Presenter: Racial Equity Institute (REI)
Target Audience: CASA/GAL Staff and Volunteers
Cost: Free of charge
Number of in-service training credit hours: 3

Understanding Racial Inequality: A Groundwater Approach is an interactive presentation on the nature and impact of structural racism and what it looks like across institutions. We examine narratives around racial disproportionality and make use of compelling research data to illustrate the systemic nature of racism and the fallacy of typical explanations like poverty, education, social class, individual behavior, or cultural attributes that often get associated with particular racial groups. Before addressing racial inequity or perceived acts of discrimination or oppression it is critical to understand what institutional racism looks like and the devastating impact it wields on our nation’s people, economy and social institutions. The Groundwater Approach teaches how to use data to measure the systemic impact of racism and to track institutional change.

REI is an alliance of trainers and organizers committed to bringing awareness and analysis to the root causes of racial disparities and disproportionality to create racially equitable organizations and systems.