Deep histories and long standing systems have created profound racial disparities in the United States. These disparities will not be repaired through diversity training, combatting stereotypes, or challenging interpersonal discrimination alone. Thus, the Tzedek Social Justice Fellowship is invested in work that addresses the economic, cultural, and legal barriers regularly encountered by people of color.
We acknowledge that whiteness is a privileged status, even as it is complicated by other forms of oppression like homophobia and classism. And we understand that racism is a crisis. The evidence is found when we look at the prison industrial complex, income inequality, and health disparities. Tzedek’s work is to resist patterns that deepen racial injustice.
Social justice work has a long history of ignoring how racism plays out in movements. White folks have dominated the mic and the agenda. By centering racial equity, we are naming that there is no social justice without eradicating racism.
Jobs in Racial Justice and Racial Equity
Racial justice is a core focus of the Tzedek Social Justice Fellowship, with positions that work to undo systems of inequality and discrimination. Tzedek Fellows have worked in the following ways to help build racial equity:
- Supporting the efforts of the Racial Justice Coalition, a collaboration of local organization advocating for people of color.
- Co-planning YWCA’s Stand Against Racism campaign.
- Conducting outreach for Green Opportunities to provide job training to economically distressed communities.
Training for Effective Racial Justice Work
Tzedek works with a diverse group of trainers and advisors that bring a range of perspectives on racial justice work. Sample training sessions include:
- How to Be an Ally/Accomplice
- Understanding Racism as an Institution
- Attending the Facing Race or the White Privilege Conferences.