WE'RE ELIMINATING RACISM
with our Racial Equity Institute workshops
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We first brought the Racial Equity Institute (REI), nationally recognized for helping communities address institutional racism, to Charleston in January 2017 with seven supportive partners. With feedback overwhelmingly positive, we brought back REI’s Phase I workshop nine times in 2017 and 2018, and eight times in 2019. We also introduced the first REI Phase II workshop in March 2018 and will hold our second REI Phase II workshop in July 2019.
Organizations sponsor board members, executives, staff, or volunteers to attend, or individuals attend on their own. Each come away with dramatically changed worldviews and tools to address racism in their own communities and lives. (Organizations, click here to sign up and pay online.) Held from 9 AM to 5 PM on two consecutive weekdays at the College of Charleston's North Charleston campus at 3800 Paramount Drive, each workshop is led by REI facilitators and is designed to help local leaders proactively understand and address racism in their communities, workplaces, and personal lives. Our REI Phase I workshops are designed to help participants better understand racism in its institutional and structural forms. Each session presents a historical, cultural, and structural analysis of racism, and will give attendees a foundation for understanding and addressing it. Participants come away from REI's Phase I workshops with: l A mutual understanding of how US history has contributed to inequitable systems and organizations l A stronger, more informed vocabulary to use when discussing issues of race and ethnicity l Ways to reframe problems and determine solutions using a racial equity lens l A launching pad for questions regarding their own organizations and communities Our Phase II workshops build on Phase I and help emerging racial equity leaders identify their own struggles and challenges in terms of the racial equity analysis done in Phase I. Participants come away from REI's Phase II workshops with: l A new way of thinking based on an “analysis before action” model l Practice using a time-honored “trial and error” approach l Confidence to take greater risks to change entrenched patterns of institutional practices If desired, Racial Equity Institute workshop participants also enjoy access to racial / ethnic affinity groups offering people of similar cultural and ethnic backgrounds a chance to discuss issues they've experienced as someone with that background, presenting a powerful environment for honesty, understanding, cooperative learning, and planning. These groups typically meet separately on a monthly basis and combine with other groups for a quarterly meeting; some groups may meet online on a private website. Sign up today It's easy to sign up! Register online or by phone at 843.722.1644. (If you are seeking a scholarship, apply here! Please note there are only a limited number available, as these are dependent on sponsorships.) Thank you to our Racial Equity Institute sponsors
We appreciate the College of Charleston for donating meeting space at their North Charleston campus for our Racial Equity Institute workshops, and Verde for providing our REI workshop participants with nutritious, delicious lunches!
How you can help
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BUILDING RACIAL EQUITY IN CHARLESTON
Want to know more about the impact the Racial Equity Institute can have?
Check out this May 2019 interview on Quintin's Close-Ups, where our executive director discusses our #WhatWomenBring power lunch and then the Racial Equity Institute. |
2017-2019 Racial Equity Institute photos
We need YOU
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