Thread by @vpillar

It's a great morning to get up early and #FlyIthaca! I'm headed to the #FacingRace conference in Phoenix, AZ on behalf of Tompkins County. The Ithaca airport is sleek and peaceful--one of the loveliest airport experiences I've had.

Spent lots of time last night debating how best to use Phoenix Valley Metro public transit. You can only buy and activate certain kinds of passes in certain places and there is lots of choice! Ended up with four 1-day all-day cards & already in love with the bus.

I'm on my way to the GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity) pre-con. Agenda: to "explore how building and using infrastructure for community participation and interagency coordination can contribute to achieving racially equitable results." #FacingRace

First up: panel discussion with Dr. Clarice E. Gaylord, Dr. Marva King, and Harold Mitchell Jr. on the history of the environmental justice ReGenesis Project. They're sharing their first steps getting into this work. #FacingRace

Dr. Gaylord, almost 80, teared up looking at the room full of ppl as she compared to when she started the EPA's first-ever internal diversity&justice office, with 7 staff and $400k. She aimed to help women & POC not struggle like she had. #FacingRace

Mr. Mitchell is sharing how his own experience getting very sick led him to investigate & then discover medical waste dumping--it had been going on for over a decade and no one had looked at the documents he FOIA'd before! (Also: he'd never heard of FOIA before using it 🙂)

"Are you saying I'm racist? No, I'm saying you have a problem you need to fix." #FacingRace

Attempting to fix threading here....

Btw, I am (trying) to tweet so heavily because I tend to be bad about sharing out conference notes when I return from one. But I really want to this time! So, at least there's this twitter thread.

https://twitter.com/vpillar/status/1593287925009039360?s=20&t=iCgIwdSppDtRm052azAqOQ

Morning panel is over now; ended with a standing ovation and a few tears. Dr. Gaylord was the very first equity officer at the entire Environmental Protection Agency, back in 1992! 30 years later, we grapple with a lot of the same questions and structures. #FacingRace

One theme from the panel: building trust. Requires genuine listening, well-placed individuals, and seeing people as humans vs just reps of orgs/structures. Dr. King shared a story of two ppl who fought a lot until they bonded over being mothers of daughters. #FacingRace

Another theme: the community knows what they need. Panelists described a community-driven plan in Spartanburg, SC that the EPA then took up & built a grant program around. Much more effective than academics swooping in with a model & telling community to fit it. #FacingRace

Someone asked if this doesn't put too much burden on the community. Apparently there used to be more training OF community members from people within government orgs than there is now. Could we do more of this? #FacingRace

The next panel discussion was more focused on the ReGenesis Institute @regenesisgrp, with three panelists involved in the project in different ways (community organizing, federal government, and local government).
#FacingRace #WholeGovtEquity

Continued focus on going into communities FIRST, then starting a pilot project and then getting gov't to invest/expand/build. Government won't give you $$ for "a white paper and an argument." #FacingRace #WholeGovtEquity

In one example, a medical facility got started on a Superfund site in response to lack of medical care access and in partnership w/ Howard University students. Only once it started serving lots of people did the local hospital get involved. #FacingRace #WholeGovtEquity

Environmental justice issues are not ones that one entity can resolve. Panelists spoke about building person-to-person relationships across agencies and getting out of silos. #FacingRace #WholeGovtEquity

In group conversation, someone spoke about focusing on community relationships (ongoing, pervasive, human-to-human) vs simply community engagement (single events, forums, focus groups). Huge applause to this. #FacingRace #WholeGovtEquity

A former local government staffer spoke on going into churches in Black communities -- sometimes being the only white person and working thru that discomfort -- vs simply holding public hearings in council chambers that no one attends (relatable....) #FacingRace #WholeGovtEquity

Back at it! Opening ceremony is happening and there are a ton of people (I heard > 2000 in-person registrants!). The folks in Indigenous ceremonial garb just performed several dances; now a panel discussion on the elections begins. #FacingRace

Sulma Arias of People's Action spoke on the power of deep canvassing, which her org experimented with in 2018 and really expanded since. They've trained 137 orgs and over 3400 trainers in deep canvassing and it works to engage folks! #FacingRace

Michael McAfee of PolicyLink calls for an end to infighting within racial justice organizations. "White supremacy won't beat us, but we will." Emphasizes loving each other, staying accountable to our collective goals, and believing we can win. #FacingRace

Grecia Lima of Community Change describes the American Dream as the greatest marketing tool ever 😂 and says we need to update the dream. She notes that folks across all demographics want good jobs that allow us to build wealth--not just income--for our families. #FacingRace

Glenn Harris of @RaceForward asks panelists what actions people should takeaway from #FacingRace .

Grecia Lima: "Fight for your impossible dream. [...] If you are a donor, fund the impossible dream."

Michael McAfee: Calls on orgs to make space to do soul work. To funders, "if you're gonna ask me for results, pay me for them."

Sulma: "This feels like an organizing revival!" Calls on us all to join orgs, sign up, deep canvass & thereby build power. #FacingRace

Dr. Sarra Tekola, who is Black and Ethiopian, and Laura Medina, who is an Ojibwe mom, both spoke out fiercely against settler colonialism and mass incarceration of immigrants, and for the celebration and empowerment of Black and Indigenous folks. #FacingRace

@threadreaderapp unroll