4th Annual Community Summit on Race | April 2017
Register Now! and join us Saturday, April 29, 2017 at Joseph C. Wilson Foundation Academy for Facing Race Embracing Equity’s (FR=EE) 4th Annual Community Summit on Race – “Learning from the Past. Building for the Future.” They’re aiming to provide “enriching dialogue, helping identify challenges and provide solutions, resources and knowledge that will be actionable for attendees is our goal,” explained Summit Co-Chair, Sandra Whitmore, Senior Director of Operations, Division of Diversity and Inclusion at RIT.
FR=EE is a community initiative that promotes racial equity in the community that is free and open to the public. Part of FR=EE’s mission is to recognize and recommit the Greater Rochester Communities’ efforts and strategic initiatives toward the elimination of practices and systems that maintain race-based social inequities in education, employment, health care, housing, and justice structures. Since FR=EE’s establishment in 2012, it has championed racial equity in the areas of health, housing, education, employment and criminal justice.
“It’s everyone’s responsibility to create and sustain positive change for racial justice. We want the community to walk away feeling empowered because of expanded knowledge, from the formation of new relationships and from connections to community resources,” said Joseph Searles, Summit Co-Chair and Corporate Director of Diversity & Workforce Inclusion at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.” There are so many community leaders that have been running hard at this work and we want to see the vision forward,” said Searles.
The Summit agenda will include a list of facilitated workshops by experienced subject-matter experts who will examine race and injustice from multiple perspectives. Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of key social issues, as well as added confidence and empowerment in their ability to address them.
Summit workshops include topics like:
- Structural Racism & Families
- Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome; Be The Healing
- Rochester: A National Leader in Poverty in Racial Segregation
- The Impact of White Identity on Whiteness: There is no Neutral
- What Can/Should Whites Do to Advocate for Equity?
When: Saturday, April 29, 2017 | 8:30 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Where: Joseph C. Wilson Foundation Academy
200 Genesee St., ROCHESTER, NY 14611
If you’re interested in volunteering for this event, please contact Tabita Torres. Visit the website for more information: http://www.faceracerochester.org
In April, several local non-profits have eatablished partnerships to collaborate and coordinate events in the Greater Rochester community on race, like:
- Facing Race=Embracing Equity Initiative;
- D&C’s Unite Rochester Initiative;
- Rochester Area Community Foundation’s ACT Rochester Report on Poverty;
- YWCA’s Stand Against Racism Breakfast and Conference
“We look forward to seeing you there, let’s create positive change in our community together.” shared Searles.