Racial Equity
Quotes on racial equity from around the globe and beyond.
“Racial equity is about applying justice and a little bit of common sense to a system that’s been out of balance. When a system is out of balance, people of color feel the impacts most acutely, but, to be clear, an imbalanced system makes all of us pay.”
~ Center for Social Inclusion President Glenn Harris
Four key lessons that are useful for anyone planning to institute racial equity within their own locality:
- Support community organizing and collective healing.
- Balance racial healing and systemic equity.
- Engage government staff at every level.
- Build the “we” with shared language and experience.
“I wanted to bring people to a point where both sides could see the other side as vulnerable…Even the police chief, I said to him you have to come as who you are, as a father, a son, not just in your uniform. I remember being told, ‘This better be good.’ ”
Carmen Gil
One thing we know is that people have a lot of anxiety about race discussions. You have to have the emotional intelligence to lead that work, emotional insight into the toll that racism has taken on communities historically and now. The trauma that communities experienced from the government fifty years ago is still present in those communities, and it needs to be taken into account.
~ Rinku Sen, Executive Director, Race Forward
