THE YWCA SPONSORS TAKING A “STAND AGAINST RACISM”
On Friday, April 26, 2013, organizations throughout Palm Beach County will be joining the YWCA of Palm Beach County for the third year in taking a Stand Against Racism. Across the country, more than a quarter million individuals are expected to be participating in this national event started several years ago by the YWCA’s in Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey. Through a variety of activities, individuals will be committing 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 helps to raise awareness that racism hurts everyone. Participants will range from pre-school-age children to educational and social services leaders. Racism affects everyone. Among the organizations participating in Palm Beach County thus far are: Academy for Nursing and Health Occupations, Adopt-a-Family, Alpha Kappa Alpha, The Benjamin School, City of West Palm Beach, Empire Beauty School, Families First of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach State College, St. Thomas University Human Rights Institute, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Urban League, and West Palm Beach Housing Authority. “We welcome any school, religious institution, civic organization, business or government agency to join us in this effort to denounce racism,” says Suzanne Turner, CEO of the YWCA.
Participating Stand Against Racism sites in Palm Beach County will be hosting their respective Stand Against Racism event at their own location which may be private or open to the public. “No matter what shape the ‘stand’ takes in each participating site, all activities will echo the theme that racism is unacceptable,” says Turner.
The YWCA’s in America and around the world have a rich history of advocating for racial justice. Throughout its history, the YWCA has been in the forefront of most major movements in the United States as a pioneer in race relations. “We intend to effect real change in the lives of our family, 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,” expressed Turner.
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!