Sacramento County issued the following press release:
The Study Circles Resource Center has selected C.A.R.E., the Committee Addressing Racial Equity of South Sacramento County Visions, to take part in a national initiative aimed at helping communities create and sustain public engagement and community change on issues around racial equity.
C.A.R. E. will be one of eight programs to work with the Study Circles Resource Center (soon to be Everyday Democracy) over the next two years as part of the Communities Creating Racial Equity initiative.
The eight programs will work in their communities to reduce persistent inequality among racial and ethnic groups that show up in areas like education, housing, health care, the justice system, immigration and jobs. The programs also will form a national learning network, and will meet together twice over the course of the initiative. The Study Circles Resource Center will provide technical assistance to the programs, and use what it learns from their work to generate new tools, advice and resources that will be available for other communities around the country working on racial equity.
The Study Circles Resource Center selected C.A.R. E. based on the strength of its proposal to work on racial equity, its commitment to long-term community change, its ability to bring many people from diverse backgrounds into conversations about racial and ethnic inequities and how racism is affecting the community, and its capacity for sustaining inclusive public conversation and problem solving so that these democratic processes become a routine part of how the community works.
'C.A.R.E.'s proposal to work with us showed its commitment to examining the roots of inequities, and to setting new standards for success that go beyond just getting along better,' says Martha L. McCoy, executive director of the Study Circles Resource Center. 'We look forward to helping C.A.R.E. create opportunities for all kinds of people to talk and work together to close racial gaps and solve public problems.'
'At annual forums and in a recent community identity campaign, south Sacramento residents have raised issues that face diverse communities,' said Bonnie Shapiro, consultant to Department of Neighborhood Services, which has supported the Visions group in south Sacramento since 2004. 'The new C.A.R.E. committee of Visions will take public conversations deeper and turn conversation into action. The committee members who stepped forward recognize that becoming part of this national initiative is an opportunity to accomplish important work in south Sacramento.'
Programs included in the initiative are Stratford, Conn.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Montgomery County Public Schools, Md.; Lynchburg, Va.; Burlington, Vt.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sacramento, Calif.; and New Haven, Conn. With funding provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the C.S. Mott Foundation, the Study Circles Resource Center will provide each organization with in-depth technical assistance and stipends for travel to the learning exchanges. Each organization will have a chance to apply for a small grant to help them implement their community's ideas to achieve racial equity. The first learning exchange will be April 22-24 at the new Everyday Democracy office in East Hartford, Conn.
C.A.R.E. seeks to ensure racial equity in south Sacramento through inclusive public dialogue and community-based action. The 14-member committee plans to raise the diverse voices of the community in venues where policy makers seek input and where residents create plans for neighborhood improvement; increase representation from south Sacramento's diverse communities on public councils, boards and commissions; and create a 'positive we' in south Sacramento, a community identity that recognizes the diversity and commonalities of south Sacramento's residents across all of its neighborhoods, an identity that celebrates everyone. Visions is a south Sacramento partnership of residents, neighborhood associations, recreation, schools and local government including county Neighborhood Services and Sheriff. Visions has sponsored annual multicultural forums and also coordinates local disaster preparedness events. In 2006, Visions was the first community group in Sacramento to put on a daylong event and helped to light the spark of awareness about disaster preparedness in the Sacramento area.
C.A.R.E. committee members include Faye Kennedy, chair, Sacramento Area Black Caucus; Tom Burruss, community resident and development specialist; Farouk Fakira, Vice President, Masjid Annur Islamic Center; Sharon Whitton, retired middle school teacher and Co-chair of Visions disaster preparedness committee; Gail Pilas, Chair, Sacramento County Native American Caucus; Ted Canty, Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, Program Manager; Vidal Gonzalez, Youth Specialist, La Familia Counseling Center; Shonna McDaniels, Director, Sojourner Truth Multicultural Arts Development Center; David Asfall, Director, jbanta Resources and Support for Fathers; Sylvia Gamboa, Manager, Sun Valley Estate Apartments; Keri Blaskoski, Service Area Manager, Sacramento County Department of Neighborhood Services; Victor Morrison-Vega, Director, Department of Neighborhood Services; Captain Gary Graber, Commander, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department; and Bonnie Shapiro, High Points Consulting, who as consultant to Neighborhood Services and Visions, will be coordinating the effort.
The Study Circles Resource Center is a national organization that helps local communities find ways for all kinds of people to think, talk and work together to solve problems. We work with neighborhoods, cities and towns, regions, and states, helping them pay particular attention to how racism and ethnic differences affect the problems they address. Learn more at www.studycircles.org.Contact: Bonnie Shapiro, 916/342-5397, bonnieshapiro@sbcglobal.net.
Bonnie Shapiro, 916/342-5397, bonnieshapiro@sbcglobal.net.
