2013 Stand Against Racism a Great Success!

Once again the YWCA Stand Against Racism was a great success. According to a follow-up survey sent to participating groups, over 5,000 people participated in Stand Against Racism activities this year.

Stand Coalition Co-Chair Kathryn Liss, Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder, Stand Coalition Member James Lee. Dr. Wilder’s talk at the YMI was sponsored by Mission Health.

Here are some of the things people had to say about the 2013 Stand:

“It gets the word out and gives people a platform from which to address this issue.”

“I like the variety of events offered.”

“Energy, enthusiasm, important messages.”

“I loved the conference at UNC Asheville. Hearing from Dr. Livingston and talking with community members about the challenges our community faces regarding creating inclusive cultures was eye opening.”

“Our volunteers were proud to wear the stickers throughout the day and the evening’s performance.”

“It’s something tangible that students can participate in and feel good about.”

“Synergy of the individuals and organizations that participated. Collaboration is how we are going to create critical mass and momentum to make change.”

“Diversity of activities going on.”

“The opportunity to see the support of the City and County.”

“It brings awareness to our community.”

“Thoughtful dialogue about subtle racism.”

“I love that it’s a growing local and national movement – that helped everyone feel part of a bigger whole. Loved the ongoing reminders and increasing amount of support and resources being given to help us conduct our events.”

“I like seeing different organizations put on different events that suit their style /mission / purpose. I like how the events all crossed many lines other than racism, like how the film at the UU church also addressed LGBT and political issues.”

“Knowing that so many in our community were focused and aware of these relevant issues at the same time.”

“Great coalition building.”

“Keeping this important issue in front of the public.”

Looking at Racism and Economic Justice

Post by Kathryn Liss, co-chair of the Stand Against Racism Coalition:

I am very excited about this year’s Asheville Stand Against Racism. We have an active community-wide coalition which plans the events (see a list of members here). In our planning this year, we heard from several local African American leaders in our coalition that the most important issue for people of color in our community is economic justice.

As we discussed this, we found that lack of satisfying employment is the key issue in our having such a small middle class within the Black and Latino communities. Although there is significant hiring at the entry level, people of color do not get the mentoring and support they need to be able to advance. Instead, Asheville institutions tend to hire from outside the community for mid and upper level positions. People of color move here to take those middle class jobs and find that they have a limited community of people similar to themselves. We need to retain, promote and mentor people who already have friends and family in the community so that they have reason to stay here even when they have significantly improved their credentials and job status. This will also become a community of peers that others from the outside can join.

Thus, we are delighted that Buncombe County and the City of Asheville partnered with UNC Asheville to bring Robert Livingston to Asheville to present the “Realizing the Benefits of a Diverse & Inclusive Workforce” conference this Thursday, April 25. Robert Livingston is a diversity researcher whose research examines how physical appearance and non-conscious processes influence stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. He is also interested in the topic of diversity in leadership. Specifically, he investigates the unique challenges confronting women and minorities in upper management, as well as the conscious and non-conscious processes underlying leader selection. Along with his speech, there will be a variety of presenters from the community to provide a marketplace of short breakout sessions which will allow the 240 people from 50 local organizations to learn more about welcoming diversity and inclusion into their workplaces.

Find out about other Stand Against Racism events happening this weekend and next week at www.ywcastand.org.

This post is part of the YWCA Stand Against Racism blog carnival – we invite you to join the dialogue! Post your comment below, share your story and follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #StandAgainstRacism.

See more here.

Stand Against Racism Events

We are very pleased to share this impressive list of events that are planned for the 2013 YWCA Stand Against Racism. More details about these events can be found here. The deadline to sign up for the Stand Against Racism is this Friday. Any group of any size can participate, either by holding an event (public or private) or attending one of the events listed below. Sign up at www.ywcastand.org.

If you have any questions, call YWCA Director of Communications Ami Worthen at 254-7206 x 203 or email aworthen@ywcaofavl.org.

Monday, April 22

Speaker: Gertrude Fraser, “Understanding the Candidate’s Perspective: Dual-Career as a Dimension of Decision-Making”
UNC Asheville Highsmith Student Union Mountain Suites, 7:00 pm

Screening of Episode 1 of “Race: The Power of an Illusion”
Land-of-Sky Regional Council, 339 New Leicester Hwy., Suite 140, 12 pm – 1 pm

Tuesday, April 23

Screening of Episode 2 of “Race: The Power of an Illusion”
Land-of-Sky Regional Council, 339 New Leicester Hwy., Suite 140, 12 pm – 1 pm

Wednesday, April 24

Speaker: Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder, Assistant Professor Sociology
at University of North Florida
YMI Cultural Center, 39 S Market St, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Sponsored by Mission Health

Thursday, April 25

“Realizing the Benefits of a Diverse & Inclusive Workforce” Conference
UNC Asheville Wilma Sherrill Center, 8:30 am – 2:00 pm
Sponsored by Buncombe County and the City of Asheville in partnership with UNC Asheville.
Note: This event is sold out.

Screening of Episode 3 of “Race: The Power of an Illusion”
Land-of-Sky Regional Council, 339 New Leicester Hwy., Suite 140, 12 pm – 1 pm

Friday, April 26

Coffee and Conversation
Disability Partners, 108 New Leicester Highway, 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Jam Against Racism
AB Tech, Ferguson Auditorium, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Sponsored by  AB-Tech Early College.

Lunch & Learn
56 Walton Street, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Sponsored by ABIPA.

Social Justice Film Night
Unitarian Universalist Church, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville and the Asheville Buncombe Community Relations Council.

The Beloved Community—No Place for Racism
Carver Center, 101 Carver Avenue, Black Mountain, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Hop Ice Cream and The Hop West will donate 10% of sales on this day to the Stand Against Racism.

Sunday, April 28

Kenilworth Presbyterian Church Service
123 Kenilworth Road, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Swannanoa Valley Service
500 Montreat Road, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm

Coffee & Conversation
Wall Street Coffeehouse and Emporium, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Sponsored by Blue Ridge Pride.

Dialogue Cafe’
Downtown, 3:30 – 5:30 pm – more details to come
Sponsored by the Healing Love Institute/Healing Love Foundation.

Wednesday, May 1

Lunch & Learn
MAHEC Education Building, 121 Hendersonville Road, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Sponsored by MAHEC.

Thursday, May 2

YWCA Black & White Gala
Crowne Plaza Expo Center, 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Wrap up party for the Stand Against Racism.

Screening & Discussion of “The Help”
Jubilee Community Church, 46 Wall Street, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Sponsored by Jubilee Community Church

Elementary, Middle, and High Schools with Stand Against Racism activities planned for their students:
A.C. Reynolds Middle School, Cane Creek Middle School, Charles D. Owen High School, Isaac Dickson Elementary School, Enka Middle School, Evergreen Community Charter School, Francine Delany New School for Children, Sand Hill-Venable Elementary, Erwin Middle School, and T.C. Roberson High School.

Realizing the Benefits of a Diverse & Inclusive Workforce Conference April 25

We are excited to share the news of the upcoming conference Realizing the Benefits of a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce which will take place on Thursday, April 25 from 8:30 am – 2:00 pm at the UNC Asheville Wilma Sherrill Center. The conference is sponsored by the City of Asheville and Buncombe County and is part of our 2013 Stand Against Racism.

By the year 2042, the United States will be a majority-minority population, where those of European, non-Spanish speaking ancestry will make up less than 50% of the population. This demographic change will impact hiring, marketing, promotion, vendor choices and every aspect of a business’s operations.

Dr. Robert Livingston, the keynote speaker, is a diversity researcher who examines how physical appearance and non-conscious processes influence stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination along with diversity and leadership. Specifically, he investigates the unique challenges confronting women and minorities in upper management, as well as the conscious and non-conscious processes underlying leader selection. He will be joined by regional economist Tom Tveidt who will provide an analysis of the current and future demography of the state and region.

Other offerings for the conference include 20 breakout sessions with topics such as HR Basics for Transparent and Fair Policies, Mentoring Transformed for 2013, and Building Effective Diverse Teams. The conference will conclude with a panel of organizational representatives who have instituted best practices for equity and inclusion including Wells Fargo, Asheville Fire Department, and US Forest Service.

Businesses and organizations encouraged to send teams of 2-4 people. The cost is $25 per person and includes lunch. Space is limited, so register today! Click here for the registration form.

Buncombe County Slave Deeds on Display

We encourage you to visit this important and historic exhibit.

From the Buncombe County Website:

The Buncombe County Register of Deeds Office has opened an exhibit to commemorate the 150-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and to remember those who were enslaved and their immeasurable contributions to our community.

The exhibit, located in the lobby of 35 Woodfin Street in Downtown Asheville, will be on display through April 30. The exhibit will move to the NC Collection of the Pack Memorial Library from May 1 – July 31.

In every county in North Carolina, the Register of Deeds played a role in cataloging the transactions of slavery in handwritten books. Contained in these handwritten files from the early 1800s are deeds documenting the trading of slaves as property.

One of the stories highlighted in the Slave Deed exhibit is of a slave named Sarah Gudger. Ms. Gudger was born into slavery in Old Fort, North Carolina but spent the majority of her life in Reems Creek. Her story is one of the only first-hand accounts that we have of slavery in Buncombe County.

The exhibit includes a 15 minute video produced by Buncombe County Television featuring the words of Ms. Gudger and comments from local citizens regarding our history.

Buncombe County displays this documentation for the purpose of historical research, family genealogy, education, and to acknowledge that slavery was a part of our County’s history.

For more information, please go to www.buncombecounty.org/slavedeeds.

Sign Up Today for the 2013 Stand Against Racism!

The YWCA’s Stand Against Racism, which happens annually in April, is a partnership of YWCA Associations throughout the country with the goal of bringing people together from all walks of life to raise awareness that racism still exists and that it can no longer be ignored or tolerated. Our strength is in numbers!

Any group of any size can become a Participating Site of the Stand Against Racism: corporations large or small, schools (from elementary schools to universities), government agencies, non-profit or civic organizations, hospitals, churches or synagogues, even two neighbors gathered around a kitchen table.

Are you interested in participating? The 2013 Stand Against Racism is now open for registration. There is no cost to participate, and we will mail you materials. Simply go to www.ywcastand.org to sign up to be a part of this year’s Stand. Please note that you need to go to the site to sign up for 2013 even if you have participated in the past.

The national YWCA Stand Against Racism day is April 26, but, as in previous years, events in our community will happen during late April and into May, including the YWCA Black & White Gala on May 2.

Your business, organization or faith group can participate in the Stand in whatever way works best for you – everything from wearing “racism hurts everyone” buttons, to watching a film with your staff, attending another group’s event, to organizing a workshop or rally. YWCA Director of Communications Ami Worthen can help you decide how to make this a meaningful experience. She can be reached at 254-7206 x 203 or by email at ami.worthen@ywcaofavl.org.

One way your business or organization can participate in this year’s Stand is to agree to send representatives to “Realizing the Benefits of a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce,” a conference that will be held from 8:30 am until 2 pm on Thursday, April 25 at the Sherrill Center. This conference, which is sponsored by City of Asheville and Buncombe County Government in partnership with UNC Asheville, will provide information about research-based best practices to recruit, retain and promote a diverse work force, and provide guidance on the development of mentoring strategies. If you sign up for the Stand, we will email you when the registration is open for this event.

With your support we can continue to grow this project and support greater inclusivity and equity in Asheville and Buncombe County.

YWCA History is Black History

Message from YWCA Executive Director Beth Maczka:

As many of you know, the YWCA of Asheville mission is Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women and Promoting Peace, Freedom, Justice and Dignity for all.  While we think that EVERY month should be Black History month, it is February, so I thought I’d take a moment to tell you a little about the YW’s rich history in Asheville as well as what we are currently doing to live into our mission through our programs and the Stand Against Racism.

The YW began in 1906, offering housing to young white women coming into the city to work. This YW became known as the Central YWCA. On a parallel track, in that same decade, a group of African American women gathered to form an employment club to help young Black women find jobs. They established an organization called the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA.

In 1938, the two separate branches were forced to integrate by the National YW and the local Community Chest (now the United Way). For many years they functioned as separate organizations but they had an eye toward the future. Long before most other organizations thought about integration, the two branches of the YWCA began that process.

In 1954, Lucille Burton was elected the first African American member of the board of directors. Also in the 50’s, the branches began integrating their children’s and teen programs.

In 1956, the United Nations Club invited Eleanor Roosevelt to speak in Asheville, but she would only speak to non-segregated audiences. The YWCA was the only place in Asheville willing to host an integrated audience. She spoke to a sold out crowd of over 800 at the Central YWCA.

In 1963, the YW Board of Directors passed a motion “to accept all women and girls regardless of race or creed in all facilities, programs and services of the YWCA.” The most controversial aspect was that of the boarding facility – Moorehead House, was to accept African-American residents. This alienated one of the YWCA’s largest funders.

In 1965, Thelma Caldwell became the Executive Director of the Central YW, making her the second African-American Executive Director of a YWCA in the United States and the first in the South. In 1970, the two branches merged permanently when the white branch closed and all programming moved into our current facility. The women who led the YW both nationally and here in Asheville have always been on the cutting edge of social justice in their time. After building housing for women workers in the industrial cities across the US, the YW supported an eight hour work day, child labor laws and the minimum wage. Locally, our YW led efforts for integration, organizing to encourage downtown businesses to hire their first African American employees. The YWCA PAC successfully lobbied the Winn-Dixie supermarket to integrate its workforce in 1962. Following this achievement, the YWCA continued its efforts to work with other local companies such as A&P, Sears, J.C. Penny’s, Belk’s Department Store, and Bon Marche toward the goal of an integrated workforce.

Today, the YWCA’s seven programs address disparities in child care, education, health care and earning power. Our services include a 5-Star Child Care Center and 5 -Star After-School and Summer Camp program, MotherLove which helps pregnant and parenting teens graduate from high school, and New Choices which offers case management and free child care to women who are pursuing education or looking for employment. On the wellness side, we offer Diabetes Wellness and Prevention which provides support groups, coaching and access to Club W – our state of the art Fitness Center. Finally and not least of all, the YW has a solar-heated pool which is used to teach the children in our programs to swim as well as a full schedule of water aerobics, lap swimming and something I still need to try, water basketball.

Lives are truly transformed at the YW as we help move our community towards greater equity and inclusion. Besides offering a variety of programs every day, the YW annually hosts the Stand Against Racism. The Stand Against Racism is a nationwide YWCA effort that occurs on the fourth Friday in April. YW’s across the country host events and encourage their communities to engage in acts both large and small. The goal is to raise awareness that racism still exists and that it will no longer be tolerated or accepted. Asheville’s Stand Against Racism is proud to be one of the largest in the county.

Schools, faith communities, nonprofits and businesses choose how they want to be involved. When I worked at the Community Foundation of WNC, during the Stand’s first year, we simply read an article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack,” and then had a facilitated discussion over lunch. Last year the foundation co-hosted a forum and Latino student panel on immigration. The Asheville Community Theater held a community dialogue around their production of To Kill a Mockingbird. The Chamber of Commerce hosted a workshop offered by the Center for Diversity Education on making public spaces more welcoming to all. Group’s individual stands can be as simple or involved as they choose.

This year the Stand Against Racism Planning Coalition has chosen the focus of recruitment, retention and promotion of people of color in the workplace. We are working on a toolkit of best practices to share with organizations who wish to explore how to increase the number of  minorities in the workplace. We hope you will consider participating in the Stand and we hope you will join us at the YW’s Stand event which will be the most exciting of all – our Black and White Gala on May 2. This is the most fun, diverse dance party in Asheville and not to be missed!

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you want to find out more about our history and programs, please visit our website.

Note: The historical facts shared here were taken from a series of historical panels we created for our Centennial in 2007. See the panels here.

Discussing Race

Here’s an interesting video of a TEDx talk by Jay Smooth on how we might try to discuss race, and racism, constructively.

We’d love to hear your reactions to this – we encourage you to post a comment.

“Reconciliation in Action” Forum on Faith and Race Tuesday, May 29

PRESS RELEASE

The Baptist Ministers Union Of Asheville and Surrounding Counties, Dr. L. C. Ray, President and Christians for a United Community, Deacon Tyrone Greenlee, Executive Director, announce:

“Reconciliation in Action: Moving from Sunday to Monday” 

The Baptist Ministers’ Union of Asheville and Surrounding Counties and the Christians for a United Community, Inc., in support of the YWCA Stand Against Racism movement, invite the public to a forum presented by the faith community on race and race relations. The Forum is entitled “Reconciliation in Action: Moving from Sunday to Monday!” It will take place on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at the Dr. Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Community Center, 285 Livingston Street, from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm.

There will be a panel discussion from seasoned pastors within our community and an opportunity for the community to ask questions of our faith leaders. The panelists will be Reverend Phyllis Martin, Dr. Jim McCoy, Dr. John H. Grant and Father James Abbott. All are encouraged to come out and hear how the faith community is responding to race and race relations in our community.

Thank you,

Dr. L. C. Ray, President
Baptist Ministers Union of Asheville and Surrounding Counties

Tyrone Greenlee, Executive Director
Christians for a United Community

MLK Association Joins YWCA Stand Against Racism with Forum on “Race & the Ballot Box”

Press Release from the MLK Association:

As part of the YWCA’s third annual Stand Against Racism program in April, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County will host a public forum on “Race & the Ballot Box” to discuss progress and setbacks in minority access to the ballot box during the past half century—and the possibility that access will be compromised by new “Voter ID” laws and recent redistricting in North Carolina. The forum, which is nonpartisan, free, and open to the public, will take place from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Monday, April 30 at Westwood Baptist Church at 150 Westwood Place in West Asheville.

The panel will be comprised of John Hayes, chairman of the NAACP, Asheville Branch, and a veteran of voter registration drives; Rev. Spencer Hardaway, pastor of Rock Hill Baptist Church and an active member of the U.S. Army Reserves; Nelda Holder, a board member of the League of Women Voters and former opinion editor of the Mountain Xpress newspaper; Urban News publisher Johnnie Grant, who in the 1990s was one of the first state-certified elections administrators in North Carolina; and Dr. George Peery, retired professor of political science from Mars Hill College. The panel will be moderated by Kyle Simmons, a longtime member of the MLK Association’s Prayer Breakfast planning committee.

The forum will review recent and upcoming moves in the NC Legislature that have changed the duration and locations of early voting options around the state; created new voting districts for a variety of offices that will cause some precincts in Buncombe County to have as many as two dozen different ballots; and could cause many older, low-income, and minority voters who lack state-issued voter identity cards and cannot afford to pay for them to find their ballot access more restricted or difficult to retain.

Co-sponsors of the event, in addition to the YWCA Stand Against Racism, are the League of Women Voters of Asheville & Buncombe County; the Urban News; and Westwood Baptist Church.

For more information about the forum and the MLK Association, visit the MLK website at www.MLKAsheville.orgor call Oralene Simmons, chairperson, at 828-281-1624. For more details about the YWCA’s STAND Against Racism, visit www.ywcastand.org.