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Dear John,
Earlier this month, our Government Alliance on Race and Equity, a network of more than 430 government jurisdictions across the country, held its annual membership meeting. Approximately 1500 people attended the hybrid event, in-person in Portland, OR, and/or online.
During the week, there were great, inspiring conversations about the role of government in leading the change for a multiracial democracy where everyone has equitable opportunities to thrive and prosper. However, one can’t help but juxtapose these conversions with the current realities of the country and world in which we are living.
As we approach and get closer to the midterm elections, we know the fights will become more fierce. We will have to be vigilant in countering the false narratives being told by those who desire to stoke fear in order to maintain power. We will have to boldly tell the truth over and over again: CRT (critical race theory) is not about harming white children; brown and black immigrants are not bringing diseases and drugs into this country at alarming rates (in fact, most are coming here for their very survival); no person deserves to be killed because they fear the police officer who has stopped them for a minor traffic offense; women are intelligent and more than capable to make decisions about their own bodies; and the list goes on and on, and is likely to get longer and longer as the elections get closer and closer.
We, as a collective, are at stake here, and we must work collectively to shape this country and make it live up to its promise. This may mean tearing down the very things we have become accustomed to in the realization this country was founded on a false notion that some people are inherently better and more superior than others and therefore, are afforded certain privileges and rights denied to others.
The dismantling of systemic racism is hard work, but it is possible. Race Forward encourages you to find your place in this movement for an equitable America. Check out some of our resources below to get started:
We may have to work harder than ever for it, but a just, multiracial democracy is possible!
Reserve Your Place Now at Facing Race 2022!
Coming just weeks after the 2022 midterm election, Facing Race 2022 will provide a unique collaborative space for discussions and strategies to continue advancing racial justice.
Join with others working for racial equity to share ideas and strategies about what is needed post-midterm election to continue advancing racial equity in this country. Participants will receive unprecedented access to information, tools, and resources to assist in their organizing efforts.
With so much at stake, we invite you to join us at Facing Race 2022, in-person or online.
Staff Pick
As part of a BIPOC meditation practice at Common Ground Meditation Center in Minneapolis, I have been digging into the book Radical Friendship: Seven Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World by Kate Johnson.
Our group has been reading the book, just one chapter per month, and taking time to reflect as part of our biweekly practice space. Kate Johnson is a mixed-race Black Buddhist teacher, writer, and facilitator who guides readers in how to connect in deep and authentic ways with each other by drawing on the teachings of the Mitta Sutta, a Buddhist text that guides the practice of loving kindness and spiritual friendship. As Johnson describes, "By radical friendship, I mean the kind of friendship that has the potential to heal us at the very ground of our being. Wounds from when we were young; maybe even wounds from before we were born. The kind of friendship that forges bonds so strong that systems of oppression can't break them."
Vina Kay, Vice President, Movement Capacity Building
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