No Room for Racism Week #1: Education Action
As many of you know, in the past few months SURJ has formed an Action team to take all the great analysis that so many of us have been using in our local work and find ways to connect it across towns, cities, regions and the US.
We’re launching our first campaign tomorrow and we would really love for you to be a part of it. Basically, it’s a way for white people to speak up about how race is being used in this elections season to de-humanize and reinforce stereotypes of people of color and immigrants. It’s an opportunity for white people to show up with all the groups of people of color organizing across the country for access to voting rights and also many other issues.
Below is our Education Toolkit for the first week of the campaign.
How you can be a part of it:
1- Join us: Commit to take one action a week to raise up issues of race and the election in your community online and off-line. Each week has a theme and we will send you an action kit filled with a menu of ideas for easy actions you can take in your everyday life. Sign up here
2- Spread the word: We need more people and organizations to take this on to try to make it visible across the country. Share the launch email and tool-kit below with your networks in person, online, through email, facebook, twitter etc.
3- Share your actions: Once you have signed up, share what you have done. Take a picture of your sign, tweet, classroom, etc to help inspire people across the country to action as well.
- Post on our facebook page: ShowingUpForRacialJustice
- Post as a comment on our website: showingupforracialjustice.org
- Share on our Twitter Feed: @ShowupforRJ using #NoRoomforRacism
Let us know if you have any questions or need more information. SURJ is an un-staffed volunteer effort and we rely on members to do the work of building our work for racial justice.
Thank you and onward,
JLove, Dara, Jimmy, Cynthia, Z! and the SURJ action team
EDUCATION ACTION TOOLKIT
Who isn’t tired of the barrage of negative assumptions, assertions and allusions to people and communities of color in this presidential election season. We at Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) want to re-focus this election on the real issues that matter to us not the thinly-veiled attacks on communities of color, poor people and women that prove so distracting and damaging well beyond Election Day.
Starting today, October 8th and ending on Election day November 8th, organizations and individuals from around the country will engage more white people in viewing the elections through a racial justice lens. Participants have signed up to take part in a series of actions designed to advance efforts for social justice and elevate the visibility of white people Showing Up for Racial Justice.
Throughout the month we will shine a light on some key issues: education, immigration, voter suppression, criminal justice, and the economy.
You can help amplify and create change with your communities, organizations, online, at work, and even in your own home. We’ve crafted these actions to fit into your lifestyle and allow you to Show Up for Racial Justice this election season because every little bit counts!
Week 1 = Education
The disproportionate numbers of children of color and poor children who are not graduating from high school, and the systemic pattern of a school to prison pipeline for young black and Latino youth are destroying the futures of millions.
What we can do: As white people showing up for racial justice we want to use this week to show that we believe all children and youth deserve an education that honors and respects who they are, are provided with equal and fair classroom settings, and who are given the tools to be successful, active citizens of the world.
2 MINUTE ACTION: In just 1 click you can spread the word
Twitter: click for an already formatted tweet: http://bit.ly/surj-nrfr-edu (Or copy/paste in Twitter and make sure to use our #noroom4racism tag) Education is as important as the economy. Youth deserve a future, not incarceration. #schooltoprisonpipeline #noroomforracism
Facebook: Post this image on your facebook page and share your thoughts on the mis-education of our youth, and the perils of systemic racism in our education system.
5 MINUTE ACTION: Download, print and snap
Using our readymade sign: just print it out and snap a pic of you holding it and upload it to our facebook page or website.
You can do it on your lunch break, or even when you get home from work — taking a photo with your whole family is a great reason for starting a dialogue about critical issues of race. Be bold and share via your facebook too. Feel free to get creative and make your own sign too!
ON A WEEKEND OR AFTERNOON
Over Dinner…. Hold a house party to discuss race and the election: Use a short movie, or the presidential debates to spark the conversation. Use the Ballots and Beyond toolkit for ideas for how to structure the house party and conversation. This is a toolkit put together by Catalyst Project (www.collectiveliberation.org) as a fundraising tool and can be adapted to your locale.
On a Saturday with Your Friends
1. Go to a public place with at least two people, and a video camera.
2. Signage reads: Does it Matter if Your Black or White? Education, Race, and the Elections 2012
3. Interview people on camera after engaging with them the way the racism is being used during this campaign.
4. If they AGREE with you, ask them to say the following on camera: My name is _________ and I want a fair campaign, where all Americans are unified—not divided—by race and culture. No Room for Racism
ONGOING:“Thanks for Doing It Right!”
We know it doesn’t happen a lot, but when someone does something “right” around race in the election make a note of it. Hold it up as how we want to see the issue of race communicated during this campaign. If you notice someone doing it right, or someone doing it wrong, we want to hear about it! Write a short post on our website, or share on Twitter and use our campaign #NoRoomforRacism!
Using social media consider the following steps:
- First, state what the person/media campaign did that was positive
- Use the positivity to point out issues of “fairness”
- Use comparisons of when people haven’t been “fair” about race
- Reiterate this is what everyday Americans want
HELP US CREATE THE MOVEMENT: NO ROOM FOR RACISM!
Your Actions are important! We want to shine the light on people who care! So please document your action(s) and do the following:
- Post on our Facebook: ShowingUpForRacialJustice
- Post on our website: showingupforracialjustice.org
- Share on our Twitter Feed: @ShowupforRJ
For more information on how to get involved, or media inquiries please contact JLove: 917-753-0186 OR jlove@jlovecalderon.com
2 Responses to “No Room for Racism Week #1: Education Action”
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SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. We work to connect people across the country while supporting and collaborating with local and national racial justice organizing efforts. SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills, and political analysis to act for change.
Hey the link to the signage for the 5 minute action is broken. :( Can you fix? Thanks for all you do!
Hi Liz, Thanks for pointing this out! The link is fixed.