"Racism is alive in our community, whether or not people believe it. I became involved and stay involved because I care about this community. It is my home and always has been. Nobody should feel unwelcome in their own home."

 -Alex Ozaki McNeil, Investment Manager Brio Baking Inc. 
News Highlights
Local Perspectives on Racial Equity

In its August 24 edition, the North Coast Journal shared a piece entitled "A Work In Progress," which shares the perspectives of eight community members, including HSU's new Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Cheryl Johnson, Los Bagels founder Dennis Rael, and the Equity Alliance's own Ron White. We are hopeful that these conversations will continue and that, in the words of Arcata Vice Mayor Sofia Pereira, we continue to "choose courage over comfort and fight racial inequity to make Arcata and Humboldt County a livable community for all students and residents."

The North Coast Journal invites all community members to share their own perspectives on racial equity.

*illustration above by Eric Mueller
True North Organizing Network's Community Action on Immigration


On Monday, September 11, True North Organizing Network hosted its Community Action on Immigration at the Eureka United Methodist Church. Over 200 people attended the event, where local organizing committees reported research findings on national and local immigration issues, and invited local law enforcement and first responder agencies to address questions regarding how their agencies are addressing the concerns of the local immigrant community.

The event was the culmination of six months of research and numerous one to one meetings between True North leaders, local community members, faith leaders, and law enforcement officials. Leaders in the local immigrant community shared moving testimonies and received public commitments from the agencies represented. For more information, follow the link to the North Coast Journal blog post below.
Tune In! Spanish Language Programming Hits the Airwaves in Humboldt County

KHSU is now broadcasting Spanish language programming through Radio Bilingüe, a communtiy-based radio network. Listen in on 95.5! For more information about programming and how Radio Bilingüe came to HSU, check out the El Leñador news article below.

Upcoming Local Events
Panel Discussion: Racism and White Privilege in the LGBTQIA2S+ Community

On Wednesday, September 20, Redwood Pride will be hosting a panel discussion on the experiences of queer people of color in Humboldt County.

Details from the event organizers: "We will not be speaking for all queer people or all people of color. We will be speaking from our own points of view and different perspectives. This is by no means the whole conversation about these issues, but it can be a window of insight into individual stories."
The panel will be held from 7:30pm-8:30pm in the Great Hall at HSU. For more information about this event, follow the link below to the Facebook event page.
The Campus & Community Dialogue on Race (CCDOR)

CCDOR is an annual event hosted by Humboldt State University that invites students, staff, faculty, administrators, and community members to present and attend programs that relate to racial justice and its intersections.

This year's Dialogue will run from October 30 – November 3, 2017, and features keynote speaker Dr. Melina Abdullah with keynote address: Beautiful Struggle: Toppling White Supremacy, Building Black Power .

The organizers are accepting proposals for additional workshops on a variety of topics. Equity Alliance facilitators will be providing at least one workshop during that week in a community venue--stay tuned for more details!

Visit the event's website below for more information or to submit a proposal.
LatinoNet's Festejando Nuestro Salud Update

According to LatinoNet, they will not be hosting the annual Festejando Nuestro Salud/Health Fair due to staffing constraints and a schedule conflict with Open Door's Health Fair on October 29 at Fortuna's River Lodge. For more information about this decision, follow the link below.
Equity Aliance Updates

Racial Equity Facilitators Roundtable

Participants in the GARE (Local & Regional Government Alliance on Race and Equity) program and LEDA (Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance) facilitators' workshops have begun meeting for a monthly roundtable at the Humboldt Area Foundation as a way to continue their learning and collaboration on racial equity education. At the most recent roundtable, trainers explored their own experiences of talking about race with their families, and how to apply these experiences in their work as facilitators and conveners.
Racial Equity Tool Kit
What is "Equity"? A Tool for Engaging Others

Have you seen this baseball image as a tool for understanding equity?

A better tool for explaining equity, and one that we use in our trainings and workshops, is a series of graphics created by Salomé Chimiku. Her series won the 2016 Equity Illustrated contest sponsored by the Meyer Memorial Trust and the Northwest Health Initiative in Oregon.

“Equity is the biggest safeguard against fear...The more you understand equity, the more compassionate you become. You’re understanding where someone is coming from.” - Salomé Chimiku

To learn more about Salom é Chimiku, and for a PDF version of her graphic story, click below.
  Email equitynorthcoast@hafoundation.org to share upcoming events you know about related to racial equity and we will post it on our website!
Equity Alliance of the North Coast| Humboldt Area Foundation | (707) 442-2993 | equitynorthcoast.org |equitynorthcoast@hafoundation.org
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