The Racial Justice Challenge is a signature campaign of YWCA USA to build community among those who work for racial justice and to raise awareness about the negative impact of institutional and structural racism in our communities. Through this challenge we will all stand against racism until justice just is.
The 2023 Racial Justice Challenge features a 21-day challenge for anti-racist education. Participants have several learning opportunities to choose from each day that allow them to travel on the journey to antiracism as we analyze the crossroads of life, navigate the intersections of the isms, and reach the junction of justice learning how to eliminate racism AND promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
OUR FIRST YOUTH CHALLENGE BEGINS JULY 24TH!
(Adult Challenge is self-paced and available through December.)
FOR THE FIRST TIME: Youth Participants in 2023 will have the opportunity to learn and engage with family friendly curated information on racial inequity within the following topics:
- IYKYK: Intersectionality of Identity and Oppression
- It’s the Racism for Me: Health, Education, Economy, Environment, and Legal Systems
- Vibe Check: Justice, Youth Advocacy, Youth Activism, Liberation, & Self-care
Adult Participants in 2023 will have the opportunity to learn and engage with curated information on racial inequity within the following topics:
- Intersectionality of Identity and Oppression
- Healthcare, Education, Music, Housing, and Systems
- Disability, Covid19
- Environmental Justice, Advocacy, and Activism
Participation in this virtual community of growth helped us to discover how racial and social injustice impact our community, to connect with one another, and to identify ways to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination.
JOIN US in 2023! We invite you to join us by rallying to make change for communities of color and telling the world that we won’t stop until justice just is!
Our collective efforts can root out injustice, transform institutions, and create a world that sees women, girls, and people of color the way we do: Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable.
JOIN THE YOUTH CHALLENGE HERE
JOIN THE ADULT CHALLENGE HERE
Sign up with YWCA Greater Cincinnati for a local perspective!
INVEST IN YOUR RACIAL EQUITY & SOCIAL JUSTICE DEVELOPMENT
INVEST IN RJ
Racial Equity work is consistently underfunded. YWCA Greater Cincinnati needs your help to continue to provide high quality programming like our Racial Justice Challenge.
Make a investment in your own anti-racist development and encourage others to take the challenge and match your investment.
PLEDGE TO STAND AGAINST RACISM UNTIL JUSTICE JUST IS
This pledge may be taken year round as an individual or with your community group or in the workplace!
YWCA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. I am joining the movement for racial justice with YWCA and hundreds of thousands of people across the country. Join us and YWCA in eliminating racism and advancing justice — until justice just is.
Racial Justice Challenge Pledge
Mindful of the continuing affliction of institutional and structural racism as well as the daily realities of all forms of bias, prejudice and bigotry in my own life, my family, my circle of friends, my co-workers, and the society in which I live, with conviction and hope:
I take this pledge, fully aware that the struggle to eliminate racism will not end with a mere pledge but calls for an ongoing transformation within myself and the institutions and structures of our society.
I pledge to look deeply and continuously in my heart and in my mind to identify all signs and vestiges of racism; to rebuke the use of racist language and behavior towards others; to root out such racism in my daily life and in my encounters with persons I know and with strangers I do not know; and to expand my consciousness to be more aware and sensitive to my use of overt and subtle expressions of racism, white supremacy, and racial stereotypes.
I pledge to educate myself on racial justice issues and share what I learn in my own communities even if it means challenging my family, my partner, my children, my friends, my co-workers, and those I encounter on a daily basis.
I pledge, within my means, to actively work to support public policy solutions that prominently, openly, and enthusiastically promote racial equity in all aspects of human affairs; and to actively support and devote my time to YWCA, as well as other organizations working to eradicate racism from our society.
YWCA Greater Cincinnati is on a mission to eliminate racism and empower women. I join YWCA in eliminating racism and advancing justice today and every day — until justice just is.
We Can’t Wait-Equity and Justice NOW!
Participants in 2022 had the opportunity to learn and engage with curated information on racial inequity within the following topics:
- Critical Race Theory
- Healthcare
- Living Wage
- Film and Television
Participation in this virtual community of growth helped 1,040 people to discover how racial and social injustice impact our community, to connect with one another, and to identify ways to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination.
Racism is a Public Health Crisis
In 2021, the campaign addressed Racism as a Public Health Crisis.
Structural racism plays a large role in determining the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and affects people’s access to quality housing, education, food, transportation, political power, and other social determinants of health. Understanding and addressing systemic racism from this public health perspective is crucial to eliminating racial and ethnic inequities, and to improving opportunity and well-being across communities.
We invited folks to join us by taking the pledge and deepening the conversation on racism as a public health crisis via social media.
Voter’s Rights
The 2020 Stand Against Racism features a social media campaign to raise awareness of the myriad racial justice issues that pose barriers to civic engagement for communities of color while exploring how the tools of civic engagement can advance the work of justice in your community and empower people of color.
Ensuring Safety & Opportunity for Immigrant Women
In 2019, YWCA USA hosted a policy briefing on Capitol Hill: “Ensuring Safety and Opportunity for Immigrant Women.” In collaboration with YWCA’s across the country, organizations raised our collective voice around the critical racial justice issue of supporting and protecting immigrant women, children, families, and communities.
Courage Under Fire
The 2018 Stand Against Racism featured the Regional Coalition Against Hate. Representatives from coalition member agencies shared stories and their experiences with having Courage Under Fire. Community members had the opportunity to learn more about the coalition, including how to get involved.
Women of Color Leading Change
The 2017 event on April 27, 2017, featured spoken word poet Kendall Young, the (CA) ^2Dance Crew, and addresses from local community leaders including United Way’s Stephanie Byrd, Ashlee Consulting’s Aerial Ashlee, UC Law’s Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice’s Emily Houh, Santa Maria Community Service’s Luz Elena Schemmel, and Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco