CENTER FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION

2019 PROGRAMMATIC ACHIEVEMENTS RACE FORWARD'S AND CENTER FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION'S PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES FLOW THROUGH FOUR DEPARTMENTS AND THREE CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL INITIATIVES TO BRING THE VISION OF A RACIALLY JUST WORLD TO REALITY. NARRATIVE, ARTS, AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT RACE FORWARD HAS LONG SUPPORTED THE RACIAL JUSTICE FIELD, DEVELOPING AND SHARING TOOLS TO BUILD ENDURING RACE-EXPLICIT NARRATIVES THAT ADVANCE RACIAL JUSTICE. TO WIN OUR FREEDOM, WE NEED TO TELL OUR STORIES, DEFINE OUR NARRATIVES, AND STRATEGICALLY BUILD, ADVANCE, AND DEFEND A MORE EQUITABLE AND JUST CULTURE. RACE FORWARD'S NARRATIVE, ARTS, AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT WORKS STRATEGICALLY IN AND THROUGH JOURNALISM, COMMUNICATIONS, THE ARTS, POPULAR CULTURE, AND CULTURAL ORGANIZING TO BUILD AND SECURE A CULTURE THAT CENTERS EQUITY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. IT HAS DEVELOPED CUTTING-EDGE CURRICULUM IN NARRATIVE STRATEGY AND HAS USED IT TO TRAIN HUNDREDS OF ORGANIZERS, ARTISTS, AND COMMUNICATIONS EXPERTS. SELECT 2019 HIGHLIGHTS: WORKED WITH NUMEROUS ARTS AND CULTURE ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING THE SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART AND THE SUNDANCE INSTITUTE, TO INTEGRATE RACIAL EQUITY INTO OPERATIONS AND PROGRAMMING. TRAINED 90 PEOPLE FROM 25 ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH THE ARTS LAB (A RACIAL EQUITY COHORT FOR CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS). REACHED 300,000 UNIQUE READERS PER MONTH THROUGH ITS COLORLINES WEB PLATFORM, WITH AN AVERAGE 195,000 PAGE VIEWS PER MONTH IN COLORLINES ARTICLES THROUGH THE WEB PLATFORM (2,340.000 ANNUALLY). COLORLINES IS AN AWARD-WINNING DAILY NEWS SITE THAT REPORTS ON THE SYSTEMIC RACISM AT THE CORE OF OUR NATION'S CHALLENGES, CONNECTING TO CURRENT EVENTS AND HIGHLIGHTING THE STORIES OF PEOPLE DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY STRUCTURAL RACISM. GENERATED 26,563 TWITTER IMPRESSIONS IN THE COURSE OF 7 CAMPAIGNS AS PART OF THE GET OUT THE CENSUS PROJECT. MOVEMENT CAPACITY BUILDING DEPARTMENT THE MOVEMENT CAPACITY BUILDING (MCB) DEPARTMENT BUILDS LEADERSHIP AND CAPACITY WITHIN THE RACIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT FOR GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS TO ADVANCE RACIAL EQUITY ON A NATIONAL SCALE. THE MOST CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF THIS WORK CENTER UPON COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. OUR POLICY WORK (PARTICULARLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY RELATED TO ENERGY, FOOD, HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND INFRASTRUCTURE) IS INTEGRATED INTO THIS DEPARTMENT, IN RECOGNITION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR ISSUE-BASED WORK IN SUPPORTING GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. SELECT 2019 HIGHLIGHTS: PLAYED A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN NATIONAL AND REGIONAL CONVENINGS ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY DEMOCRACY. RACE FORWARD IS THE LEAD NATIONAL ORGANIZATION COORDINATING 100% CITIES, AN ADVOCACY PROGRAM FOR GREATER RACIAL EQUITY IN HOW RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS ARE IMPLEMENTED. OVER 6,000 PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY PARTICIPATED IN OUR BUILDING RACIAL EQUITY TRAINING. INSTITUTIONAL AND SECTORAL CHANGE DEPARTMENT RACE FORWARD'S INSTITUTIONAL AND SECTORAL CHANGE WORK SEEKS TO ESTABLISH RACIAL EQUITY PRACTICE IN AN ENTIRE FIELD (RATHER THAN ORGANIZATION BY ORGANIZATION) ON A LONG-TERM BASIS. THE WORK INCLUDES FACILITATING LEARNING COHORTS IN THESE SECTORS, DEVELOPING TOOLS FOR LONG-TERM CHANGE, AND TRACKING THE SHIFTS THAT DEMONSTRATE THEIR REPLICATION. SELECT 2019 HIGHLIGHTS: REACHED OVER 200 MEMBERS IN OUR GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE ON RACE AND EQUITY (GARE) NETWORK, WITH CRITICAL MASS EMERGING ACROSS REGIONS, INCLUDING THE EAST, SOUTH, GULF-DELTA, MIDWEST, AND THE WEST. BECAUSE OF THE ELEVATED WORK ACROSS THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, INCLUDING WITH THE STATE GOVERNMENT, WE HAVE TWO REGIONAL MANAGERS IN CA. TRAINED 356 MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS FROM CALIFORNIA IN INTRODUCTORY RACIAL EQUITY LEARNING COHORTS. THESE PARTIES WERE SPREAD ACROSS 8 LEARNING COHORTS AND WERE DRAWN FROM 46 GOVERNMENTAL JURISDICTIONS, AND TRAINED 264 MUNICIPAL OFFICIAL FROM CALIFORNIA IN RACIAL EQUITY IMPLEMENTATION COHORTS. ENGAGED 476 MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS FROM 110 JURISDICTIONS OVER 2 DAYS AT THE 2019 GARE ANNUAL MEETING IN NEW MEXICO. DREW 600 ORGANIZATIONS INTO THE RACIAL EQUITY HERE CAMPAIGN. DISTRIBUTED $248,500 TO 13 PROJECTS IN ITS INNOVATION AND IMPLEMENTATION FUND. OUR PHILANTHROPIC CHANGE INITIATIVE, A PROGRAM THAT SUPPORTS FOUNDATIONS, PHILANTHROPY-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS, AND OTHER PHILANTHROPIC ORGANIZATIONS IN ADVANCING RACIAL EQUITY WITHIN THEIR INSTITUTIONS AND IN THE LARGER SECTOR HAS CONTINUED TO EXPAND. RESEARCH RACE FORWARD'S EFFORTS IN THIS DEPARTMENT CONDUCT APPLIED RESEARCH, WHICH UPLIFTS THE EXPERIENCE OF THOSE DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY INSTITUTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL RACISM AND PROVIDES SYSTEMICALLY-AWARE AND RACE-EXPLICIT SOLUTIONS. THROUGH RIGOROUS SURVEY ANALYSIS, MEDIA AND NARRATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS, PUBLIC OPINION AND ATTITUDES RESEARCH, AND OTHER METHODS, THESE INITIATIVES PROVIDE ANALYSIS AND MATERIALS TO HELP ACTIVISTS, TEACHERS, ADVOCATES, AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARTICULATE AND PURSUE A RACIAL EQUITY STANDARD IN THEIR WORK. IT ALSO PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO EXTERNAL PARTNERS, HELPING THEM TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THEIR OWN INITIATIVES. SELECT 2019 HIGHLIGHTS: COMPLETING RACIAL EQUITY SURVEYS WITH THOUSANDS OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES WORKING FOR JURISDICTIONS THAT ARE MEMBERS OF GARE. THE RESULTS OF THIS SURVEY HELP RACE FORWARD TRACK AND MONITOR RACIAL EQUITY IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS TIME AND ACROSS JURISDICTIONS FOR EVALUATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND POTENTIALLY PREDICTIVE PURPOSES. SURVEYED 50,000 RESPONDENTS IN THE CREATION OF ITS BEYOND TRAINING AND THE "SKILLS GAP:" RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RACIALLY EQUITABLE COMMUNICATIONS IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT REPORT. CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL INITIATIVES IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE, RACE FORWARD HAS THREE CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL PRIORITIES: FACING RACE IS A BIENNIAL MULTI-RACIAL, MULTI-ISSUE, INTERGENERATIONAL CONFERENCE THAT HIGHLIGHTS CAMPAIGNS, PROJECTS, RESEARCH AND ART THAT PROMOTES SYSTEMIC SOLUTIONS TO RACIAL JUSTICE CHALLENGES. IN 2019, WE LAUNCHED PLANNING EFFORTS FOR FACING RACE IN NOVEMBER 2020 IN RALEIGH, NC (WILL BE TAKING PLACE ON-LINE DUE TO THE COVID PANDEMIC). PLACE-BASED STRATEGIES: RACE FORWARD'S APPROACH TO PLACE-BASED WORK TAKES THE COMPONENTS OF OUR THEORY OF CHANGE AND SITUATES THEM WITHIN THE UNIQUE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT OF A PARTICULAR GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION. GIVEN THE PERVASIVE NATURE OF RACIAL DISPARITIES, IT IS NECESSARY TO CREATE LOCALIZED SPACES WHERE PEOPLE COME TOGETHER ACROSS ISSUE AREAS AND SECTORS TO DEVELOP LONG-TERM STRATEGIES THAT SHIFT POWER AND RESOURCES TO COMMUNITIES OF COLOR. OUR ORGANIZING FOCUS IN 2019 WAS IN NORTH CAROLINA AND CALIFORNIA. MASS FREEDOM: CRIMINALIZATION IS NOT JUST THE COURT-BASED LEGAL PROCESS. IT ENCOMPASSES THE INSTITUTIONAL ATTITUDES AND RULES THAT BUILD THE SYSTEMIC RACISM THAT RESULTS IN PEOPLE BEING CAGED PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY, AND MENTALLY, REDUCING THEM TO CRIMINALS WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO DICTATE THEIR OWN LIVED EXPERIENCES. MASS FREEDOM CONFRONTS MASS INCARCERATION AND MASS DEPORTATION BY MOBILIZING MULTIRACIAL SYSTEMIC SOLUTIONS AGAINST THE CARCERAL STATE. OUR WORK IS ROOTED IN COMMUNITIES, POWERED AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL, AND BASED ON THE PROPOSITION THAT THE MOST EFFECTIVE VOICES ARE THOSE OF LOCAL LEADERS. IN 2019, OUR MASS FREEDOM ORGANIZING STRATEGY FOCUSED ON BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND SUPPORTING COMMUNITY ORGANIZING WITH FOUR ANCHOR ORGANIZATIONS, SOUTHERNERS ON NEW GROUND IN THE SOUTH, VOICES FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN THE MIDWEST, THE RED NATION IN THE SOUTHWEST, AND HELPING EDUCATE TO ADVANCE RIGHTS OF THE DEAF COMMUNITY.