From Race Forward <[email protected]>
Subject The Work of Making Freedom and Belonging Real
Date June 13, 2025 7:34 PM
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Dear John,

The question of who belongs in America was supposedly – or should have
been – settled over 150 years ago. When Juneteenth brought news of
freedom to 250,000 Black people in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865,
and the 14th Amendment was ratified three years later on July 9, 1868,
these were moments that seemed to establish fundamental principles about
liberation and belonging.

Yet this week, as military-style ICE raids
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terrorized communities across Los Angeles and the nation—we're reminded
that the same forces that opposed inclusive democracy are once again
using state violence to re-litigate who gets to belong. The same systems
that sought to undermine Reconstruction are once again attacking the
basic principle that everyone deserves dignity, due process, and humane
treatment.

We cannot take this sitting down. Just as the newly freed people of 1865
understood that liberation required more than just an announcement, our
communities are responding with the same resilience and solidarity that
has always sustained resistance through periods of terror.

In Los Angeles [[link removed]]
and around the country, advocates documented enforcement at multiple
sites, protesters surrounded federal buildings demanding release of
detainees, and community members engaged in rapid response networks to
protect their neighbors. Legal observers monitored arrests and mutual
aid networks mobilized resources.

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SOURCE: Getty Images/Anadolu

This is what making freedom real has always looked like: communities
coming together to resist, reclaim, and continue our push for a more
equitable democracy.

It's important that we place what's happening in historical contexts so
that we can respond effectively with strategies rooted in a deep
understanding of our nation's past. What we're witnessing mirrors the
tactics used to terrorize Black communities during Jim Crow—mass
roundups, arbitrary detention, the criminalization of entire
populations, and the targeting of anyone who provides support—which are
now being systematically deployed against our immigrant neighbors with
military precision and federal backing.

When ICE seeks to create what its own director calls " Amazon Prime for
human beings,"
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reducing people to packages to be efficiently disappeared, we see the
same dehumanizing logic that slavery and Jim Crow used to justify
excluding Black communities from the promises of American democracy.

Understanding these historical patterns helps us see that current
attacks aren't anomalies—they're the backlash from forces that have
never accepted multiracial democracy and will use any means necessary to
maintain hierarchies of belonging.

But history also shows us that communities of color have always found
ways to expand the circle of belonging, even in the face of oppression
and repression. As we commemorate Juneteenth this year, we honor not
just the moment when rumors of freedom became reality, but the ongoing
work of making both freedom and belonging real for everyone.

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SOURCE: Getty Images/Go Nakamura

Join us on June 17 for our upcoming webinar, #RaceAnd Protecting
Freedom: Strategies to Defend &amp; Refortify Our Movement,
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to explore proven strategies for resistance while charting a path to
strengthen our movements for justice.

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From the archives

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Dangerous Memories: Dorothy Cotton and Juneteenth Teach-Ins For Action

In what ways can memory, history, and collective vision inform the
necessary pathways that we must create in order to build multiracial
democratic power? Where can we amplify a commitment to historical rigor
within our practices of political education, as a necessary precursor to
strategic action? What lessons of purpose, self-determination, and
strategic resolve can we carry forward from our past into the fights of
our present?

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SOURCE: Getty Images/Michael Ochs Archives

Revisit Dangerous Memories, Colorlines' week-long series of political
education events to honor the legacies of Dorothy Cotton and Juneteenth.
In deep collaboration with our friends from The Dorothy Cotton
Institute, PhotoSynthesis Productions, and The Institute for Common
Power, hear from movement partners across the country to contextualize
our world through conversations about their work, and come away with
practical steps on how to take action on key issues.

Watch "Dangerous Memories" Here
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What's new?

Momentum — More Than a Moment

In the latest episode of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, host jaboa
lake joins in conversation with Minister JaNaé Bates, Co-Executive
Director of ISAIAH, for a powerful reflection on the five-year
anniversary of the Summer 2020 uprising following the murder of George
Floyd. Together, they explore how that moment was not a spontaneous
eruption, but part of a long continuum of organizing, resistance, and
community-led demands for justice. Grounded in Minneapolis and guided by
deep movement memory, the conversation unpacks the historical
throughlines that connect past uprisings to today's fight for racial
equity.

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Minister Bates shares critical insights from her work at the
intersection of faith, organizing, and narrative strategy—reminding us
that real change doesn't come from moments alone, but from sustained,
strategic, collective action. This episode echoes that real progress
doesn't come from headlines—it comes from the people who organize long
after the cameras are gone. As they honor George Floyd's legacy, they
uplift the communities whose daily work makes justice not just
imaginable, but inevitable.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
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Listen on Spotify Podcasts
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New Southern Strategies Playbook: Innovation for Racial Equity in
Government

The New Southern Strategies Playbook is a bold, hands-on guide for
government practitioners committed to advancing racial equity in the
South and anywhere injustice shows up in systems and structures.
Developed by and for racial equity practitioners in government, it
offers adaptive tools, strategies, case studies, and reflection prompts
to help practitioners embed racial equity in policy, practice, and
culture.

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Rooted in the Southern experience, the New Southern Strategies
Playbook's lessons resonate far beyond state lines - because the
legacies of racism, and the opportunities for transformation, stretch
across this entire country. We encourage you to use the Playbook as a
starting point to act, innovate, and reimagine what is possible.

Preview the Playbook
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Democracy Resilience Toolkit

As a network of racial justice advocates, builders and believers, we
know that equitable systems benefit everyone. Democratic values
safeguard the rights and governing power of marginalized communities.

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GARE has constructed this two-part Democracy Resilience Toolkit to
prompt discussion and action on protecting racial equity in the face of
political disruption. Divided into two parts, the Democracy Resilience
Toolkit includes:

1. Prompts and Actions Pocket Guide (this PDF) - A practical guide to help
you identify and implement strategies that support resilience in your
work.

2. Interactive Online Community Toolkit (member-only) - A space for
collaboration and ongoing learning with additional resources,
opportunities for discussion, and updates on upcoming events designed to
provide support and foster sense-making.

This two-part toolkit will aid practitioners in sustaining systems that
prioritize racial equity, bolster democracy, and secure progress for
future generations. Gather with trusted colleagues to review the prompts
and actions in this PDF pocket guide.

Download the Toolkit
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Join the Network!

Want full access to the New Southern Strategies Playbook and Democracy
Resilience Toolkit? Join the Government Alliance for Racial Equity, a
network driven by 13,000+ racial equity practitioners, working in local,
regional, and state governments.

Learn more about membership!
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What's next?

#RaceAnd Protecting Freedoms — June 17

Freedom in this country has never been handed freely to communities of
color—it has always been fought for.

And today, we find ourselves once again in a fight for our fundamental
rights.

This #RaceAnd conversation promises to share proven strategies for
resistance while charting a path to fortify our movement to be
resilient, defiant, and unstoppable.

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Panelists include:

* Glenn Harris, President at Race Forward
* Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director at Advancement Project
* john a. powell, Director at Othering & Belonging Institute
* Moderator: Karla Bruce, Chief of Staff at Race Forward

Join us June 17!
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Learning Lab: Scaling Up Racial Equity in a Time of Backlash — July 9

Racial equity work is under attack, but this is no time to retreat. Join
Race Forward for a special 4-hour Learning Lab designed to help
organizational leaders and practitioners respond to backlash with
clarity, courage, and strategy. Learn how to build resilience, counter
disinformation, and advance measurable equity outcomes. Led by national
leaders Glenn Harris and Julie Nelson, this interactive session provides
the tools and resolve to not only withstand attacks but also to grow
stronger in the face of them.

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Join us July 9!
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Just Narratives for Multiracial Solidarity

Join our first ever multi-day convening for narrative strategists,
communicators, creatives, storytellers, racial justice advocates, and
movement builders. Just Narratives for Multiracial Solidarity – the
anchor event for Cultural Week of Action 2025 – represents Race
Forward's commitment to building both the narrative and cultural power
needed to advance a just, multiracial democracy.

At Just Narratives, we'll:

• Align our narrative and cultural strategies to shift hearts, minds,
and policies towards a more just and thriving future

• Strengthen cross-racial, cross-movement solidarity to withstand our
opposition's efforts to divide us

• Identify and advance impact storytelling for collaborative governance
that our communities and movements need and deserve

• Share lessons learned using art, culture, and media to amplify
narratives for racial justice

• Ignite the mass courage needed to make our racially just future
undeniable

Limited tickets are available. Get yours today and join us in St. Louis
November 13-15!

Register Today!
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Support Relief Efforts in St. Louis

As we prepare to convene in St. Louis, we remind you that our St. Louis
community is still recovering from the devastating tornado that struck
the city in May. We encourage you to support the recovery efforts by
donating to Action St. Louis [[link removed]], Power4STL
[[link removed]], and Better Family Life
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.

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Take action

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We Make History Everyday

Racial justice isn't history. Racial justice is happening every day.

Shop online at our new store and choose from an array of products like
shirts, water canteens, hats, and sweaters. No matter the weather, we
make history together!

Shop Our Store Today!
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Subscribe to The Fire We Face Newsletter

The Fire We Face is a newsletter for those committed to protecting
democracy, racial equity, and public service in the face of systemic
threats. As we monitor the Trump Administration's embrace of Project
2025 and other anti-democratic, racist initiatives, The Fire We Face
will document actions targeting federal agencies and civil servants
striving to serve the public equitably. Through in-depth analysis,
reflections, and tangible examples, this newsletter aims to empower
readers with the knowledge to understand and navigate these challenges.

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Sign up here for updates!
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Follow us on Bluesky!

Given the current political climate and our declining engagement on
Twitter, we have made the decision to remain inactive on Twitter until
further notice.

To keep the conversation going, we encourage you to join us on Bluesky.
Be a part of an ever-growing network of racial justice advocates as we
continue to share engaging content that moves the needle to a just,
multiracial democracy.

Follow @raceforward.org
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John, as we commemorate Juneteenth this
year—honoring both the moment when freedom became real and the ongoing
work of making belonging meaningful for everyone—we recognize that the
question of who belongs in America has never been definitively settled.
It requires constant defense, continuous organizing, and the
understanding that constitutional and civil rights become real when
communities build the collective power to enforce them.

Today, as military-style raids attempt to terrorize entire communities
into accepting exclusion, making belonging real requires all of us to
understand that our freedom and safety are interconnected—that the
democracy we're building must be strong enough to protect everyone who
calls America home.

In solidarity,

Race Forward

Services for Organizations

Race Forward is committed to transformational, sustainable change for
racial justice. We provide services to help organizations develop and
advance racially equitable policies and practices.

Our services are developed and delivered by a multiracial and
multigenerational team of experts with extensive knowledge and
experience in various areas, including policy and program development,
leadership development and strategic coaching, community organizing, and
racial equity.

Learn More
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