Becoming An Anti-Racist Organization: Moving from DEI to Belonging

Organizational work, whether in a nonprofit or for-profit setting, contributes to or detracts from the pursuit of equity—ala the 1960s expression that “you’re either a part of the problem or a part of the solution.” Ibram Kendi, a leading antiracist theorist, agrees that there is no middle ground. This workshop targeted to nonprofit organizational leaders will cover creating an antiracist organization; understanding how to promote an antiracist agenda; retrofitting an organization’s board, staff, policies, and practices, and developing a framework for action.

As part of the session, participants will engage in an interactive presentation on the local history of racist policy and resistance in Rochester and will be invited to consider what has prevented our community from being welcoming and affirming, how people have worked to build a more inclusive community, and how this history informs the equity work in their organizations and the ways they can dismantle systemic racism. This presentation examines how federal and local policies like redlining, racially restrictive covenants, and urban renewal segregated Rochester, built wealth for its white citizens and disenfranchised people of color. It explores how local civil rights leaders like Howard Coles, Alice Young, and many others fought back. We will connect these past policies to the disparity and inequality we see in Rochester today and explore how we can learn from and apply the activism of Rochester's past to its present.

Breakfast and lunch provided.