Racial Equity Resources for Organizational Leaders (And Everyone!)

Posted on February 09, 2021 by Eloise Russo, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

Racial Equity and Anti-Racism Resources
The purpose of this post is to share some of what has been helpful for me in my on-going journey and work in anti-racism in case some of this may be helpful to you and your organization. This is a non-comprehensive list that includes incredible authors, thought leaders, activists, and organizations offering training, tools and resources.

If you are interested in connecting with a diversity, equity, and inclusion expert specifically and would like a recommendation, please look into some of the orgs listed under “get support” below. I also suggest reaching out to your own network for personal recommendations of who is doing this work on a deep level in your community.

For a full list including links, please visit the blog on my website.

Training / Facilitated Learning:
Building your understanding and toolkit to address racism is on-going work, and some of the facilitated learning opportunities below may be helpful in supporting you on this path. A great benefit in joining a facilitated training (especially the longer ones) is building your community and network of people committed to this work.

The Equity Lab:
Seeding Disruption: Year Long Racial Equity Fellowship for Education & Youth Development Leaders in the DC Area
Nexus Fellowship: Training for Education & Youth Development Leaders Nationally

Undoing Racism: The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
About: “Through Undoing Racism®/Community Organizing Workshops, technical assistance and consultations, The People’s Institute helps individuals, communities, organizations and institutions move beyond addressing the symptoms of racism to undoing the root causes of racism so as to create a more just and equitable society. Through dialogue, reflection, role-playing, strategic planning and presentations, this intensive process challenges participants to analyze the structures of power and privilege that hinder social equity and prepares them to be effective organizers for justice.”

Race Forward: Building Racial Equity Trainings
Training Overview: “Interactive trainings for those who wish to sharpen their skills and strategies to address structural racism and advance racial equity. Unlike “diversity trainings” which primarily focus on interpersonal relations and understanding, the Building Racial Equity trainings emphasize how to challenge and change institutional racial inequities.”

Equity in the Center Trainings: Varied training offerings include:
*Build Pro-Black Institutions and Movements: “This session is for organizational leaders seeking to disrupt the ways anti-Blackness shows up within teams, organizations, and communities.”
*More than Fragility: A Deep Dive into Understanding and Dismantling Whiteness: “is a learning experience designed for white leaders to explore how their identity connects to their capacity to lead and engage in racial justice work.”
*Intersectional Allyship for Racial Justice: A Workshop for People of Color: “What does it mean for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) to be effective allies to one another?”
*Awake to Woke to Work: Building a Race Equity Culture Workshop

Get Support: Org Assessment, DEI Plans, and Next Steps
First read: “So you want to hire an equity consultant” by Equity in the Center

Great orgs to look into: (again, this is not a comprehensive list, rather a list of orgs I have worked with or am familiar with and think highly of)
The Equity Lab
Raben Group
Avarna Group
Building for Mission
Vanguard Communications

Orgs / Publications / Books / Podcasts / Etc.
Building a Race Equity Culture Publication: Awake to Woke to Work, Equity in the Center
I can’t say enough good things about this publication – it’s research based, clear, and actionable. I think this should be required reading for all org leaders. Equity in the Center writes about this publication: “Ground yourself in the process of building a Race Equity Culture. Explore the levers that drive change and the stages that mark transformation using the Race Equity Cycle. In collaboration with over 120 experts in the fields of DEI and race equity, we provide insights, tactics, and best practices to shift organizational culture and operationalize equity.”

Fundraising: Community-Centric Fundraising is a movement to evolve how fundraising is done in the nonprofit sector. Its goal is to support fundraisers and other nonprofit professionals to re-examine every fundraising philosophy and practice they have been taught, engage in vigorous ongoing conversations, and explore doing fundraising in ways that reduce harm and further social justice.

Podcast: Momentum: Race Forward
Podcast: Code Switch, NPR

Org / Website: Dismantling Racism, White Supremacy Culture:
Org / Website: Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching for Tolerance)

Article: What Happened When My School Started to Dismantle White Supremacy Culture
Great article providing an overview of what one school’s process of really digging into action steps related to dismantling white supremacy culture looked like. Even if you’re not in the education field, this could be helpful to learn some tangible steps and outcomes:

Anti-Racism Newsletter: Daily Anti-Racism newsletter – daily actions to dismantle white supremacy:

Anti-Racism Books: So many great books, a few include:
How to be an Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi
Me & White Supremacy, by Layla Saad
So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo

American History Books with a Racial Equity Lens:
Actual history instead of white washed / white supremacist version of American History most often taught in schools and focused on in dominant culture. A few include:
A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
Stamped from the Beginning, by Ibram X. Kendi
A Different Mirror, A History of Multicultural America, by Ron Takaki

Yoga / Cultural Appropriation / Social Justice Books:
Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice, by Susanna Barkataki
Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World, by Michelle Cassandra Johnson

Instagram Handles to Follow:
@ckyourprivilege we guide white folx on the journey of becoming actively Anti-Racist
@rachel.cargle Public Academic, Philanthropic Innovator, Social Entrepreneur
@susannabarkataki Embody Yoga as a vehicle for change
@theconsciouskid Parenting and Education through a Critical Race Lens