Use this space to share any reflections from the Racial Equity Challenge that aren’t direct responses to the daily prompts, share additional resources, or a poem, a picture, a link to a song, etc.
Use this space to share any reflections from the Racial Equity Challenge that aren’t direct responses to the daily prompts, share additional resources, or a poem, a picture, a link to a song, etc.
I’m jumping in here! As board president of a food bank, I want to bring my anti-racism work that I’ve been doing more generally in the community, directly into the food bank. Staff at the food bank are farther along with this than the board, so I hope to gain new knowledge and access to materials to bring them along as well. I also look forward to some interesting dialogues with our donors.
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Fantastic Jamie! So glad to have you with us on this. It is not incoming to have staff and board (and clients/customers) at different stages of this work. We hope you get some useful tools out of your experience.
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I’m a registered dietitian nutritionist in MN with a special interest in food equity and food insecurity. I just wanted to say thank you for creating this 21 day challenge. I am finding the essays, links, videos, etc. very moving and thought provoking. I am also reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass which complements this challenge beautifully. It is a wonderful book, highly recommend.
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Thank you Sharon! Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book is so great! We are all big fans.
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Thank you for offering this program, FSNE. I’ve been appreciating reflecting on the prompts and resources so far, as well as using the discussion guide. I work at a Bay Area nonprofit called CUESA, and the Challenge is helping to facilitate conversation around diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, within a larger organizational commitment.
I just wanted to recommend this discussion called “Representation Matters in Food Media” that just took place at UC Berkeley’s Edible Education program. It features a powerhouse group of panelists, including Stephen Satterfield, Luz Calvo, and Soleil Ho, and touches on many of the themes from the Challenge so far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1FZvK6Ep8A
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So far I’ve enjoyed the reading and activities this 21-day Equity Challenge has brought forth. My first impression was on reserved being that this is being lead by/from a food perspective. However, I was wrong. The topics, discussions, and materials was not just primarily on food, but applicable across the board and sometime specific to a topic.
I can also see that with this 21-day Equity Challenge, in a big institution it may be easier to just have these items cover on an individual base and time. However, leaders can work off the activities and topics that are presented so far and each days to come at least once a month in their team conversation (possibly making this a 21-months Equity Challenge). I felt that this 21-day done at a personal/individual level is great, but it can be even greater. The next step is in a group, especially with those you work with, and within your own environment and institution. I would like to think that it will have a different impact on the staff and the outcome towards those they are servicing.
Lastly, I hope that in all of these forums (so far and more coming), we are to consider those who comes here to express or write their thought and to treat all conversations/comments respectfully no matter the levels or how different their lens on this work is. Like this specific forum, that it’s an open space, but I would like to think that all these forums are also a SAFE SPACE, too. So that those who are just starting out tapping into this type of work and topics of conversation will feel they are welcome and that it is the start of a journey – internally and externally for transformations and transactions to happen.
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Hello to all of you using and visiting the forums. Just a logistical heads-up that the weekend prompts are a little bit “lighter” duty and will give space to either get caught up from the week or do a bit more reflection, or both. So no worries if you feel a bit behind or haven’t had a chance to spend as much time with the first week of prompts. We grant ourselves some grace:) as we do this work!
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I need help.
I recently attended an event that was celebrating International Woman’s Day. There were multiple performers of spoken word and music, all with different approaches and styles. There were women that identified as lesbian, queer, black, and white all performing. I was there to support my white female friend that played rock music. She played last.
Throughout the evening there was a lot of talk about empowering women, and then it moved specifically toward empowering women of color. This was all great.
The night was getting later, and new people kept coming in to support friends. I was tired but I wanted to stay and support my friend. Before my friend went up, there were two woman, that were of color, who came up to do spoken word. They’re performances were great. Before each one started though, they had to battle with the room a bit to have it quiet down (as it was now a very crowded bar.)
They were a little aggressive in my opinion using sarcasm and yelling that this was a safe place so people needed to respect that. Everything quieted down eventually for both of them and they performed.
My friend was the last to perform that night, and was quiet nervous actually. She got up on stage and started playing her really great music…and the room cleared.
It seemed somehow that she wasn’t part of this group of woman that had been put together to celebrate women. None of the other performs stayed, a large chunk of the organizers of the event left, and there was just about 20 people left in the room. I understand that some people may not have liked her music, totally fine, but I found it frustrating that this was an event to support ALL women, and other women had just been calling this a safe place, but it didn’t seem like my white female rocker friend had a place in it.
I know all women are oppressed by a messed up system, and women of color even more so. But I was frustrated that night that my demographic of straight white women weren’t included at the table of an International (which I take as ALL women) Women’s Day Celebration.
I feel conflicted because I feel like I’m being racist by holding this frustration. Is it okay for me to want another outcome?
On another note, it has made me think that perhaps this feeling of frustration of being left out of the group is something that people of color have to deal with r e g u l a r l y. If I get frustrated about this one time, what must it feel like to have this be “all the time”
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This is wonderful! Both a teacher at university and a member of a local grassroots that aims to reframe local history from an indigenous perspective in NH, I am learning and using some of the resources you provide for inclass and wider public education!!!! Thank you!
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