The 21-day Equity Challenge: Structural Racism and Our Food System
"Have you heard about the 21-day Equity Challenge?" a friend of mine at water aerobics asked me toward the end of March. "No," I replied, intrigued with the title. She told me about an annual program, now in its fifth year, sponsored by Food Solutions New England. And this year's Challenge took place April 1-21; I just barely had time to register.
As the Food Solutions New England website explains:
This Challenge was originally developed by Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., Dr. Marguerite Penick-Parks and Debby Irving and has been adapted with support from the Interaction Institute for Social Change. The challenge is designed to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege, and leadership. Participation in an activity like this helps us to discover how racial injustice and social injustice impact the food system, to connect with one another, to identify ways to dismantle racism and become better leaders for a more just, equitable food system.
I signed up to receive a prompt each morning with questions and resources to build a fuller understanding of racism, identity, food workers' stories, and the ways racism is part of our food system-from those who own and work on farms, to those who process and sell our food, to the decisions we make about what and how we eat. Resources include videos, articles, blogs, and reflective questions, as well as discussion forums. Many participating organizations create weekly discussion sessions.
Want to learn more about this unique, powerful challenge? The 6th annual Equity Challenge will be March 30-April 19, 2020. Check out the website! -Sharlene Cochrane