A collage of United Way of Racine County's staff, each one holding a piece of paper with a word on it. In order, the pieces of paper say, "United Way of Racine County is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Join us! #LiveUnited"

Our Equity Work

After two years of Community Conversations devoted to the subject of race, equity and inclusion, we have developed a better understanding of the challenges our community faces when it comes to racial inequities. These inequities contribute to the disparities we see in the areas of health, education and financial stability and will continue to hold us back until we address them. Below, you’ll learn about the tactics United Way of Racine County has developed to progress towards equity and how you can get involved.

Declaration of Inclusion 

Make your commitment to inclusion—the active, intentional and ongoing engagement with diversity—official by signing our Declaration of Inclusion Pledge. This pledge is to respect and appreciate all aspects of any person, including race, religion, skin color, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, physical abilities, age, parental status, work and behavioral styles, and the perspectives of each individual as shaped by their nation, culture and experiences. You will also receive our quarterly diversity newsletter to build your "equity muscle."

Take the pledge.

You can catch up on previous newsletters here:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

The DEI committee serves a peer group to help United Way's staff learn, grow and continue the conversation around equity. It identifies local diversity experts to train staff, facilitates discussions and exercises in building staff's equity muscles, and acts as inclusive leaders to share resources and keep staff moving together towards a stronger culture of equity.

Photo of Tracie Feest, a white woman with long, straight blonde hair.

Tracie Feest
she/her

Photo of MaryBeth Kallio, a white woman with a wavy, brown bob to her shoulders.

MaryBeth Kallio
she/her

A photo of Mitchell School behind an American flag and sign with its name, illuminated by sunshine.Link and Inspire For Tomorrow (LIFT) Strategy

Community schools are an integral component of our equity strategy. They create the infrastructure necessary to student success by focusing time, attention and resources towards eliminating systemic barriers that limit opportunities for students and families. United Way of Racine County's community schools work employs a place-based approach, LIFT (Link and Inspire for Tomorrow). The LIFT model creates partnerships between schools, neighborhoods and resources by using the community school as the hub. Foundational to the LIFT model are four key pillars that ensure community schools reflect neighborhoods' needs and priorities:

  1. Integrated student supports
  2. Expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities
  3. Active family and community engagement
  4. Collaborative leadership and practices

These four pillars comprise a strategy that enables educators, community members and partners to forge strong relationships. Together, we can LIFT the community.

21-Week Equity Challenge

Three Black Power fists in different skin colors on a blue circle. Text says, "21 Week Equity Challenge."The 21-Week Equity Challenge is an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives and communities. Our second round of the challenge will begin Aug. 30 and run through Jan. 17. Weekly topics take participants on a journey that starts with understanding internalized racism and inequity and explore how racism and inequity permeate individual interactions, institutions and social structures.

Participants will receive an email every Monday morning that takes them on a journey to deepen understanding of inequity and racism, explore ways to take action and help launch what we hope will be a lifelong commitment to improving equity and inclusion in our communities. Individuals are encouraged to form groups for discussion and reflection - or take the challenge as an individual learning opportunity. 

Whether or not this round of the challenge is your first, this is a powerful way to learn new information about equity and its various intersections and continue building your equity muscle.

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Want to re-experience the original series? Check it out:

How It Works

  • Sign up to take the challenge.
  • Beginning on August 30, you will receive an email each Monday.
  • Each week's message will have information, links to articles, videos and more about a specific topic. The challenge is to spend time each week learning and getting a better understanding of the equity issues we face in Wisconsin.
  • You can participate solo or form a small group to discuss weekly topics. We will provide access to discussion guides and other resources throughout the challenge to help you facilitate conversation.
  • We will present you with ideas on actions you can take to help improve equity issues in your community

Why

United Way of Racine County fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in our community. That work calls us to confront the challenges and disparities in our community and state. In each pillar of our work – Health, Education and Financial Stability, which we recognize as the building blocks for a good quality of life and strong community – Wisconsin residents face disparities along racial and ethnic lines. 

A 2019 report by COWS (PDF), a nonprofit think tank based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, finds that Wisconsin’s white residents have “relatively good” economic, health, and educational outcomes while Black residents fare worse than Black people nationally. Black babies in Wisconsin are three times more likely to die before reaching their first birthday than white babies. One in three Black children in Wisconsin lives in poverty, a rate that is 3.5 times higher than that of white children. Black students are 7.5 times more likely than white students to face out-of-school suspension, the second worst disparity in the country. 
 
While the pandemic reinforces the fact that every person's health is intertwined with the health of others in their community, racial and ethnic disparities observed in state health data demonstrates that Black, Brown, Indigenous and other communities of color are suffering a disproportionate impact and bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 Wisconsin ALICE Report found that nearly 66% of Black households and 48% of Hispanic households fell below the ALICE threshold, compared to 32% of White households.
 
This year, our country again confronted the painful, long-standing reality of racial inequity and the deadly results of racism and injustice that permeate so many communities. We saw that confrontation come to a head in our communities and on our streets – and in this difficult moment, we’ve seen our local organizations rise to the challenge of acknowledging and confronting racism in our community. The stark reality of racial disparities, racism and inequity throughout Wisconsin calls us to recognize, understand and act against racism and racial inequity.
 
We know that when we Live United, we must Live United for everyone.
 
We’re grateful for those who have led the way in their communities, not just to acknowledge the inequities and injustices, but to do the work and commit to active anti-racism. The 21-Week Equity Challenge is just one step toward personal and community growth. Please, join us.

Tools and Resources

About the Logo

The 21-Week Equity Challenge logo is a call to unite in learning and growth and work toward anti-racism in our community. With inspiration from the 21-Day Equity Challenge of Central Iowa, United Way of Wisconsin worked with its advisory group to select the image of the raised fist, calling on the gesture’s core meaning of unity and solidarity.

A blue button that says "learn more."

About the Challenge

The 21 Week Equity Challenge is adapted from the work of Debby Irving, racial justice educator and writer, and  Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., Director of the Privilege Institute in Green Bay, WI. Ms. Irving and Dr. Moore designed the challenge to not only help people better understand the issues surrounding equity and inclusion, but to do so in a way that would build a long-lasting habit of learning by stretching it over 21 days. United Way of Wisconsin adapted the concept to 21 weeks, encouraging participants to engage with a topic throughout the week by revising the questions and taking more time to engage with the materials.

Resources

  • Best African American History Apps and Websites
  • NAMI Racine County programs
    NAMI Racine County works to promote public education and understanding of mental illness. It provides unique educational opportunities at no charge for those living with mental illness, family members and the community. It also offers a lending library of mental health-related resources.
  • Our Diversity Statement
  • Payne and Frasier
    Kimberly Payne and Dr. Arletta Frazier use their combined decades of experience to offer customized, interactive diversity trainings in the Racine area. 
  • Racial Equity Institute Trainings
    United Way has partnered with Higher Expectations on multiple occasions to offer Racial Equity Institute trainings at no cost to Racine County residents. In these lively presentations, REI organizers use stories and data to present an argument that racism is fundamentally structural in nature.
  • Safe Zone Training
    The LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin educates individuals and organizations on the LGBTQ+ community—what it is, what it needs, and how to be a good ally. Both community-wide and organization-specific trainings are available. 
  • Women's Resource Center Programs
    WRC provides crisis intervention, advocacy, education and prevention services for people at risk of domestic abuse and/or sexual assault by promoting positive change for clients and the broader community of Racine County.
  • YWCA SEW Workshops and Trainings
    The YWCA of SE Wisconsin offers a variety of trainings about different facets of equity, such as structural racism, cultural differences, social transformation and more.

Watch/Read

Events

  • Anti-Racism Book Group (ongoing)
  • A weekly book discussion group reading books on race and racism.
  • Gateway's Diversity 365 events (ongoing)
  • Queer Book Club: Radical Change Through Real Talk (ongoing)
    Looking for a safe place to grow, challenge the status quo and expand your understanding of what is needed for positive change in our community? Grab the book of the month and join the discussion. We'll cover topics from social justice and advocacy to personal growth and community development.
  • Open Our Hearts and Minds to End Racism (ongoing)
    A yearlong, faith-based series of interactive and multidimensional public events. The series goal is to increase our understanding of how we think and feel about racism, resulting in actions that can help to transform us as individuals and the systems of racism in our country. 

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