Equity Challenge: Week 20 |
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This is week 20 of the Challenge, and we are concluding our section on structural racism.
Our Challenge today encourages you to reflect on what you’ve learned and start thinking about how you recognize and address racism in the systems you interact with regularly.
This week, we also wanted to highlight an important holiday coming up. On Saturday, June 19th, we will celebrate Juneteenth - the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Look for Juneteenth celebrations in your community – a quick Google search may help you find local events. In Wisconsin, Milwaukee’s celebration marks one of the longest-running in the country.
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Here are some questions to think about:
- What have you learned? What new ideas or insights did you explore?
- What connections did you make from week to week? How does information you learned about structural racism relate to internalized racism and bias, interpersonal racism and microaggressions, or institutional racism? How do these levels of racism interact? How are they different?
- What have you learned about the historical and present-day experiences people of color have with housing, criminal justice, education, health care and other systems?
- How do the history, data, and experiences shared throughout this section inform your view of your community and the systems you interact with regularly?
- What changes can you make, or actions can you take to create more inclusive and equitable systems and communities?
This section of our Challenge has focused on structural racism, which defines a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in a variety of ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. Structural racism encompasses individual, interpersonal and institutional racism, naming the complex interaction of culture, policy and institutions that reinforces racism.
After exploring this definition, we spent the last few weeks examining different elements of our systems, including economic opportunity and housing, criminal justice, education, and health and health care. We reviewed data and analysis showing disparities in access to quality education and health care, economic opportunity and mobility, and equal treatment under the law. Some sources highlighted the firsthand experiences people have had with these systems and the long-term effects structural racism has on individuals and families.
Today, your challenge is to continue expanding your understanding and to find ways you can support a more equitable environment in your home, workplace and community.
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With the questions and definitions above in mind, do at least one of the following:
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ACT:
Review 10 Remedies for Systemic Racism. How has the challenge helped you start to change your mindset or rethink how you build relationships? What other remedies have you started to apply to your work, home or social interactions? Choose a remedy from the list and explore how you can use it in your work or social interactions. This may include:
- Checking for bias in daily interactions.
- Promoting social accountability.
- Evaluating and restructuring processes to eliminate bias.
Explore allyship – the lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people. Are you actively promoting inclusion in your work and community? How are you lifting others up and calling out inequities and racism?
Review your actions and commitments from previous weeks of the Challenge. How are you doing? What steps have you taken? How can you renew your commitments to keep moving forward?
Continue your equity journey and invite others to join! UWRC will host another 21-Week Challenge in the fall. We’ll continue reinforcing our equity habits and welcome you to join us again – and to invite your own networks!
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Share your reflections or additional resources about today’s topic on social media using #EquityChallenge - or send us a note at unitedway@unitedwayracine.org
Learn more about the Challenge and review weekly topics by visiting
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A weekly book discussion group reading books on race and racism.
A yearlong, faith-based series of interactive and multidimensional public events. The series goal is to increase our understanding of how we think and feel about racism, resulting in actions that can help to transform us as individuals and the systems of racism in our country.
The YWCA of SEW Wisconsin offers a variety of trainings about different facets of equity, such as structural racism, cultural differences, social transformation and more.
Higher Expectations engages community partners, aligns efforts, and maximizes resources to promote excellence and equity in education and employment outcomes in Racine County.
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Hear from Deanna Singh, Founder/Chief Change Agent of Flying Elephant and her husband Justin on how to talk to your children about race to help children develop a healthy understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Events
Health Equity Leadership Institute Virtual Series
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is hosting a virtual health equity series. Register here.
Wednesday, June 16 at 6 p.m.
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Make your commitment to inclusion—the active, intentional and ongoing engagement with diversity—official by signing our Declaration of Inclusion Pledge. This pledge is to respect and appreciate all aspects of any person, including race, religion, skin color, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, physical abilities, age, parental status, work and behavioral styles, and the perspectives of each individual as shaped by their nation, culture and experiences. You will also receive our quarterly diversity newsletter to build your "equity muscle."
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