A hallmark of any equity conversation is the understanding that our country is built on systems and institutions that perpetuate racism. Often times, they are so subversive that we don’t see or can not identify their undercurrents or affect on our subconscious thoughts. It is with this knowledge that the Starfish Impact team approaches our work. Racial equity and justice bear an even more personal and urgent tone following Marta’s recent Learning Tour to Montgomery, Alabama and ongoing focus on being a strong white ally
As we continue to learn and open our eyes to the ways our society continues to perpetuate modern-forms of racial discrimination, we turn to the following several organizations for guidance, learning, and action. We invite you to read through them and find an organization that resonates with you. We also encourage you to read our earlier pieces from the month highlighting gender equity and LGBT equity.
Racial Equity
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity
The goal of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity is to increase the amount and effectiveness of resources aimed at combating institutional and structural racism in communities through capacity building, education, and convening of grantmakers and grantseekers.
Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation
Race Forward’s mission is to build awareness, solutions, and leadership for racial justice by generating transformative ideas, information, and experiences. Race Forward defines racial justice as the systematic fair treatment of people of all races, resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all and they work to advance racial justice through media, research, and leadership development.
Advancement Project is a next generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, Advancement Project exists to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. They use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. Advancement Project combines law, communications, policy, and technology to create workable solutions and achieve systemic change on issues of democracy, voting rights, and access to justice.
The African American Policy Forum
Founded in 1996, The African American Policy Forum (AAPF) is an innovative think tank that connects academics, activists and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality. AAPF utilizes new ideas and innovative perspectives to transform public discourse and policy. They promote frameworks and strategies that address a vision of racial justice that embraces the intersections of race, gender, class, and the array of barriers that disempower those who are marginalized in society. AAPF is dedicated to advancing and expanding racial justice, gender equality, and the indivisibility of all human rights, both in the U.S. and internationally.
The mission of the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles is to help renew the civil rights movement by bridging the worlds of ideas and action, to be a preeminent source of intellectual capital within that movement, and to deepen the understanding of the issues that must be resolved to achieve racial and ethnic equity as society moves through the great transformation of the 21st century.
Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society
The Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley brings together researchers, organizers, stakeholders, communicators, and policymakers to identify and eliminate the barriers to an inclusive, just, and sustainable society in order to create transformative change. The institute serves as a national hub for a vibrant network of researchers and community partners and takes a leadership role in translating, communicating, and facilitating research, policy, and strategic engagement to produce change and make a meaningful impact.
Poverty and Race Research Action Council
The Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) is a civil rights law and policy organization based in Washington, D.C. PRRAC’s mission is to promote research-based advocacy strategies to address structural inequality and disrupt the systems that disadvantage low-income people of color. It was founded in 1989, through an initiative of major civil rights, civil liberties, and anti-poverty groups seeking to connect advocates with social scientists working at the intersection of race and poverty.
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