ACTION
The Action Committee has identified goals of calling other white people in to the racial justice movement, dismantling and undermining racism and white supremacy in the many intersectional ways these systems operate, and working to support and in solidarity with our local Black and POC-led accountability partner organizations.
We are committed to adopting a variety of strategies to reach these goals, including:
- talking to other white folks in non-confrontational settings;
- mobilizing white people in support or condemnation of political campaigns and legislation; supporting Black and POC communities and organizations through social and civic engagement;
- employing a variety of protest and direct action strategies;
- calling for political, extrajudicial and economic community accountability programs (such as a Police Accountability Board by which RPD officers are held accountable to civilian oversight and investigations);
- conducting trainings around legal rights;
- showing up in the ways our accountability partners wish.
As we are a new organization, we expect our strategies to evolve, and we understand that adaptation, self-reflection and accepting feedback/criticism is essential to our dynamism, growth and effectiveness. Interested? Contact action@surjroc.org
EDUCATION
The Education Committee of SURJ ROC recognizes that knowledge is power. Therefore, the work of this committee is to educate ourselves, other SURJ ROC members, and the community at large about white people’s essential role in dismantling and remedying the detrimental effects of past and present racial injustice, and ending its perpetuation.
With this aim, we will work to understand more deeply, the critical issues and concepts surrounding racism, and share this knowledge with others. These include: the history of race and racial injustice that was not fully taught to us in school; how this history has resulted in the current injustices of structural and institutional racism; how white people’s daily lives are shaped and driven by white privilege; and how white people too, have been negatively impacted and harmed by racial oppression. We recognize and understand that we will constantly encounter new lessons to learn in addition to these, and we welcome this.
We seek to gain not only important substantive knowledge, but practical knowledge as well. This means we recognize that as white people, we must:
- learn how to effectively communicate with other white people about racism
- deal with our own anger, fear and other emotions we encounter when doing our work
- learn how to be best-prepared should we face opposition when spreading knowledge—in singular situations, and as a group when seeking wider policy change
- seek to identify effective ways that the committee can affect positive change in the community
- work to mobilize the community in non-violent civil engagement.
Through the tools of learning—reading, watching, listening, meeting and sharing—the network of white people working for change will expand wider and wider, and it begins with us. Interested? Contact education@surjroc.org
COMMUNICATIONS
The Communications Committee works to facilitate the distribution of information internally within our chapter, and externally to interested parties in the community. We seek to inform people about events and activities sponsored by SURJ ROC and other local racial justice organizations, and to make local members aware of national issues regarding racial justice. Our responsibilities include:
- Communicating with members through weekly emails
- Managing SURJ ROC relations with news media
- Maintain a current e-mail list
- Amplify voices of color in our communications
- Facilitate communication between Committees
- Record attendance and minutes at General Meetings
The Communications Committee meets monthly to discuss ways to improve our social media presence and to make sure we are adhering to the message of the national organization. Interested? Contact communications@surjroc.org.
STEERING
The Steering Committee is the programmatic and decision-making body of SURJ ROC. This team is responsible for making decisions about the ongoing development, broad programmatic vision and fiscal oversight of SURJ ROC. We meet twice a month to plan and follow up on general SURJ ROC meetings and address issues and opportunities that arise. Questions? Contact steering@surjroc.org.