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Community Groups
A number of organizations in Westchester and elsewhere are working to forge stronger ties among people of many backgrounds and to foster racial inclusion and justice. Here are some that you may find helpful and worthy of your support.
Neighbors Link / Northern Westchester
Neighbors Link was founded in 2001 to meet the needs of 4,000 immigrants, who represent 35% of Mount Kisco’s population, with thousands more in adjacent Northern Westchester communities. Today, Neighbors Link is a multifaceted community center offering adult education in language and employment skills; a “Learning Links” after-school program; a Family Center for Parenting Programs to strengthen families and engage parents in their children’s education; a Children’s Evening Program for parents taking evening classes; Family Support Services including medical, legal and social service assistance and referrals; and a Worker Center for both skilled and unskilled workers.
Black Lives Matter
#BlackLivesMatter was created in 2012 after Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted for his crime, and dead 17-year old Trayvon was post-humously placed on trial for his own murder. Rooted in the experiences of Black people in this country who actively resist our de-humanization, #BlackLivesMatter is a call to action and a response to the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society. #BlackLivesMatter is working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically and intentionally targeted for demise.
Westchester Martin Luther King, Jr. Institute for Nonviolence
The Westchester Martin Luther King, Jr. Institute for Nonviolence was founded in 1987 to address growing race-based violence and anti-Semitic attacks throughout Westchester County. It facilitiates nonviolent action for social justice, learning and teaching nonviolence as a way of life. The MLK Institute works with many organizations throughout Westchester County, particularly collaborating with the Westchester Coalition for Police Reform and the Interfaith Connection on events and programs to emphasize dialogue and community organizing to effect sustainable change.
Episcopal Diocese of New York / Anti-Racism Initiatives
The diocese typically conducts anti-racism training workshops three times a year in the winter, spring and early fall. Their purpose is to help us become aware of how the sin of racism impacts ALL of our lives, and how we all unconsciously and consciously participate in racist systems. Dialog is the foundation of the two-day workshop. We use group exercises and examine scientific and historical evidence (video format) concerning the origins of the concept of race and its legacy.
A movement for racial equity, the Anti-Racist Alliance is an organizing collective of human service practitioners and educators whose vision is to bring a clear and deliberate anti-racist structural power analysis to social service education and practice. It worsk to undo structural racism from a common understanding as presented by the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond in the Undoing Racism Workshop, recognized as one of the foremost anti-racism training and organizing institutions in the nation.
Westchester Residential Opportunities
Since 1968, WRO has championed the expansion of non-discriminatory housing opportunities in Westchester for low- and moderate-income households, minorities, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities, including the psychiatrically disabled. WRO s a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency, a licensed real estate broker, and a United Way agency. All of its housing services for consumers are free, and are funded by government grants, private contributions, and corporate support.