A', for supporting 90 percent of racial-equity bills.
• White legislators averaged a 'C', for supporting only 76 percent of racial equity bills.

Six lawmakers made the Honor Roll, for supporting racial equity bills 100% of the time, all of them from the State Senate: Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16); Sen. John J. Cullerton (-6); Sen. William Delgado (D-2); Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-3); Sen. Terry Link (D-30); and Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D-20). 

At the other end of the spectrum, Rep. William B. Black (R-104) and Rep. Jim Sinclair (R-89) tied for last place.  The House members received the two lowest 'F' grades in the entire General Assembly. 

The Report Card also includes a county-by-county mapping of demographic shifts and an analysis of the healthcare, education, and economic issues confronting the state's growing communities of color.

 
Mixed Results, Missed Opportunities

The legislature made progress on some issues, including alternative sentencing for low-level drug and prostitution offenses (HB2734) and expanding language access programs (SB 1446 and SB 544).  However, it failed to pass crucial policies to redesign the education funding system and to provide health coverage for uninsured adults.   

Education Funding Equity:

Illinois' system of funding public schools is the most inequitable in the country. The average Black child in public school receives $1,153 less each year in school funding than the average white child. SB 750 (Meeks)--HB 750 (Miller) would have created the School District Property Tax Relief Fund to reduce reliance on property taxes, equalize and increase per pupil expenditures, and increase special programming budgets.

Universal Health Care:

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich failed to deliver on his promise to provide health care to all Illinoisans.  SB 5 (Trotter), the Illinois Covered Act, which would have established new public and private health insurance options for Illinois' uninsured, more than half of whom are people of color, also failed to pass. 
 
Daylong Racial-Equity Events

The report was released today at dual press conferences in Chicago and Springfield.  Following the release in Springfield, more than 250 members of the United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations, a new multiracial coalition of organizations from across Illinois, planned to deliver the Report Card grades to individual lawmakers. 

"Some elected leaders are creating innovative solutions that take this responsibility seriously," said Patricia Watkins, co-founder of the United Congress. "Facing Race helps us hold our leaders accountable to ensure that these initiatives result in real change in every part of our state."

Also this evening, the United Congress and the national Equal Voice for America's Families Campaign will host a Town Hall meeting and recognition dinner in Springfield for the six legislators whose leadership records qualified them for the racial-equity honor roll.

Download the full report, Facing Race: Illinois Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2007-2008, in PDF format at www.arc.org/pdf/ILL_RC_final_3.pdf.

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The Applied Research Center (ARC) is a public policy institute advancing racial justice through research, advocacy and journalism.   

The United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) is a broad-based, multicultural and multi-religious movement for justice, equity, and human dignity. 

The Equal Voice for America's Families Campaign is a year-long initiative sponsored by the Marguerite Casey Foundation to develop an advance a national agenda that puts families first.  

Para Difusion Inmediata:
15 de Enero, 2008

Contacto: Jarad Sanchez, Tel: (213) 623-4627

Schwarzenegger Recibe una Calificación de F en su Informe Legislativo, Fracasa por no Invertir en la Justicia Racial

Oakland, CA—Un nuevo informe de investigación llevado a cabo por el Applied Research Center (ARC) documenta el fracaso por parte de los legisladores de California en no invertir en políticas que beneficien a todos los californianos.  Encarando las Cuestiones Raciales: Informe Legislativo sobre la Equidad Racial de California en 2007 evalúa el apoyo que han dado el gobernador y los legisladores a legislación que busca terminar de manera proactiva las disparidades inveteradas en la salud, educación, ingreso y otros indicadores claves. Al darle una calificación de D a la legislación y una de F al gobernador, el informe demuestra una situación cada ves más urgente de desigualdad racial que impide progreso en el estado más diverso de la nación.

"La falta de voluntad que se demuestra al no efectuar equidad racial resulta en impactos reales y perdurables para californianos", dice Jarad Sanchez, un analista de políticas del Applied Research Center y el autor del informe. "El gobernador asegura que el gobierno necesita ser audaz cuando la necesidad es tan grande. Pero la mayoría de la legislación más audaz que podría haber disminuido las desigualdades raciales que siguen aumentando día a día ha sido despojada de sus puntos claves, retrasada en comités o vetada por el gobernador mismo."

Encarando las Cuestiones Raciales: Informe Legislativo sobre la Equidad Racial de California en 2007 plantea las preguntas críticas con respecto a la división racial de la nación y evalúa el liderazgo en California como estado en fluctuación.  Este informe anual, ya en su cuarto año, ofrece un mapa de los cambios demográficos, condado por condado, y un análisis de la división racial en el cuidado de salud, escuelas y trabajos de California.

"Las maniobras ofuscadoras del gobernador han perjudicado a todos los estudiantes, pero especialmente a estudiantes de color, inmigrantes y estudiantes de bajos ingresos - aquellos que son más perjudicados por el grave estado deficiente de nuestras escuelas," dice Olivia E. Araiza del Justice Matters Institute. "Es hora que estas comunidades, los legisladores más valientes y californianos afectados ofrezcan llevar a cabo los cambios marcados que necesitan nuestros estudiantes."

Puntos más destacados del informe

El gobernador Arnold Schwarzenegger recibió una calificación de F (59 por ciento) por su legislación sobre equidad racial. Aunque el gobernador mejoró su puntaje por 4 puntos desde el 2006, todavía le falta un punto para calificar por una D basado en el nuevo sistema de calificación. El gobernador recibió buenas calificaciones al firmar todas las legislaciones sobre equidad de salud y cuatro de cinco legislaciones sobre derechos civiles que fueron pasadas por la legislatura estatal. El gobernador no fue aprobado porque firmó solo 59 por ciento de la legislación sobre equidad racial que llegó a su atención.  

Tanto la Asamblea como la Cámara de Diputados recibieron una D por su apoyo de legislación sobre equidad racial, recibiendo puntajes de 66 y 64 por ciento respectivamente. Tanto la Asamblea como la Cámara de Diputados recibieron puntajes más bajos que en el 2006. Trece de las 22 leyes sobre equidad racial calificadas en este informe originaros en la Asamblea. Más diputados recibieron una F que una A.

Oportunidades perdidas

Como aumentar el acceso a la universidad: el gobernador Schwarzenegger ha señalado la reforma escolar como una de sus mas altas prioridades, pero esto es una contradicción al veto del Acta del Sueño de California (SB 1), que hubiera permitido acceso a ingreso y financiación para la universidad a estudiantes inmigrantes sin documentación en California esta ultima sesión.

Acceso justo a viviendas para todos: mientras que a la nación le cuesta encontrar respuestas a los problemas económicos debido a los prestamos de altos riesgos, el Acta de Prestamos para Hipotecas Inmobiliarias de California (AB 512) fue retrasado, impidiéndole a los compradores de viviendas en California poder tener los contratos en sus idiomas natales.  

Aunque las desigualdades raciales son dominantes en California, no necesitan ser permanente. Ya ha llegado el momento para que este estado y otros alrededor al país empiezen a enfrentar problemas raciales," dice Tammy Jonson directora de políticas del Applied Research Center, que también publicó informes sobre la equidad racial de Minnesota e Illinois.

ENCARANDO LAS CUESTIONES RACIALES: Informe Legislativo sobre la Equidad Racial de California en 2007 es a continuación al Informe Legislativo sobre la Equidad Racial de California del 2005 del Applied Research Center y el Informe Legislativo sobre Cuestiones Raciales de California's New Tomorrow del 2004.

El comunicado de presa en ingles aquí.

Download the pdf of Facing Race: California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2007 here.
Streaming audio of the press conference is available here.

Oakland, CA—A new research report from the Applied Research Center (ARC) documents the failure of California lawmakers to invest in policies that benefit all Californians. Facing Race: California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2007 evaluates the Governor and Legislature on their support for proactive legislation to close long-standing disparities in health, education, income and other key indicators. With the legislature scoring a "D" and Governor Schwarzenegger an "F," the report reveals an increasingly urgent state of racial inequity that prevents progress in the nation's most diverse state.

"The unwillingness to pursue racial equity has real and lasting effects on Californians," says Jarad Sanchez, policy analyst at the Applied Research Center and the report's author. "The Governor claims that government has to be daring when the need is great.  But the boldest legislation that could have decreased growing racial inequalities were gutted, held in committee or vetoed by the Governor himself."

Facing Race: California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2007 poses the critical questions of the nation's racial divide, assessing California's leadership in a changing California. The annual report, now in its 4th year, offers a county by county mapping of demographic shifts and an analysis of the racial divide in California healthcare, schools and jobs.

"The Governor's obfuscating maneuvers have hurt all students, but especially students of color, immigrants, and low-income students-those currently being harmed most by our sorely deficient schools," says Olivia E. Araiza of Justice Matters Institute. "It is time for these communities, courageous policy makers, and concerned Californians to step forward and push through the bold changes that our students need."

Report Highlights

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger received an F (59 percent) for racial equity legislation. Although the governor improved his score by 4 percentage points from 2006, he was one point short of a D based on the new grading system. The governor received high marks for signing all health equity bills and four of five civil rights bills passed by the state legislature. The Governor received a failing grade because he signed only 59 percent of the racial equity legislation that reached his desk.

Both the Assembly and the Senate received a D for support of racial equity legislation-receiving scores of 66 percent and 64 percent respectively. Both houses received lower scores than in 2006. Thirteen of the 22 racial equity bills graded in this report originated in the Assembly. More senators received an F than an A.

Missed Opportunities

Increasing College Access: Governor Schwarzenegger has highlighted education reform as one of his highest priorities, but this is contrary to the veto of the California Dream Act (SB 1), which would have allowed college access and affordability to California's undocumented immigrant students this past session.

Fair Housing for All: With the nation struggling to find answers to economic woes due to subprime lending, the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (AB 512) was stalled preventing California's homebuyers from having contracts in their native languages of growing Latino and Asian communities..


"While racial disparities are pervasive in California, they need not be permanent.  For this state and others around the country, the time has come to begin dealing straightforwardly with its racial realities," says Tammy Johnson, policy director at the Applied Research Center, which also released reports on racial equity in Minnesota and Illinois.

FACING RACE: California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2007 is the follow-up to the Applied Research Center's California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2005 and California's New Majority 2004 Legislative Report Card on Race.

El comunicado de presa en español aquí .

Speaker's Bureau contacts:

Gabriel Medel - Parents for Unity -323-734-9353
Maria Brenes - Inner City Struggle -  323-780-7605
Elizabeth Sholes - California Council of Churches - 916-502-1106
Liz Guillen - Public Advocates - 916-442-3385

For Immediate Release
March 22, 2007

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

New York, NY—Award-winning mystery novelist and social commentator, Walter Mosley challenged party politics on Capitol Hill last night and urged hundreds advocates to open themselves to new strategies for addressing racial and economic inequality. Mosley read from his monograph “Life Out of Context” to kick-off the inaugural FACING RACE conference on racial justice.  Political leaders responded to Mosley’s provocative speech today in debates on “The Future of Racial Justice” and “Facing Race on Capitol Hill”.
 
“We need to come alive in this nation. We need to see ourselves for who we are and who we are in others’ eyes,” Mosley offered to a packed crowd at the CUNY Graduate Center. “Only when we open our culture and our cultural predilections to change can we end the tyranny that we create.”
 
The Applied Research Center, COLORLINES Magazine and the Center for Humanities at CUNY Grad Center are sponsoring FACING RACE 2007, a national conference on racial justice this week in New York City.  The conference brings together more than 600 policymakers, community leaders, advocates and media-makers who share a commitment to confront racial inequity in public policy and media.
 
“In this huge and diverse country, the meaning of justice is far from absolute,” said Rinku Sen, executive director of the Applied Research Center in her introduction of Mosley.   “The theme of this conference is ‘define justice, make change’.  We think that’s what we it will take to confront the truth of racial inequity today. Years from now we’ll be able to trace wonderful relationships, solid strategies and brilliant ideas for achieving racial justice back to the FACING RACE gathering.”
 
FACING RACE continues throughout the weekend with more than 50 workshops and panels on the racial wealth divide, transforming public schools and creating state policy that addresses racial disparities. This morning Juan Gonzalez, Winona LaDuke, Deepak Bhargava, Bertha Lewis and Sen debated the “Future of Racial Justice” and policymakers assessed the “First 100 Days of the New Congress”.
 
Nine-time Grammy Award winner Eddie Palmieri will also headline “Kaleidescope”, an evening of music, poetry and film, capping the first full day of the conference which expanded registrations to accommodate a rising tide of interest.
 
“The overwhelming response to FACING RACE shows that racial justice is more than idea,” Sen added from the conference. “It is a commitment to change the rules so that privileges and punishments are not determined by the color of our skin.”

Find summaries, photos and video of the event at the FACING RACE online conference:  http://www.racewire.org

The Applied Research Center is a public policy institute advancing racial justice through research, advocacy and journalism.

For Immediate Release
March 15, 2007

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

New York, NY—Tensions increased today after the grand jury in the Sean Bell case failed to decide whether to indict three NYPD officers.  The undercover detectives unloaded 50 rounds into Bell’s car last November killing him and seriously injuring two others. Ahead of the verdict, new questions are being raised about the use of excessive force by the NYPD as national leaders gather in New York for a conference on racial justice. 

"The significance of the Sean Bell case is that it’s just the latest incident in a long series of NYPD abuses.  We can go back 4 years to Alberta Spruill, 8 years to Amadou Diallo, 10 years to Abner Luima, 15 years to Anthony Baez, 20 years to Michael Griffith, 25 years to Eleanor Bumpers and keep going.  But every day, "on duty" police officers in New York City routinely violate and disrespect people of color,” offered lawyer Esmeralda Simmons, director of the Law and Social Justice project at Medger Evers College.  “The continuum of police brutality indicates that there is actually an issue in our larger society that supports police violence against people of color.  The issue is racism and its product is often racial violence. ”

Family and community supporters have joined the Bell family in a daily vigil at the Queens Supreme court, but a demonstration to follow the grand jury decision at Union Square is expected to draw a far larger crowd. The police department has reserved 1,700 additional officers to manage the projected response to the grand jury’s deliberations.

Just as tensions around the case reach their peak, civil rights, criminal justice and policy leaders plan to converge on New York for the Annual Facing Race conference next week.  The national gathering, sponsored by the Applied Research Center and Center for the Humanities at CUNY, is bringing together more than 600 people to take up cases like Bell’s and to develop innovative racial justice strategies.

“Justice for Sean Bell is not just a concern for New Yorkers, it’s a call for racial justice that is heard nationwide,” said Rinku Sen, Executive Director of the Applied Research Center.  “Yes, we want an indictment in the Bell case.  But we also need real solutions to the persistent racism in policing, our public schools and the health system.   For Bell’s supporters and Facing Race participants, racial justice is more than idea; it’s a commitment to change the rules so that privileges and punishments are not determined by the color of our skin.”

The grand jury is expected to rule in the Bell case this week. 

Facing Race takes place March 22-24 at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City and features a keynote speech by award-winning novelist and social commentator Walter Mosley.

For more information: http://www.arc.org/content/view/487/111/

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The Applied Research Center is a national policy institute advancing racial justice through research, advocacy and communications.  It also publishes COLORLINES, the national news magazine on race and politics.

For Immediate Release
November 14, 2006

Contact: Alondra Espejel, Organizing Apprenticeship Project (OAP), (612) 250-5926

Minneapolis, MN—In the wake of state and local elections, the Organizing Apprenticeship Project in conjunction with the Applied Research Center presented findings this morning from the Minnesota Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity evaluating the Governor and state legislature on key legislation effecting communities of color.  Legislators and community organizations from across the state delivered the grades to the Minnesota State Legislature, criticizing a marked failure to advance racial equity in Minnesota.

“Race matters in Minnesota. But as demographics shift, the unprecedented growth in communities of color is not being echoed in the policy decisions of the governor and state legislature,” said Jermaine Toney, policy analyst with the Organizing Apprenticeship Project and the report’s author.  “Disparities in opportunity, access and outcomes between white Minnesotans and Minnesotans of color are stark – in some cases, among the worst in the nation.  While a few leaders championed laws for all, missed opportunities in health, education and criminal justice crippled this legislative session,” asserted Toney.

The Minnesota Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity (2005-2006) evaluates and grades Governor Tim Pawlenty and members of the Legislature on their support for racial equity by analyzing 22 bills that, if passed, would have a strong positive impact on communities of color.

Key trends in the report:
Governor Tim Pawlenty received a C- on racial equity legislation.  The Governor vetoed three of the ten bills that reached his desk (70 percent).

The Legislature received an F.  Seven of 22 (32 percent) bills that were considered for this report became law.  Ten bills reached the governor’s desk.  The other 12 bills became missed opportunities.

Minnesota lawmakers are failing on racial equity but champions are emerging.  Strongest leadership comes from legislators in districts with people of color majorities.                                   

The honor roll for racial equity cuts across geography, party affiliation and racial group.  Legislators were from Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.  There were two republican legislators, though a majority of legislators were from the democratic party.  There were three legislators of color, but the majority of legislators were white.

Missed Opportunities:
Although real policy solutions were put forward in this session to address Minnesota’s racial divide, many pieces of legislation ended the term as “missed opportunities.”  These were policy proposals that were either rejected by the Legislature or vetoed by the Governor.  Below are two examples:

Education-Governor Pawlenty vetoed the Quality Rating for Early Learning Centers bill which would have set standards for pre-kindergarten early learning centers and help parents evaluate childcare choices.

Criminal Justice-tens of thousands of people of color who were arrested, but whose cases were dismissed in court, would have had their records cleaned if the Legislature had passed HF 1715.
This bill would have removed a significant racial barrier to employment and housing.

Despite the multiple missed opportunities in the legislative cycle, advocates and legislators also heralded policy makers who did take substantial steps to close the racial gap in key issue areas.  “Racial justice should speak deeply to Minnesota’s egalitarian tradition of developing legislative tools to create equal opportunities in jobs, education, health care and criminal justice,” noted Congressman-elect Keith Ellison.  “I hope the report findings serve to inspire the Minnesota State Legislature to step up and lead for racial equity in our state,” stated Ellison.

“While racial disparities are pervasive in Minnesota, they need not be permanent.  For this state, the time has come to begin facing race,” said Pastor Christopher Becker, from Peace Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights.

The Organizing Apprenticeship Project (OAP) works to strengthen community organizing in Minnesota by increasing the number, effectiveness and diversity of community organizers, leaders and organizing projects in the state.  This report is intended to be the first annual report on racial equity, with the second report coming out next year.

For Immediate Release                   
November 14, 2006

Contact: Jarad Sanchez, Applied Research Center, Mobile: (818) 613-0385
  

Oakland, CA—In the wake of startling Census numbers, new research from the Applied Research Center (ARC) documents the failure of California lawmakers to address a deepening racial divide threatening the security and well-being of all Californians. FACING RACE: California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2006, evaluates the Governor and Legislature on their support for proactive legislation to close long-standing disparities in health, education, income and other key indicators. With the legislature scoring a “C-” and Governor Schwarzenegger a “D,” the report reveals partisan politics is standing in the way of progress in the nation’s most diverse state.

“New census data released today shows that race matters in California and throughout the nation. As our population grows, we need a plan for addressing the changing needs of our diverse state” said Menachem Krajcer, senior policy analyst at the Applied Research Center and the report’s author. “Bitter partisan politics and budget restraints are crippling long overdue reforms in health and education.“

Data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau documents a persistent and deepening racial divide nationwide and in California.  White households had incomes that were two-thirds higher than Blacks and 40% higher than Hispanics last year.  Whites are also more likely to attend college and less likely to live in poverty.  FACING RACE 2006 poses the critical questions of the nation’s racial divide to those in power, evaluating Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and members of the Legislature on their support for legislation that would bridge the racial gap.

In addition, the annual report, now in its 3rd year, offers a county by county mapping of demographic changes and an analysis of the racial divide in California healthcare, schools and jobs.

“For Latinos in California and other communities of color, race continues to have a disparate impact when it concerns health outcomes. Despite advancements in medical technology, we continue to lag behind outcome improvements, particularly with chronic illnesses,” said Lupe Alonzo Diaz, Executive Director for the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.  “As California’s diverse communities continue to increase, the time is now to craft meaningful solutions to many of these problems.”

Report Highlights
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger received a D for 55% support for racial equity legislation.

Both the Assembly and the Senate received a low C for support of racial equity—69% and 65% respectively.

The strongest leadership for racial equity was in the Assembly: Of the 20 racial equity bills that were passed by the legislature, 12 originated in the Assembly. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez received an A for 100% support, Senate pro Tem Don Perata received a C for 70% support, for failure to vote on six racial equity bills.

The higher the racial diversity of a legislative district, the higher the support for racial equity. Average scores for districts with 75% or more people of color were 99% in the Assembly and 95% in the Senate. On average, districts with white majorities voted for racial equity 44% of the time in the Assembly and 43% of the time in the Senate.
 
Missed Opportunities
Increasing College Access: From raising the standards of the state’s high school curriculum (AB 1896) to ensuring college opportunity (SB 1709), key education reforms failed to pass the legislature or were vetoed by the Governor.

Health Care for All. The state failed to support counties providing health care to all children over a partisan divide over immigrant children. A single payer health care system to cover all Californians, including 6.5 million currently uninsured was vetoed by the Governor.

“While racial disparities are pervasive in California, they need not be permanent.  For this state and others around the country, the time has come to begin facing race,” Tammy Johnson, policy director at the Applied Research Center which also released reports on racial equity in Minnesota and Illinois today.  “Overcoming institutional racism involves restructuring the distribution of rights and resources in this state and nationwide.  Our elected leaders must create innovative solutions that take this responsibility seriously.”

FACING RACE: California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity is the follow-up to the Applied Research Center’s California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2005 and California’s New Majority 2004 Legislative Report Card on Race.

RACIAL DIVIDE DEEPENS AS SOLUTIONS STALL IN SPRINGFIELD, NEW REPORT FINDS

Full text of Facing Race 2006: Illinois Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity

Chicago, IL—With the state legislature convening this week for the Fall Veto Session, a new report Monday finds that dire racial inequities remain unchecked in Springfield.

Representing the first time Illinois lawmakers have been evaluated on their response to issues of racial equity, Facing Race 2006: Illinois Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity was released today by the Midwest office of the Applied Research Center, a national policy institute. Despite significant strides, the report shows that key legislation to remedy deep-seated racial disparities in income, education and health stalled in the last session, threatening the state’s economic and social stability, and in particular its 3.2 million residents of color.

“While racial disparities are pervasive in Illinois, they need not be permanent.  For this state, the time has come to begin facing race,” said Josina Morita, Senior Policy Analyst at the Applied Research Center and the report’s author.  “Overcoming institutional racism involves restructuring rights and resources in this state through equitable policy change.”  

They based that finding on sixteen legislative proposals that stalled in the General Assembly.

Notable bills to decrease racial inequities that failed include:

SB 37, Indexing the Minimum Wage to Inflation, which never made it out of the Senate, would annually adjust the state’s minimum wage according to changes in the consumer price index. This would provide needed income to minimum wage earners, 60 percent of whom are people of color.

HB 5000, Tax-Exempt Hospital Accountability Act, which never cleared the House, would require non-profit hospitals to contribute 8 percent of their operating costs to charity care (up from a current average contribution of 1%). This would provide needed health care access to the uninsured. Working-age Blacks and Latinos are, respectively, twice and three times as likely as whites to have no health insurance. Undocumented Latinos are five times as likely as whites to be without health insurance.

SB/HB 750, School Funding and Tax Reform, which failed to pass in the Senate or House, would create the School District Tax Relief Fund in order to provide more equitable school funding. This measure is intended to help reduce racial gaps in educational opportunities and performance.  In 2003 the funding gap per student between the school districts with the highest and lowest minority populations was nearly $1,500.

“Inequalities exist across issues of education funding, access to quality health care, access to transportation, and economic opportunities,” says Senator Kwame Raoul. “It is important to address these issues, but also the underlying racial inequities that produce these disparities."

The demise of key legislation linked to racial equity overshadows other progress lawmakers have made to improve conditions for people of color in Illinois, the authors said.  

“Though there’s much to be done to end the state’s deep racial disparities, in some key areas Illinois’ elected officials are making real strides to create policies that promote racial equity,” Ms. Morita noted.

The report identifies 20 bills deemed to have a positive impact on racial equity that the General Assembly approved and the Governor signed into law. 

Some notable “racial equity” bills included:

SB 92: Creation of a new Juvenile Justice Department, distinct from the Illinois Department of Corrections, is charged with providing comprehensive rehabilitative programs to the state’s incarcerated youth, 52 percent of whom are Black. A related measure, SB 283 eliminates automatic transfers of juveniles to adult court, 99 percent of which involved youth of color between 1999 and 2000.

HB 615: The Reduction in Health Disparities Act provides grants to improve health outcomes in communities of color and requires the Office of Minority Health to establish measurable goals for reducing racial health disparities in priority areas. While Illinois has one of the nation’s highest mortality rates related to asthma, the Black asthma death rates is twice that of whites.

For their votes on racial equity measures, the Senate and House collectively received B grades. 16 of 59 Senators and 36 of 118 Representatives made the “honor roll” for supporting all 20 racial equity bills.

Although many positive measures received support across racial and party lines, legislators of color supported more racial equity bills than white legislators. Legislators from districts with the highest percentages of people of color were more likely to support racial equity bills.

“Illinois is experiencing an unprecedented growth of communities of color in nearly every county with a people of color majority expected by 2050” said Morita. “We need the political will to squarely face up to the realities of institutional racism. False notions of “colorblindness” – pretending that race and racism don’t exist – will not move us forward.”

The Applied Research Center will be monitoring the upcoming legislative session and plans to release an annual edition of the Facing Race report.

###

The Applied Research Center is a public policy institute advancing racial justice through research, advocacy and journalism.

For Immediate Release:
August 14, 2006

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843 or Rinku Sen, ARC, Tel: (212) 513-7925

New York, NY—Today, the Applied Research Center (ARC) released data showing dramatic increases in U.S. communities of color.  Pulled from newly released census data, the analysis confirms an increasingly multi-racial, multi-national and multi-lingual nation that will demand new attention from local, state and federal policymakers.

ARC found a 5.6% increase in Blacks, while Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) are up 18.5% compared to five years ago. The biggest increases came in the Latino community, which grew by 7 million between 2000 and 2005; an increase of nearly 20%.  Whites are the only group to show a dip, dropping 2 points to 67% of the population.

“The new census data confirms what has already been predicted.  Very soon there will be a new majority in the U.S. made up of communities of color,” said Rinku Sen, executive director of the Applied Research Center.  "The conservative movement to limit immigration reform and other policies that open doors for people of color seems seriously out of a step with these trends.  America is a multi-racial nation and becoming more so, not less.”

The analysis released today by the national policy institute tracks demographic changes along racial lines between 2000 and 2005.  Available online, the fact sheet provides state-by-state data charting the rapid rise of communities of color in the U.S.

“Our analysis shows that growth in communities of color is broad-based and occurring outside the states and regions you might expect,” said Menachem Krajcer, senior policy analyst at ARC. “Eight southern states show more than 25% growth in their Latino communities, signaling a demographic shift that is truly national in scope.”

Key Trends:
•    Latinos grow by 7 million, a 19.7% increase.
•    36 states experienced a 15 percent or more increase in the number of APIs
•    Blacks grew 1.9 million, a 5.6% increase
•    The number of multiracial Americans grew by 540,000, a 15.8% increase
•    The number of American Indians grew by 6.1%

“This nation is changing and policymakers must respond or find themselves out of step with the needs of these growing communities, and perhaps, out of office,” added Ms. Sen.

The full data analysis is available here.

For Immediate Release
July 5, 2006

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

Rinku Sen to Lead the Applied Research Center 
Analyst and Author to Replace Founder Gary Delgado During Historic Transition

New York, NY—The Applied Research Center's Board of Directors announced today that Rinku Sen has taken the position of President and Executive Director at the national research and policy institute. Ms. Sen will immediately take over the leadership role vacated by founding director Gary Delgado who steps down this month.

“In the 25th anniversary year of the Applied Research Center, we are thrilled to usher in an unprecedented period of growth and expansion with a visionary leader pulled from our own ranks,” said Susan Colson, chair of ARC’s Board of Directors. “Rinku has worked with the founding director to build ARC into a vital and respected national institute. We are confident that she will continue and expand that important work as President and Executive Director.”

In her new role, Ms. Sen will oversee the growth and operation of ARC’s offices in New York, Chicago and Oakland.  She will play a key role in shaping the organization’s programmatic initiatives in research, policy, training and communications; spearhead development and fundraising; and serve as a key spokesperson on issues of racial justice.  Ms. Sen will also retain her role as Publisher of ColorLines, the national newsmagazine on race and politics published bimonthly by ARC.

“This is an important time for the nation to recommit itself to racial justice,” Sen said this morning from her office in New York City. “From immigration and health care to education and national security, we must craft policy solutions that address pressing issues as they confront long-standing racial inequality.”

Rinku Sen replaces Gary Delgado who has stepped down after leading the organization since its founding in 1981.  Mr. Delgado, a founder of the national community organization ACORN as well as the Center for Third World Organizing, will stay on as President Emeritus, guiding the organization through the transition period.

“The ARC staff and board were very fortunate in recruiting Rinku Sen; she has an extensive background in community organizing, and she is an accomplished researcher, analyst, and writer,” offered Mr. Delgado.  “This is a good time for a transition in ARC’s leadership. I look forward to a close relationship with the ARC family and the great successes in ARC’s future under Rinku’s leadership.”

Ms. Sen’s new role as President and Executive Director is effective immediately.  She will continue to work from the Applied Research Center’s executive office in New York.

###

Noviembre 16, 2005 (Oakland, CA)   Tras la elección especial de California, el Centro de Investigación Aplicada presentó el día de hoy el Informe de Resultados sobre la evaluación de Equidad Racial 2005 del Gobernador y del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal, en las Legislaturas clave que afectan a las comunidades de color. Los Legisladores y las organizaciones políticas a través del estado dieron a conocer las calificaciones recibidas por el Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal y el gobernador sobre informes de resultados sumamente grandes y las exigidas políticas públicas que dan prioridad a la equidad racial.

"Este reporte muestra que el Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal y a el Gobernador Schwarzenegger les ha faltado voluntad política y un plan de cohesión para afrontar las necesidades de la mayoría creciente de California (la gente de color)" Estas son palabras de Tammy Jonson, Directora de Políticas Públicas del Centro de Investigación Aplicada y una de las autoras del reporte.  "El día de hoy, los hacedores de las leyes comprometidos y los abogados defensores con interés en la justicia racial, se reunieron para mostrar públicamente los resultados y para discutir soluciones innovadoras a las políticas que acaben con esa diferencia tan marcada de la disparidad racial de California."

El Reporte de Resultados del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal del 2005 sobre Equidad Racial evalúa y califica al Gobernador y a los Miembros de la Legislatura basándose en sus respuestas a dieciocho fracciones de legislación que tendrían un impacto más directamente positivo en las comunidades de color.   El Reporte de Resultados está compuesto por cinco áreas: equidad en la educación, justicia económica, equidad en la salud, derechos civiles, u justicia criminalística. El Gobernador Schwarzenegger recibió como calificación una "D" en el área de equidad racial en el 2005.

"Mientras que el Gobernador malgasta su tiempo en apoyar iniciativas injustas durante elecciones especiales, infranqueablemente rechazaba todo intento por parte del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal por avocarse a las disparidades raciales históricas y crónicas" dice la Asambleísta Wilma Chan cuya Iniciativa de Ley "Acceso a los Niños a la Salud" fue aniquilado mediante el veto del Gobernador este mismo año.   "Mientas nos da Jarabe de Pico hablándonos de a las necesidades de las comunidades Negras, Latinas Asiáticas y Nativas, rechaza una y otra vez toda política que haría una realidad esas promesas".

Principales hallazgos del Reporte de Resultados del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal del 2005:

    •    La Asamblea recibió una C y el Senado una D en Apoyo a la Equidad Racial en California

    •    El Gobernador Schwarzenegger vetó 8 de las 18 reformas de Equidad Racial, siendo eso un 58% por lo que promedia una calificación de D.

    •    Cinco Iniciativas de Ley recibieron un fuerte apoyo bipartidista.

    •    Los Distritos de mayor porcentaje de población de color, fueron las que brindaron más apoyo a la equidad racial.

    •    Las uniones electorales étnicas legislativas son las que apoyan la equidad racial.

    •    Los Reportes de Resultados sacan a la luz las Oportunidades Perdidas, revelando donde y como las políticas de equidad racial fueron minadas a través a lo largo del proceso legislativo.

Los Copatrocinadores del Reporte de Resultados del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal de California sobre Equidad Racial del 2005 incluyen:

    •    Red de la Salud Pan-Ethnic de California

    •    Impacto de la Iglesia de California

    •    Los Californianos por la Justicia

    •    NAACP de California

###

November 16, 2005 (Oakland, CA) In the wake of California's special election, the Applied Research Center joined members of the state assembly to present the findings of the California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2005 evaluating the Governor and state legislature on key legislation effecting communities of color. Legislators and political organizations from across the state revealed the disappointing grades received by the legislature and Governor on larger than life report cards and demanded public policies that reverse racial disparities.

"Governor Schwarzenegger lacks the political will, and the legislature a cohesive plan, to address the needs of California's growing majority - people of color," said Tammy Johnson, Public Policy Director at the Applied Research Center and one of the report's authors.   "Today committed lawmakers and advocates publicly displayed the findings and discussed innovative policy solutions that will close the gap on racial disparities in California."

The 2005 Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity evaluates and grades the Governor and members of the Legislature on their responses to eighteen pieces of legislation that would have the most direct positive impact on communities of color.   The report card is broken down into five issue areas: educational equity, economic justice, health equity, civil rights, and criminal justice. Governor Schwarzenegger was presented a "D" for racial equity in 2005 from advocates and lawmakers including Oakland State Assemblymember Wilma Chan.

"While the Governor wastes time and money pushing unfair initiatives in special elections, he consistently rejects attempts by the California legislature to address persistent racial disparities," noted Chan whose "Health Access for Kids" bill was killed by the Governor's veto earlier this year.   " While paying lip-service to the needs of Black, Latino, Asian and Native communities, he has rejected at every turn the policies that can make those promises a reality."

Key Findings:

Legislative Report Card 2005

    •    The Assembly received a C and the Senate a D grade for support of racial equity in California;

    •    Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed 8 of 18 racial equity reforms; a 56 percent rating equating to a D average;

    •    Five racial equity bills received strong bipartisan support;

    •    Districts with highest percent populations of people of color were most likely to support racial equity;

    •    There were many Missed Opportunities where racial-conscious policies were undermined through the legislative process.

Failure of Race-Blind Policies in California

    •    California high school graduation rates are only 60 percent for Latinos, 57 percent for Blacks;

    •    Only one in four high school graduates of color is college-ready in California, compared to 40 percent of whites;

    •    Blacks and Latinos are nearly three times more likely to live in poverty than whites. Half of Latinos, 43 percent of Blacks, and a quarter of Asians live in or near poverty in California.

Co-Sponsors of the California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2005 include:

    •    California Pan-Ethnic Health Network

    •    California Church Impact

    •    Californians for Justice

    •    California NAACP

###

Sacramento, CA—The Applied Research Center, an Oakland-based public policy and research institute, released a report today on the voting record of California's legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. California's New Majority: 2004 Legislative Report Card on Race highlights ten bills that passed in the last session that would have had the most direct impact on communities of color.

"Race has become a key factor in California's legislative agenda," said Menachem Krajcer, Senior Policy Analyst at the Applied Research Center and author of the report. "This is the first report to look comprehensively at the racial equity record of the legislature."

Key findings include:

    •    Both the State Assembly and the State Senate earned a "C" for support of racial equity;

    •    Schwarzenegger received an "F" for vetoing 70 percent of the racial equity bills;

    •    Only two racial equity bills received significant support from both parties;

    •    Thirty-four Assembly Members and eleven Senators made the honor role with 100 percent support for the racial equity bills. Only 3 Republicans received passing grades.

Report authors note that without the governor's veto, all ten of the bills advancing racial equity would have been made law. "Schwarzenegger promised to level the playing field," said Johnson. "But instead he kicked sand in our faces by refusing to sign important racial justice legislation."

Johnson and Krajcer will be available on a toll-free conference call on Thursday, February 24 at 10:00 a.m. PST. Solomon Rivera, Executive Director of Californians for Justice, and Bertha Gorman, Legislative Advocate of the California NAACP will also respond.

Callers will be on hold until the press conference begins. A question-and-answer period will follow a brief presentation. A recording of the conference call will be repeated at 1:00 p.m., Feb. 24 at the same toll-free number .

###

Oakland, CA—The Applied Research Center (ARC), an Oakland-based public policy and research institute, is releasing a report next week on the voting record of California's legislature and its governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. California's New Majority: 2004 Legislative Report Card on Race identifies ten bills in the 2004 legislative session that represent the most direct positive impact on communities of color in the state.

The report then grades each member of the State Assembly and State Senate, as well as the Governor, on their voting record for the bills. "Race has become a key factor in California's legislative agenda," said Tammy Johnson, Director of the Race and Public Policy Project of ARC and editor of the report. "This is the first report to look comprehensively at the racial equity record of the legislature."

The report and its findings will be released on February 24. The report will make recommendations for future legislation on racial equity to the California Legislature and the Governor's office.

Press Conference Call-in

Tammy Johnson and the report's author, Menachem Krajcer, will be available for questions on a toll-free conference call on the day of the release, Thursday, February 24 at 10:00 am Pacific Time. The number is 800-251-4580.

All callers will be on hold until the press conference begins. After a brief presentation of the report's findings and recommendations, there will be a question-and-answer period.

Call Gina Acebo, RAPP Field Director, at 510-653-3415 x346 if you have trouble with the call-in number or need further instructions.

###

Sacramento, CA—The Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes will hold a hearing to assess the state of civil rights in California. Legislators say that immigrant communities and communities of color are concerned that national security policies are fostering a climate of increased fear and hate. The hearing will be held at the State Capitol, Room 126 from 1:00–3:00 pm on Thursday, April 29 in conjunction with the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, Legislative Black Caucus, and Latino Legislative Caucus.

“We must broaden public dialogue on how to prevent incidences of hate, discrimination and profiling,” says Assembly Member Judy Chu, Chair of both the Select Committee on Hate Crimes and the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. “Our civil liberties are as important as our national security. We must work on these two things hand-in-hand. That is why we are holding this exploratory hearing.”

Organizations including the Asian Law Caucus and SIREN (Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network) will be testifying about persistent patterns of discrimination and harassment against their constituents. “This is not just an issue about law enforcement profiling,” asserts Joyti Chand of the South Asian Network. “Housing discrimination against immigrants is part of the same statewide trend of increased intimidation.” The hearing will also feature personal testimony from Californians who have been victims of racial profiling, discrimination and hate crimes.

“As a state, we must send out a clear message that all forms of racial profiling are wrong and unacceptable,” says Assembly Member Marco Antonio Firebaugh, Chair of Latino Legislative Caucus. “We are all deeply concerned that proposed federal legislation, such as the CLEAR Act, would further erode civil rights protections.”

“The State should value the security of every Californian,” says Tammy Johnson of the Applied Research Center in Oakland. “While California is eligible for nearly $180 million in Homeland Security grants, virtually none of that money can be used to protect families against discrimination that we see happening on a daily basis.”

###

For Immediate Release:
February 2, 2006

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

"We all agree that the healthcare system is in crisis; the real question is how to create a plan that takes seriously the needs of all Americans, including the poor and people of color," said Rinku Sen, Communications Director at the Applied Research Center, an Oakland-based public policy insitute. "The State of the Union address has confirmed our worst fears.  President Bush is committed to the failed path of tax cuts and private accounts rather than taking real leadership in the face of a national crisis.  Only a public solution will work for all Americans, and his continued disregard is literally making people sick."

The Bush plan prioritized increasing the use of information technology, expanding private health savings accounts and curbing medical liability claims.  During his annual speech to a joint session of Congress, President Bush emphasized the disproportionate burden faced by many small business owners throughout the nation struggling to make insurance available to their employees.  Though his plan has cited this constituency as one of its primary beneficiaries, a growing number of business owners claim that his initiatives are insufficient.

“It’s simply not going to work,” said Diana Hess a small business owner and member of the Idaho Community Action Network who recently interviewed 100 small businesses in Preston, ID.   “The other businesses in my community feel that tax credits just aren’t enough; the costs are too high.  What we really need from the President is a public insurance program that all owners and their employees can access for quality care.”

Tonight the Applied Research Center also cited its landmark study “Closing the Gap: Solutions to Race Based Health Disparities,“ which documented programs across the country effectively reducing deadly disparities in the health system. The report found public initiatives central to reducing health disparities; one municipal children’s health inititiative reduced the number of uninsured children in a California county by 62% in just one year, demonstrating the power of public led initiatives.  U.S. Census data shows that Black Americans are twice as likely to be uninsured as their white counterparts; Latinos are three times more likely.

"As the entire nation struggles, the President would like us to forget that health diparities continue to run along the color line, demanding a solution that looks toward the margins,“ Sen added.  "President Bush should develop solutions that work for all Americans, not just the wealthy and white.  Private solutions aggravate disparities.  Public solutions have eliminated them.”

The Applied Research Center is a public policy institute advancing racial justice through research, advocacy and journalism.

###

Related Documents:

Closing the Gap Full Report and Closing the Gap Executive Summary can be downloaded as PDFs by completing the form found here.

For Immediate Release:
November 16, 2005

Contacts: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

Oakland, CA—In the wake of California's special election, the Applied Research Center joined members of the state assembly to present the findings of the California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2005 evaluating the Governor and state legislature on key legislation effecting communities of color. Legislators and political organizations from across the state revealed the disappointing grades received by the legislature and Governor on larger than life report cards and demanded public policies that reverse racial disparities.

"Governor Schwarzenegger lacks the political will, and the legislature a cohesive plan, to address the needs of California's growing majority - people of color," said Tammy Johnson, Public Policy Director at the Applied Research Center and one of the report's authors. "Today committed lawmakers and advocates publicly displayed the findings and discussed innovative policy solutions that will close the gap on racial disparities in California."

The 2005 Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity evaluates and grades the Governor and members of the Legislature on their responses to eighteen pieces of legislation that would have the most direct positive impact on communities of color. The report card is broken down into five issue areas: educational equity, economic justice, health equity, civil rights, and criminal justice. Governor Schwarzenegger was presented a "D" for racial equity in 2005 from advocates and lawmakers including Oakland State Assemblymember Wilma Chan.

"While the Governor wastes time and money pushing unfair initiatives in special elections, he consistently rejects attempts by the California legislature to address persistent racial disparities," noted Chan whose "Health Access for Kids" bill was killed by the Governor's veto earlier this year. "While paying lip-service to the needs of Black, Latino, Asian and Native communities, he has rejected at every turn the policies that can make those promises a reality."

Key Findings:

Legislative Report Card 2005

    •    The Assembly received a C and the Senate a D grade for support of racial equity in California;

    •    Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed 8 of 18 racial equity reforms; a 56 percent rating equating to a D average;

    •    Five racial equity bills received strong bipartisan support;

    •    Districts with highest percent populations of people of color were most likely to support racial equity;

    •    There were many Missed Opportunities where racial-conscious policies were undermined through the legislative process.

Failure of Race-Blind Policies in California

    •    California high school graduation rates are only 60 percent for Latinos, 57 percent for Blacks;

    •    Only one in four high school graduates of color is college-ready in California, compared to 40 percent of whites;

    •    Blacks and Latinos are nearly three times more likely to live in poverty than whites. Half of Latinos, 43 percent of Blacks, and a quarter of Asians live in or near poverty in California.

Co-Sponsors of the California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity 2005 include:

    •    California Pan-Ethnic Health Network

    •    California Church Impact

    •    Californians for Justice

    •    California NAACP

###

Para Difusion Inmediata:
16 de Noviembre, 2005

Contactos: Jonathan Adams, ARC, oficina: 646.502.8843, Gina Acebo (510) 882-6255 movil, (510) 653-3415 oficina.

Oakland, CA—Tras la elección especial de California, el Centro de Investigación Aplicada presentó el día de hoy el Informe de Resultados sobre la evaluación de Equidad Racial 2005 del Gobernador y del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal, en las Legislaturas clave que afectan a las comunidades de color. Los Legisladores y las organizaciones políticas a través del estado dieron a conocer las calificaciones recibidas por el Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal y el gobernador sobre informes de resultados sumamente grandes y las exigidas políticas públicas que dan prioridad a la equidad racial.

"Este reporte muestra que el Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal y a el Gobernador Schwarzenegger les ha faltado voluntad política y un plan de cohesión para afrontar las necesidades de la mayoría creciente de California (la gente de color)" Estas son palabras de Tammy Jonson, Directora de Políticas Públicas del Centro de Investigación Aplicada y una de las autoras del reporte.  "El día de hoy, los hacedores de las leyes comprometidos y los abogados defensores con interés en la justicia racial, se reunieron para mostrar públicamente los resultados y para discutir soluciones innovadoras a las políticas que acaben con esa diferencia tan marcada de la disparidad racial de California."

El Reporte de Resultados del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal del 2005 sobre Equidad Racial evalúa y califica al Gobernador y a los Miembros de la Legislatura basándose en sus respuestas a dieciocho fracciones de legislación que tendrían un impacto más directamente positivo en las comunidades de color.   El Reporte de Resultados está compuesto por cinco áreas: equidad en la educación, justicia económica, equidad en la salud, derechos civiles, u justicia criminalística. El Gobernador Schwarzenegger recibió como calificación una "D" en el área de equidad racial en el 2005.

"Mientras que el Gobernador malgasta su tiempo en apoyar iniciativas injustas durante elecciones especiales, infranqueablemente rechazaba todo intento por parte del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal por avocarse a las disparidades raciales históricas y crónicas" dice la Asambleísta Wilma Chan cuya Iniciativa de Ley "Acceso a los Niños a la Salud" fue aniquilado mediante el veto del Gobernador este mismo año.   "Mientas nos da Jarabe de Pico hablándonos de a las necesidades de las comunidades Negras, Latinas Asiáticas y Nativas, rechaza una y otra vez toda política que haría una realidad esas promesas".

Principales hallazgos del Reporte de Resultados del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal del 2005:

    •    La Asamblea recibió una C y el Senado una D en Apoyo a la Equidad Racial en California

    •    El Gobernador Schwarzenegger vetó 8 de las 18 reformas de Equidad Racial, siendo eso un 58% por lo que promedia una calificación de D.

    •    Cinco Iniciativas de Ley recibieron un fuerte apoyo bipartidista.

    •    Los Distritos de mayor porcentaje de población de color, fueron las que brindaron más apoyo a la equidad racial.

    •    Las uniones electorales étnicas legislativas son las que apoyan la equidad racial.

    •    Los Reportes de Resultados sacan a la luz las Oportunidades Perdidas, revelando donde y como las políticas de equidad racial fueron minadas a través a lo largo del proceso legislativo.

Los Copatrocinadores del Reporte de Resultados del Cuerpo Legislativo Estatal de California sobre Equidad Racial del 2005 incluyen:

    •    Red de la Salud Pan-Ethnic de California

    •    Impacto de la Iglesia de California

    •    Los Californianos por la Justicia

    •    NAACP de California

###

For Immediate Release:
Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

New York, NY—Today, the Applied Research Center and Northwest Federation of Community Organizations released a new report entitled Closing the Gap: Solutions to Race-Based Health Disparities. The report documents the persistent problems experienced by communities of color attempting to access health care services across the nation. With a review of the latest research on health disparities, in-depth field research and comprehensive case studies, Closing the Gap reinvigorates the debate over what may be the nation's greatest public health challenge - the persistent racial divide in access to comprehensive, quality health services.

"The health care system as a whole provides vastly unequal access and treatment based on race, language, and ethnicity. Racism within the health system is literally making people of color sick," noted Will Pittz, organizer at the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations and lead author of the report. "The report's case studies articulate real solutions to the difficult problem of race-based health inequality. From an edible garden in Berkeley, to city-wide reform of the public health system in Washington, D.C., Closing the Gap highlights successes at the critical intersection of racial justice and health policy."

Closing the Gap describes the institutional and structural barriers that block access to quality care for people of color.   Disputing the claims that racial disparities in health are based in biology or entirely attributable to socioeconomic status, "Closing the Gap" reveals that race and socioeconomic status together shape the obstacles individuals face as they seek quality health care.

This report is intended to make a real impact on policy discussions, the Applied Research Center's Communications Director Rinku Sen stated this morning, "Ultimately, racial and ethnic disparities in health cost hundreds of thousands of lives every year and prevent millions of others from enjoying a healthy life. Closing the Gap identifies best practices from around the nation that may serve as models for institutions, government agencies, and community-based organizations as they develop health-related programs. "

Closing the Gap was released today at the National Press Club. Its key recommendations include:

• Eliminating disparities in access to health insurance;
• Developing health care institutions that are welcoming and respectful to people of different races and ethnicities;
• Tracking racial disparities in health care provision;
• Providing medical interpretation services for all clinical encounters;
• And improving access to traditional and non-Western treatments.
  

Closing the Gap also features case studies gathered from across the nation:

• Building a System of Accessible, Welcoming, High Quality Care : The Southcentral Foundation, Anchorage, Alaska
• Providing Language Access for All : Bellevue Hospital, New York City
• Expanding Health Coverage : D.C. Healthy Families, Washington, D.C.Improving Diet and Exercise : Tohono O'odham Community Action, Sells, Arizona
• Improving School Nutrition : The Edible Schoolyard, Berkeley, CaliforniaAddressing Community Problems From a Health Perspective : St. Thomas Health Services, New Orleans, LA

The Applied Research Center is a public policy, research and training institute that focuses on race and social change. The Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (NWFCO) provides training, policy development and research support to grassroots organizations in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho.

More on the report and a link to download a PDF copy here.

###

For Immediate Release
April 29, 2004

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

Sacramento, CA—The Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes will hold a hearing to assess the state of civil rights in California. Legislators say that immigrant communities and communities of color are concerned that national security policies are fostering a climate of increased fear and hate. The hearing will be held at the State Capitol, Room 126 from 1:00–3:00 pm on Thursday, April 29 in conjunction with the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, Legislative Black Caucus, and Latino Legislative Caucus.

“We must broaden public dialogue on how to prevent incidences of hate, discrimination and profiling,” says Assembly Member Judy Chu, Chair of both the Select Committee on Hate Crimes and the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. “Our civil liberties are as important as our national security. We must work on these two things hand-in-hand. That is why we are holding this exploratory hearing.”

Organizations including the Asian Law Caucus and SIREN (Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network) will be testifying about persistent patterns of discrimination and harassment against their constituents. “This is not just an issue about law enforcement profiling,” asserts Joyti Chand of the South Asian Network. “Housing discrimination against immigrants is part of the same statewide trend of increased intimidation.” The hearing will also feature personal testimony from Californians who have been victims of racial profiling, discrimination and hate crimes.

“As a state, we must send out a clear message that all forms of racial profiling are wrong and unacceptable,” says Assembly Member Marco Antonio Firebaugh, Chair of Latino Legislative Caucus. “We are all deeply concerned that proposed federal legislation, such as the CLEAR Act, would further erode civil rights protections.”

“The State should value the security of every Californian,” says Tammy Johnson of the Applied Research Center in Oakland. “While California is eligible for nearly $180 million in Homeland Security grants, virtually none of that money can be used to protect families against discrimination that we see happening on a daily basis.”

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Media Advisory
February 24, 2005

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

Sacramento, CA—The Applied Research Center, an Oakland-based public policy and research institute, released a report today on the voting record of California's legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. California's New Majority: 2004 Legislative Report Card on Race highlights ten bills that passed in the last session that would have had the most direct impact on communities of color.

"Race has become a key factor in California's legislative agenda," said Menachem Krajcer, Senior Policy Analyst at the Applied Research Center and author of the report. "This is the first report to look comprehensively at the racial equity record of the legislature."

Key findings include:

    •    Both the State Assembly and the State Senate earned a "C" for support of racial equity;

    •    Schwarzenegger received an "F" for vetoing 70 percent of the racial equity bills;

    •    Only two racial equity bills received significant support from both parties;

    •    Thirty-four Assembly Members and eleven Senators made the honor role with 100 percent support for the racial equity bills. Only 3 Republicans received passing grades.

Report authors note that without the governor's veto, all ten of the bills advancing racial equity would have been made law. "Schwarzenegger promised to level the playing field," said Johnson. "But instead he kicked sand in our faces by refusing to sign important racial justice legislation."

Johnson and Krajcer will be available on a toll-free conference call on Thursday, February 24 at 10:00 a.m. PST. Solomon Rivera, Executive Director of Californians for Justice, and Bertha Gorman, Legislative Advocate of the California NAACP will also respond.

Callers will be on hold until the press conference begins. A question-and-answer period will follow a brief presentation. A recording of the conference call will be repeated at 1:00 p.m., Feb. 24 at the same toll-free number .

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Media Advisory
February 18, 2005

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

Oakland, CA—The Applied Research Center (ARC), an Oakland-based public policy and research institute, is releasing a report next week on the voting record of California's legislature and its governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. California's New Majority: 2004 Legislative Report Card on Race identifies ten bills in the 2004 legislative session that represent the most direct positive impact on communities of color in the state.

The report then grades each member of the State Assembly and State Senate, as well as the Governor, on their voting record for the bills. "Race has become a key factor in California's legislative agenda," said Tammy Johnson, Director of the Race and Public Policy Project of ARC and editor of the report. "This is the first report to look comprehensively at the racial equity record of the legislature."

The report and its findings will be released on February 24. The report will make recommendations for future legislation on racial equity to the California Legislature and the Governor's office.

Press Conference Call-in

Tammy Johnson and the report's author, Menachem Krajcer, will be available for questions on a toll-free conference call on the day of the release:

Thursday, February 24 at 10:00 am Pacific Time.
The number is 800-251-4580.

All callers will be on hold until the press conference begins. After a brief presentation of the report's findings and recommendations, there will be a question-and-answer period.

Call Gina Acebo, RAPP Field Director, at 510-653-3415 x346 if you have trouble with the call-in number or need further instructions.

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Berkeley, CA—Radio and television talk-show host Tavis Smiley will be speaking in UC Berkeley’s Wheeler Auditorium at 7pm, Thursday November 11, 2004. The public event, titled “Racing the Elections: What Do the Presidential Elections Mean for Communities of Color?”, costs $10 for the public and $5 for students with ID. Smiley
will speak about the impact the reelection of President Bush will have on communities of color, as well as role that voters of color had in the election process. The event opens the conference on Race and Public Policy being held at the University of California, Berkeley, November 11-13, 2004.

Tavis Smiley is the host of The Tavis Smiley Show from NPR, and Tavis Smiley on PBS. His latest book is titled The Unfinished Agenda of Brown v. Board of Education Black Issues in Higher Education. Smiley is one of the premier media personalities in the U.S. Time selected Smiley as one of America’s 50 most promising young leaders. Newsweek profiled him as one of the “20 people changing how Americans get their news.”

The Race & Public Policy conference is cosponsored by the Applied Research Center, the Center for Social Justice at Boalt Law School—UC Berkeley, the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity, and the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. Special assistance for the Smiley event provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

For more information: www.arc.org

Available as a PDF download here.

Aviso de Prensa
4 de Noviembre, 2004

Contacto: Jonathan Adams, ARC, oficina: (646) 502-8843

Media Advisory:
November 4, 2004

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843

Available as a PDF download here.

Chicago, IL—Two public hearings will be held on the increase of racial profiling post 9-11.

WHEN & WHERE:

Press Conference: Saturday, October 18, 9:15 - 9:45am

Public Hearing 1: Saturday, October 18, 10:00am - 1:00pm
Featuring stories from people who have experienced racial profiling and unfair treatment.
New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, 740 E. 77th St., (77th & Cottage Grove).

Public Hearing 2: Monday, October. 20, 10:00am - 2:00pm
Featuring testimony from advocates, scholars, invited law enforcement representatives, and targets of racial profiling.
DePaul University’s Egan Urban Center, 243 S. Wabash (9th Floor).

WHO:
Testimonies (partial list):
    •    A Moroccan man gives first-hand account of detainment
    •    A Pakistani man detained after double parking
    •    A Palestinian man denied medical attention while detained at Special Registration
    •    A Mexican woman to be deported after Operation Tarmac raids
    •    An African American man wrongfully convicted of armed robbery
    •    A Japanese American connects World War II internment to present day conditions.
    •    Scholars and advocates from civil rights, immigrant rights, human rights and social justice organizations, as well as law enforcement representatives
Moderators:

Hearing 1: Barbara Ransby, professor of History and Black Studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago and Executive Director of the Public Square.

Hearing 2: Nancy Bothne, Midwest Regional Director, Amnesty International USA.

Public Truth Commissioners:
    •    Cynthia Soto, Illinois General Assembly member, 4th District (Saturday only)
    •    Rey Colon, Chicago City Council, Chicago Alderman, 35th Ward (Saturday only)
    •    Hayelom Ayele, Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on

Immigration and Refugee Affairs:
    •    Kareem Irfan, Chairman of the Council of Islamic Organization of Greater Chicago
    •    Aaron Patterson, Death row inmate who was wrongfully convicted and pardoned
    •    Camille Odeh, Executive Director of the Southwest Youth Collaborative
    •    Jesus Garcia, former Illinios State Senator; Exec. Dir. of Little Village Community

Development Corporation:
    •    Grace Hou, Assistant Secretary of Illinois Department of Human Services

The two hearings are being conducted by a broad-based alliance of immigrant rights, civil rights, human rights and racial justice organizations including: Amnesty International; Applied Research Center; Arab American Action Network; Justice Coalition of Greater Chicago; Coalition of African, Asian, European and Latino Immigrants of Illinois; and Southwest Youth Collaborative.

On Saturday, October 18th a panel of elected officials and community leaders will hear testimony of racial profiling, discrimination, and harassment two years after the passage of the USA Patriot Act. Targets of racial profiling will share personal accounts of workplace discrimination and job loss, inhumane detention conditions, physical confrontation and harassment by local law enforcement, and profiling of refugee communities. Testifiers will also discuss related experiences of the Japanese American community during World War II.

Then, on Monday, October 20th, there will be a Congressional style hearing, chaired by the Honorable Timothy L. Lewis, Of Counsel at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, a national law firm, and former judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. This hearing is the fifth in a national series convened by Amnesty International USA designed to expose race-focused law enforcement practices as wrong, ineffective, and a violation of international human rights laws.

“Witnesses at Amnesty International's previous hearings have testified to the humiliating nature of being wrongly targeted by race-focused law enforcement practices that is destroying families and exploiting minor technicalities in the law to rob people, including US citizens, of their freedoms," said Nancy Bothne, Midwest Regional Director of Amnesty International USA. "Racial profiling is wrong. It is a violation of basic human rights, and it does nothing to keep Americans safe from crime or terrorism."

“Special registration, increased surveillance, workplace discrimination and harassment by law enforcement have reinforced a climate of fear, hatred and racial profiling that tears families apart,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, Director of the Arab American Action Network, “and the U.S. government criminalizes our communities under the pretext of homeland security and foreign policy interests.”

The Council on American Islamic Relations reported that anti-Muslim incidents in the United States increased by 15 percent in 2002.

“It’s discriminatory and counterproductive when local police or federal law enforcement agencies use race or ethnic appearance to predict criminal behavior. This profiling can happen when driving while Black or Brown, flying while Arab or Muslim, or simply living as a new immigrant in the U.S.,” said Josina Morita, of the Applied Research Center, a public policy institute that focuses on issues of race. “The many stories we’ve collected reveal tragic outcomes from racially-biased practices that need to be dismantled,” she added.

“We need forums like the Public Truth to cultivate greater community response to the new national policies that are hurting all of us, but especially immigrants and people of color,” said Saket Soni of the Coalition of African, Asian, European and Latino Immigrants of Illinois. “Public policies and law enforcement practices must guarantee the civil rights, human rights and fair treatment of all people.”

Similar hearings have been held in Los Angeles; Oakland; San Francisco; New York; Tulsa, OK; Santa Clara, CA; and Alameda, CA.

The Applied Research Center is a public policy institute advancing racial justice through research, advocacy and journalism.

Media Advisory
September 19, 2003

Contact: Jonathan Adams, ARC, Tel: (646) 502-8843