Why All Advocacy Organizations Should Adopt a Racial Equity Framework

Published: Feb. 24, 2021, 7:54 p.m.

Today's guest hosts are Brent J. Cohen and Edwith Theogene, Executive Director and Organizing Director for Generation Progress.

Over the past year—a year in which we saw some of the largest uprisings in support of racial justice in many years, in addition to a pandemic that disproportionately impacted Black Americans—many Americans have undergone a reckoning on systemic racism and its impact.

As a result, many organizations in the progressive advocacy and policy spaces are incorporating a more intentional and intersectional racial equity or racial justice lens into their work. Their goal is to ensure that advocacy and policy on all issues—from climate to reproductive rights to student debt—acknowledges and addresses the way that race and racism furthers harm against Black, Indigenous, and other individuals and communities of color.

To talk to Brent and Edwith more about what a racial equity framework looks like in practice, the resources that are available to organizations and individuals, and common missteps or misconceptions to avoid, they’re joined by two expert guests in the field.They are Nia E. Martin-Robinson, a founding partner at 'For The Culture,' and Krystal Leaphart, an operations and policy associate at the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women.

Generation Progress' website is GenProgress.org and their Twitter handle is @GenProgress.  Brent's Twitter handle is @BrentJCohen and Edwith Theogene's handle is @WhoIsEdwith.  Nia E. Martin-Robinso's Twitter handle is @NiaEshu and Krystal Leaphart's handle is @Krystallisms.