Race Forward (RF)

For more than 40 years, Race Forward has brought a systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex Race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Our vision and mission: -vision: Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose. -mission: Race Forward catalyzes racial justice movement building. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Theory of change: -grow power: we need connected and aligned networks of people, organizations, and movements to build the collective power (economic, social, political, etc.) Necessary to counter structural racism and steward transformative solutions for racial justice. -transform culture: we must harness the power of narrative, arts, and culture to assert the full humanity of communities of color, challenge racist ideologies that fuel structural racism, and envision a more just and equitable future. -transform policy: we must position communities of color and other historically oppressed communities as leaders and decision-makers in the policy-making process to create racially equitable policies at all levels. -transform institutions/sectors: institutions across multiple sectors of society (e.g. Government, philanthropy, non-profit, private, etc.) Must operationalize racial equity in their policies, practices, programs, and products. 2023 programmatic achievements institutional and sectoral change: establishes sustainable racial equity practice in sectors by facilitating learning cohorts, developing tools for long-term change, and tracking shifts that demonstrate success. Our government alliance on Race and equity (gare), a network of local and regional government jurisdictions, our federal initiative to govern for racial equity (fire), and our housing, land and development network (hldn), launched in 2023, are housed in this department. Select highlights: -gare hosted 3 convenings (+1,000 participants total) and 18 online programs for racial equity practitioners from member jurisdictions and agencies. -hldn hosted monthly virtual programming. -gare released advancing racial equity in housing, land, and development, a toolbox to help housing and planning agencies transform their organizations and develop race-informed policies. -with place based strategies team began an engagement with the one central providence coalition; workshop for 30 members of providence's housing justice community resulted in establishing 2024/2025 priorities agenda. -fire engaged +1,000 civil servants across 20 federal agencies through intake meetings; trainings; webinars; policy briefs; summits; and senior executive service member meetings. -fire launched an e-newsletter (illuminate) and a senior executive service (ses) racial equity collaborative. -Race Forward's president glenn harris spoke at the 2023 white house convening on equity. -fire and gare drafted a response to proposed updates and offered public comments on sdp-15, which will inform the 2030 census. -fire curated two features and presented subsequent panels at the environmental film festival and conducted training at the national environmental justice conference. -Race Forward and policylink published the "assessment of federal equity action plans," a review of 30 of the 90 federal agencies and departments' equity action plans (eaps). Movement capacity building: builds leadership and capacity of grassroots and other organizations within communities of color. Select highlights: -multiple news articles and six op-eds featured heal together and partners (Washington post, inside philanthropy teen vogue, hechinger report, and chalkbeat, among others). -started a heal storycorner with video stories from students, parents, educators, community advocates, and school board members. -released two heal together videos on the impact of attacks on public education and how communities are organizing to transform public schools. -released heal together organizing and narrative toolkit 2.0 and heal together equity policies toolkit for school boards for parents, educators, students, and school board members. -provided training on effectively telling stories to achieve education justice. Narrative, communications and storytelling (ncs): works across the organization to develop and share tools to advance and amplify enduring narratives that advance racial justice. Select highlights: -recorded momentum podcast at the white house with chiraag bains, then- deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the domestic policy council for racial justice and equity. -joined with the american medical association and healthcare organizations in rise to health: a national coalition for equity in health care. -partnered with policylink and community change on the housing justice narrative initiative; contributed to policylink's the housing justice narrative toolkit; launched a visual storytelling fund, a sub-grant for local partners; and released the housing is a basic human need: a messaging guide for housing justice. -produced and released 18 videos on colorlines (a short documentary people's action; 6 videos created with gare and heal; 3 responding to supreme court/affirmative action decision and attacks on public education). -produced full-length documentary "women transcend," in collaboration with formerly incarcerated women. -produced podcast episode on creating narratives power. -hosted 3 live virtual events (a weeklong teach-in and discussion about juneteenth, and webinar discussions on building a multi-racial democracy and asian americans and anti-blackness) research: conducts applied research uplifting the experiences of those directly affected by institutional and structural racism and provides race-explicit solutions in their work. Select highlights: -helped inform strategic imperative 3 working group, contributed to organizational strategic planning engagement sessions, engaged staff on the needs for research and evaluation. -continued work on the university of southern California: fair representation in redistricting; conducted 20+ interviews with grassroots organizations, analyzed qualitative data, and wrote state reports for Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. -with mcb, engaged with the policy innovation lab and partners, providing research justice guidance and support. -led the archival data collection process of over 100 grassroots organizations, and engaged in deep interviews with 30+ movement leaders for mass freedom. Cross-departmental initiatives place-based strategies: creates localized spaces where people come together across issues and sectors to develop long-term strategies that build power and resources in communities of color. -seated the sacramento racial equity council (rec) to work in partnership with the racial equity alliance, the city council, and city manager to create and institutionalize key policy, procedural and cultural shifts for racial equity. -rec conducted a strategy summit to develop roles, work group structures, and to prepare for the implementation of the truth-telling & trust building phase of their collaboration with the city. -created the score (sacramento centered on racial equity) initative to produce community of color-driven racial equity legislation. -coalition against racism (car) of pitt county, nc was instrumental in the development of a new local environmental justice group, north of the tar river association (notra), which, succeeded in preventing the development of a proposed data-mining center for cryptocurrency within 1500 yards of a majority black, latino and youth of color school. Training strategies -delivered 70+ client trainings to approximately 800+ people. -delivered 35+ public trainings to 1,100+ participants. -launched facilitating for racial equity, a workshop equipping participants with skills, frameworks, and practice needed to facilitate a racial equity workshop. -adapted the decision-making for racial equity training to include a tailored client-focused format that can be offered in-person/on-site, or as a series of engagements.