YWCA Boulder County offers anti-racism training for people and organizations ready to work for a more just community.
Learn More about YWCA Training
YWCA Boulder County has curated a list of resources to help you on our shared journey toward a world of human dignity free of racism. These resources are focused on our dual mission of eliminating racism and empowering women, fostering change on both a personal and community level.
For resources from our April 2022 film screening of “This is [Not] Who We Are”, visit our dedicated page with resources from YWCA Boulder County and NAACP Boulder County.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Staff Recommendations:
https://www.naacpldf.org/ldf-culture-recommendations/
21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge©
America & Moore, LLC
13th
Available for free viewing on YouTube
Combining archival footage with testimony from activists and scholars, director Ava DuVernay’s examination of the U.S. prison system looks at how the country’s history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America.
We Still Deserve Safety: Renewing the Call to End the Criminalization of Women and Girls of Color
This YWCA USA report, issued in September 2020, examines how women and girls of color continue to be criminalized and racially profiled by law enforcement and makes policy recommendations to protect these women and girls from police violence and brutality.
‘Invisible No More’ Examines Police Violence Against Minority Women
NPR, November 5, 2017
NPR interview with Andrea J. Ritchie, author of the book Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color.
Race and Feminism: Women’s March Recalls the Touchy History
NPR, January 21, 2017
This NPR story examines feminism’s history of marginalizing women of color and efforts to confront the issue.
The Urgency of Intersectionality
In this TED Talk, legal scholar and activist Kimberlé Crenshaw looks at the reality of race and gender bias, and how the two can combine to create even more harm. Crenshaw originally coined the term “intersectionality” to describe this phenomenon.
Intersectional feminism: what it means and why it matters right now
Medium.com, July 1, 2020
This article from UN Women examines intersectional feminism from a global perspective.
27 things to read if you care about women of color
USA Today, March 28, 2017
This extensive reading list highlights key titles for understanding how racial injustice impacts women, and how women of color have led change.
Environmental Racism and Health Disparities Panel and Discussion
For Stand Against Racism Week 2021, YWCA Boulder County hosted a discussion around the connections between racism and public health outcomes.
Not Equal: Racial Disparities In Addiction/Substance Abuse Treatment
AddictionResource.net
Learning About Equity in the Pandemic – the Hard Way
Colorado Health Institute
Racism is a Public Health Crisis
Colorado Health Institute
Community Foundation Boulder County TRENDS Report
Most recently published in 2019, this report details current issues in Boulder County, including income and educational gaps experienced by Latinx people in the community and racial bias in policing.
Boulder Releases Data On Law Enforcement Discrimination
KUNC, May 1, 2019
Data shows that stops by Boulder Police lead to arrest twice as often for Black people as they do for non-Hispanic white people.
BVSD Commits to Community Conversation on Police Officers in Schools
Broomfield Enterprise, June 12, 2020
Data from the Colorado Department of Education demonstrates that students of color in Boulder Valley schools are disciplined disproportionately to their white peers.
A first step: BVSD updates its discipline policy and looks at ending its relationship with police departments
Boulder Weekly, June 11, 2020
This article presents a more in-depth look at racial bias in BVSD school discipline and at efforts led by NAACP Boulder County to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. YWCA Boulder County stands in support of these efforts.
NAACP Boulder County Letter to BVSD Board of Education on Bullying Discipline Conduct
What It’s Actually Like to Be Black at CU
CU Independent, May 2, 2017
Student journalist Lauren Arnold shares her experience and those of other students of color at CU Boulder.
Talking to Children About Racism
YWCA USA Blog, August 27, 2020
PBS Kids, Talking to Young Children About Race and Racism
Resources include a new half-hour program, “PBS KIDS Talk About: Race & Racism,” features authentic conversations between real children and their parents.
20 Picture Books for 2020: Readings to Embrace Race, Provide Solace & Do Good
Embrace Race offers a thoughtfully curated list of recent children’s books.
New Groups Aim to Get More Latinx Stories to Young Readers
NPR, September 28, 2020
Latinx children’s book authors are working to address the imbalance in children’s literature. The article includes several book recommendations.
YWCA Boulder County’s Reading to End Racism program includes training resources that can be helpful for parents and caregivers. For example, RER volunteer readers use questions like these to engage children while reading a book with them:
Suggested Questions Before Reading
- What do you think this story is about?
- Listen for when you think racism is taking place in the story.
- Listen for allies who stand up in the story.
Suggested Questions During the Reading
- What do you think is going to happen next?
- How do you think ______ is feeling?
- What would you do?
- Is there an ally in this story?
Suggested Questions After the Reading
- How did this story make you feel?
- What questions do you have?
- Did this story remind you of anything you know about? What? When? Why?
- How do you think people feel when they are targets of racism?
- Why do you think some people are racist?
- What can you do to treat everyone fairly?