Contact: Suzanne Turner, CEO
YWCA of Palm Beach County
561-640-0050, Extension 137
Date: March 25, 2011
THE YWCA TAKES A STAND AGAINST RACISM
Over 250,000 individuals expected to take a Stand Against Racism
“Today, the YWCA of Palm Beach County is calling on all local organizations, corporations, churches and other houses of worship, government agencies and individuals in the county to join the YWCA by participating in the 2011 “Stand Against Racism,” taking place on Friday, April 29, announced Suzanne Turner YWCA Chief Executive Officer. “Any group of any size that believes in a society free of racism is invited to join us.”
In 2010, this event attracted over 2,000 partnering organizations across the nation that became participating sites by hosting local “Stands”. Over a quarter million individuals took a stand against racism at one of the participating sites. They committed themselves to a lifetime of promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people in their community and in the world. This powerful, unified, effort helped to raise awareness that racism hurts everyone. Participants ranged from school-age children to elected officials, executives of large corporations, church leaders, and others. Racism affects everyone.
Any organization or group of individuals can become a participating site by signing up through the “Stand Against Racism” Web site: www.StandAgainstRacism.org., says Turner. A participating site will host their own “Stand Against Racism” event at its individual location (which can be private or open to the public). Participation in the “Stand Against Racism” is free and becoming a participating site is very simple. The YWCA will provide all the necessary materials and documents, including a How to Run the Event Template that can be customized to meet the organization’s needs. Each organization’s “Stand” will range from gatherings at work to larger scale “Stands” like rallies and marches. No matter what shape each “Stand” takes in each participating site, all activities will echo the theme “racism is unacceptable.” Organizations are urged to visit www.StandAgainstRacism.org to join this important movement.
The YWCA’s “Stand Against Racism” a collaboration of over 70 YWCA Associations nationwide, is an annual event managed by the YWCA Trenton and the YWCA Princeton in New Jersey. The YWCAs in America and around the world have a rich history of advocating for racial justice. Throughout its history, the YWCA has been at the forefront of most major movements in the United States as a pioneer in race relations. The YWCA with its mission to eliminate racism intends to affect real change in the lives of families, friends and co-workers through a process that identifies and eradicates the barriers that divide us and that perpetuate racism and other forms of oppression. As individuals learn what has kept us apart, they will develop new ways of working cooperatively by creating new models of shared resources and perspectives. In October 2009, the YWCA of Palm Beach County launched the “Community Chats for Action” program consisting of 6 weeks of dialogue among persons of various races resulting in a number of recommendations for further activity in this community to help make us more united. “Stand Against Racism” was one of those selected actions.
For more details, please visit www.StandAgainstRacism.org. For local information, please contact YWCA of Palm Beach County, 561-640-0050, Ext. 137. The YWCA of Palm Beach County seeks to bring people together across communities for one common goal—greater community unity through the elimination of racism—thus all businesses, and organizations in Palm Beach county are being asked to make their voices heard by joining the “Stand Against Racism”.