This toolkit provides resources to support community members working towards racial justice and gender equity, and indeed injustice in its many forms. These how-to materials can be used for taking action to address systemic racism and gender equity. We hope the resources available through the links below can bolster your own efforts. DIRECT ACTION Taking direct action can be an effective vehicle for change. We have many resources in the Community Tool Box on actions you can take: Registering Voters Encouraging Census Participation Writing Letters to Elected Officials Writing Letters to the Editor Seeking Enforcement of Existing Laws or Policies Lobbying Decision-makers Conducting a Petition Drive General Rules for Organizing for Legislative Advocacy Developing and Maintaining Ongoing Relationships with Legislators and their Aides Organizing Public Demonstrations Initiating Legal Action Organizing a Boycott Using Social Media for Digital Advocacy Advocacy Over and For the Long Term SKILLS FOR ADVOCATES The resources below cover key skills for advocates. Feel free to explore these Community Tool Box resources and make use of them to support your own advocacy efforts. Survival Skills for Advocates Recognizing Allies Developing a Plan for Advocacy Identifying Opponents Requesting Accountability Demonstrating Economic Benefit or Harm Documenting Complaints Acting as a Watchdog Conducting Research to Influence Policy Working with the Media Toolkit - Building strength for the long haul toward liberation (pdf) WORKING TOGETHER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE AND INCLUSION Community Tool Box Resources Understanding Culture and Diversity in Building Communities Building Relationships with People from Different Cultures Healing from the Effects of Internalized Oppression Strategies and Activities for Reducing Racial Prejudice and Racism Learning to be an Ally for People from Diverse Groups and Backgrounds Creating Opportunities for Members of Groups to Identify Their Similarities, Differences, and Assets Building Culturally Competent Organizations Multicultural Collaboration Transforming Conflicts in Diverse Communities Understanding Culture, Social Organization, and Leadership to Enhance Engagement Building Inclusive Communities External Resources How Communities and Research Institutions Work Together to Dismantle Structural Racism and Advance Health Equity 5 Ways to Call Out Racism & Hate (Twitter video) Community actions can support racial healing, health equity: New policy papers chart roadmap Interview: Bringing an Anti-Racist Approach to Collective Impact Building Community Power to Achieve Health and Racial Equity: Principles to Guide Transformative Partnerships with Local Communities Why Community Power Is Fundamental to Advancing Racial and Health Equity Actively Addressing Systemic Racism Using a Behavioral Community Approach Racial Equity Toolkit Exploring Community-led Racial Healing Models to Deepen Partnerships between Community Development and Healthcare What Does Antiracist Community Development Look Like in Practice? The People's Practice Solidarity Mural in Dubuque, IA, USA Solidarity Stories UNDERSTANDING RACIAL JUSTICE Online Resources and Articles Infused throughout all aspects of our society, racism corrupts our entire social fabric. To improve intergenerational well-being and equity in our communities, we must first acknowledge our legacy of racism and understand the role that interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism play in creating avoidable disparities. Community Commons’ Racial Justice Journey Library offers a place to start: a compilation of resources and tools for people, communities, and organizations to learn, reflect, and take action to address racism in their work and lives. To build a healthier America for all, we must confront the systems and policies that have resulted in the generational injustice that has given rise to racial and ethnic health inequities.” Learn about racism as a serious threat to the public’s health on the CDC’s Racism and Health webpage. This article, How Present-Day Health Disparities for Black People Are Linked to Past Policies and Events, shares how today’s health and health care disparities are rooted in a long history of U.S. policies and events and reflect the ongoing impacts of racism at multiple levels, including in systems, structures, policies, and interpersonal interactions. Learn more about what causes racial inequity by reading the Racial Equity Institute's Groundwater theory. The Groundwater approach observes that racial inequity looks the same across systems, socio-economic difference does not explain the racial inequity, and inequities are caused by systems, regardless of people’s culture or behavior. Roots of Health Inequity is an online learning platform designed to explore the social determinants of health and strategies for addressing race and health inequities. It provides interactive modules, case studies, and resources to support structural and systematic change in communities. Videos Equal Justice Initiative The Equal Justice Initiative challenges poverty and racial injustice, advocates for equal treatment in the criminal justice system, and creates hope for marginalized communities. The Equal Justice Initiative's public education efforts include documentary and informative videos on the history and impacts of racism in the United States. Exploring their public education library reveals a wealth of quality content. A selection of works follows here. In 2024, the Equal Justice Initiative released a series of 10 short animated films on the history of racial injustice. The "Reconstruction in America" YouTube video accompanies EJI's Reconstruction in America report, which "examines the 12 years following the Civil War when lawlessness and violence perpetrated by white leaders created an American future of racial hierarchy, white supremacy, and Jim Crow laws—an era from which our nation has yet to recover." In this video, Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative describes how the U.S. can face its history of racism. Other Racial Justice Education Videos This video (above) from the National Museum of African American History & Culture explains that "intersectionality" is a concept articulated by Kimberle Crenshaw to explain the multifaceted and compounding discrimination experienced by individuals who belong to multiple groups that experience systemic discrimination and oppression (for example, a Black lesbian with a disability will face discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation and ability). The Segregated by Design video above examines the forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy. University of Washington professor Dr. Robin DiAngelo reads from her book "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism," explains the phenomenon, and discusses how white people can develop their capacity to engage more constructively across race. Podcasts This ColorCode “Housing Is Health Care” podcast delves into how housing — and today’s housing crisis — intersects with health. It also explores how racial discrimination has played a part in causing this crisis, as well as present-day housing segregation on Long Island. In Solidarity Podcast Series - Unjust and Unfair: Consequences of the Racial Wealth Divide Hosts Ericka Burroughs-Girardi and Beth Silver interview authors, activists and scientists to investigate the history of the racial wealth divide, its insidious and far-reaching implications for the health of Black Americans in particular, and the evidence-based solutions that could close the divide. Each discussion centers on how our lives and fates are interconnected and what that means for improving health and well-being for everyone. EQUITY DATA TOOLS Build Healthy Places Network - Shifting Power to Communities Through Data Child Opportunity Index COVID Race Data Dashboard EJSCREEN: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool Estimating Community Health Outcomes with An Equity-Informed Social Capture Measure (pdf) Eviction Rankings Health Equity in Healthy People 2030 Inclusion Scorecard for Population Health National Equity Atlas Native Land Race Counts: Racial Equity Index Racial Equity Data Hub Racial Equity Index United States Segregation Map Using Data as an Equity Tool Vulnerable Populations Footprint ADDITIONAL RACIAL EQUITY RESOURCES 7 Ways To Keep Fighting For Breonna Taylor Advancing DEI Initiative Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) Anti-racist policymaking to protect, promote, and preserve Black families and babies CHANGE (City Hub and Network for Gender Equity) Toolkit Center for Restorative History (from the National Museum of American History) Community Engagement Framework Communities First Fund Community Science Webinar: How to Ensure Equitable Development as We Rebuild Crafting a Healthy Equity Centered Narrative DEI Toolkit Doing Culturally Responsive Evaluation in "Anti-DEI" Times Elevating human rights for TwoSpirit, Trans, & Gender Diverse People Equitable Development as a Tool to Advance Racial Equity Equity in Mental Health Framework Fighting for equality Healing Through Policy: Creating Pathways to Racial Justice How to Be an Antiracist (video) How Reparations Could Improve Black Health and Wellbeing Inclusive Language Guide Kansas City Starts Down a Long Road to Black Reparations Lambda Legal Lawyers for Good Government Liberation is Essential: Leveraging Governmental Public Health Tools to Address the Harms of the Criminal Legal System The Movement for Black Lives No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates Promoting Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Through Caring Communities: Why It Matters to Occupational Therapy Public Health & Equity Resource Navigator Racial Equity Resource Guide The REPAIR Framework for Community-Institution Solidarity in Racial Healing Stand Against Hatred Stop AAPI Hate Tackling Structural Racism In Health Targeted Universalism Why Community Power Is Fundamental to Advancing Racial and Health Equity
