compact for racial justice

This past weekend, the Facing Race conference in Oakland, CA brought together over 1,000 activists, writers, academics, artists and community organizers to talk about the future of the racial justice movement in the U.S. The conference was organized by the Applied Research Center, the largest racial justice think tank in the country.

If you missed the conference, there are a bunch of cool videos, interviews, essays and other good content from the weekend now posted up at RaceWire, the blog of COLORLINES magazine.

One outcome of the conference was the launch of the new Compact for Racial Justice, a proactive plan for how all of us can implement strategies and policy proposals to reverse racial disparities and move our society towards full equity, inclusion and dignity for all people. According to the information I received:

The Compact transcends talk of personal prejudice with compelling evidence of institutional racism and realistic proactive solutions. It seeks to engage a broad multiracial base of activists, opinion leaders and policymakers in making government and powerful institutions accountable for eliminating racial inequality in our schools, hospitals, courtrooms and workplaces."

It's a call to action, people, with bold analysis and real solutions. To read or download the compact, which includes a sign up pledge, a community tool-kit, and essays by Van Jones, Rinku Sen, Amaad Rivera and many more, go here: Compact for Racial Justice: An Agenda for Fairness and Unity.