Blog

As we continue to honor the legacy of Black History Month, we want to take a moment to reflect on an element of racial equity that is not as often discussed: dismantling attitudes of anti-Blackness, and what this means for the social sector.

Anti-Blackness is something we have had to tackle while undergoing our own racial equity journey at CRE. Our work here is still evolving – as it is for many social sector organizations – but it is a vital piece of race equity work that we want to acknowledge. We cannot talk about advancing racial equity unless we are truly invested in dismantling harmful cultural norms and creating space, opportunity, and equity for black people.

At CRE, we take a “race first” lens in addressing historical systems of oppression, particularly for black people in this country. This conversation is critical not just for CRE, but for all nonprofits, for-profits, and government entities.

A number of thoughtful resources exist to guide one’s own race equity journey, including how to apply a race equity lens to strengthen your organization’s culture and dismantle harmful societal norms. Here are a few we’ve used in our own work:

• Dēmos’ Racial Equity Transformation: Key Components, Process, and Lessons
• CRE’s Addressing Racial Equity with an Organizational Change Lens
• ProInspire’s Equity In The Center report
• White Supremacy Culture, from Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups
• Beyond Diversity and Multiculturalism: Towards the Development of Anti-Racist Institutions and Leaders

We hope you can use these tools to continue your own education and push for further change in your organizations – not only during Black History Month, but into the future.

With appreciation,

Katie and the CRE team