Step One: Identify Interested Organizations and Individuals

The first step in the TRHT process is to identify local organizations to support and participate in Antiracist Riverside's TRHT efforts. We acknowledge and honor the many organizations and individuals presently working on issues of racism. ARR seeks to facilitate coordination, both across these organizations and among these individuals, with the goal of realizing a commonly shared strategic plan to address racism in the City. We continue to invite and welcome all individuals and groups to create an antiracism consortium. 

 

Step Two: Community Input Process

Antiracist Riverside has begun to solicit community input to identify current issues of racism in Riverside and a vision of the city without racism. The success of the community input process is reliant on the support of our partner organizations. ARR and its participating organizations are hosting TRHT Visioning Workshops, which are group sessions that discuss five TRHT questions and gather the community responses:  

   Question 1: What will the City of Riverside look and feel like after racism has ended?

   Question 2: What are the current racial realities in Riverside?

   Question 3: What are the key leverage points of change in Riverside?

   Question 4: Who are the key stakeholders and beneficiaries not at the table?

   Question 5: What specific actions can be taken to achieve your vision of Riverside without racism?

 

Numerous TRHT Visioning Workshops will be held by ARR and various organizations to achieve broad community participation, while ensuring a safe, supportive environment during these difficult and sensitive discussions. The plan is to invite as many residents as possible to attend these sessions over the next several months. All input will be recorded and compiled in a database. 

 

Step Three: Developing a Strategic Plan

The community input from the TRHT Visioning Workshops will be consolidated and analyzed, in order to clearly identify current racial realities, key leverage points, a vision for the city, and ideas for change. Interested organizations will be invited to come together to review the consolidated community input and develop a strategic plan which will include focus areas, action items, leverage points, and key implementers and supports. Partnering organizations and individuals will then be asked to commit to work on specific action items and report back to the consortium through a formal feedback structure.

 

Step Four: Evaluation of Progress

Based on a predetermined reporting and evaluation structure developed in Step three, there will be regular communication with the larger group, the community, and city government on progress, barriers, recommendations for policy and practice changes in the City, and next steps to ensure change occurs. 

Healing Circles are a means to provide a safe, intimate environment, where participants may work through the effects of racism on their lives. These small group sessions are guided by a trained facilitator, so that individuals feel supported throughout the activity.

 

As individuals become educated and meet to discuss racism, they become aware of the very real impact of it on people of color and on white people. These conversations often create a need to process thoughts and feelings about the racism that has, and continues to occur. 

 

Antiracist Riverside is in the process of developing and coordinating Healing Circles for Riverside residents interested in participating in the process. More information will be available as these groups are developed in the near future.