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2021 was an important landmark year for racial justice in America. It was a year that followed nationwide protests against systemic injustices, calls for a racial reckoning in this country, and a historic presidential election. As we reflect on the past 12 months, it’s important for us to reimagine our collective racial justice work and to continue thinking about how we carry this energy forward into the new year.
(Photo Credit: Sean Grayford/ Getty Images)
Earlier this year, President Joe Biden was quoted as saying “Democracy doesn’t just happen by accident. We have to defend it, fight for it, strengthen it, renew it.” As we’ve seen this year –– with an insurrection on the Capitol in an effort to overturn an election, the rise of white nationalism, guilty verdicts for the murderers of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, last month’s acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in murdering and critically injuring white allies during a Black Lives Matter protest, and attacks on voting rights, women’s rights, transgender rights, and even the right to learn the true history of this country—the need for us to continuously question our systems and institutions is paramount.
The hard questions around race and democracy and its historical intertwining with America’s history (slavery, Jim Crow, Indigenous land grabs, the exclusion of people of color, genocide) calls for a constant reimagining of how we can achieve a truly multiracial democratic society.
In this calendar year, our work here at Race Forward has continued to move us toward this vision of a multiracial democratic society. Some of the programs and initiatives we’ve worked on include:
We invite you to join us in building a society and a world where all communities will be able to thrive. Start right at the beginning of the year by joining us for the following activities we have planned in January. Watch your email early next year for more information.
- Webinar: #RaceAnd: The Fight for Reproductive Justice (January 25)
- Webinar presented by our new H.E.A.L (Honest Education Action & Leadership) Together on countering the attacks in Critical Race Theory (CRT) (January 27)
- Launch of Facing Race 2022 with calls for proposals, vendors, and volunteers
- Launch of a new podcast miniseries dealing with the themes of immigration reform, racial justice, and solidarity that places a spotlight on the urgency of the moment within the immigrant rights movement.
We’re kicking off 2022 getting real about how we build this just, multiracial society we have never seen nor experienced. Acknowledging that in order to build power, our vision needs to be bolder than ever and our work more intentional than ever. Continue following Race Forward’s work on our website, through our social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter –– and if you’re inspired and ready for the work in the new year, tell us! Tag us using @raceforward and let us know how you’ll be starting the new year off in the fight for racial justice.
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