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The following is an assorted listing of articles and reading resources curated by our team for those looking to deepen their understanding of racial equity work across the corporate, education, and advocacy sectors.
Although this challenge was originally framed around the Jewish High Holy Days, we hope you’ll find it to be a soul-stretching journey no matter when you begin or how long it takes you to complete. Over the month of Elul 5780/2020, Dimensions and the Jewish Emergent Network asked participants around the country to join us for a program of anti-racism reflection, discovery, action, and transformation. And now you can take part in this challenge at your own pace, anytime that works for you. Based on Dimensions CEO Yavilah McCoy’s powerful adaptation of the Al Chet/Confession liturgy of Yom Kippur, you are invited to engage in a regimen of readings, videos, podcasts, and calls to action that will open your hearts and deepen your practice of dismantling racism. Across diverse entry points, our racial equity challenge will lovingly move you to re-engage your emotions, inspire your belief, expand your mindset and recover your connections to the infinite. Join our journey of Teshuva/Return as we courageously explore our individual and collective capacity for change at the intersections of race, power, privilege, supremacy, and oppression in our lives.
This journey offers 24 daily prompts in four thematic sections, as well as a final video. Our Racial Equity Challenge includes two tracks, offering specific resources for both White Jews and Black, Indigenous, Sephardi/Mizrahi, and broadly identified Jews of Color.
Make an Appointment with Yourself: Please plan to set aside between 20-30 minutes each day that you engage with the “Confessions of the Heart” resources.
Create a Space for Yourself: It will be helpful for you to find a quiet place daily where you feel comfortable reading, watching, listening, and paying attention to what comes up for you as you move through each prompt.
Your journal is your friend: Use your journal to write down any feelings, and reflections that emerge from your engagement with the resources — big or small. Your journal will offer you a map for growth as we move forward.
Build support around you: Schedule weekly 15-minute appointments with your racial equity listening partner so that they can joyfully witness, support, and celebrate your growth with you. A good question for this listening partnership might be: What are you learning right now and how is it connecting to your life?
To uphold equity in our learning approach, we have included both white and Black, Indigenous, and Sephardi/Mizrachi POC learning tracks. These differentiated learning tracks are meant to support you in getting to the heart of what comes up for you racially when engaging in anti-racist work. If you’re excited about this challenge but are not sure which track to choose, try answering the following questions:
Yavilah McCoy’s powerful adaptation of the Al Chet/Confession liturgy offers a frame for this challenge — which was originally introduced before the High Holidays in 2020 — so take a few minutes to read it if you haven’t yet.
