EDGEucational Forum: What is Institutional Racism? How does it impact my community?

In 2020, EDGE has decided to place an intentional focus and commitment to stewarding positive change in Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging both within EDGE and Sacramento more broadly. We believe that one of the first steps to effective action is operating on a shared understanding, and establishing EDGE as a place where people feel free to ask questions and explore various topics impacting our community. With our first forum, we aim to start on those steps by convening knowledgeable speakers and facilitating an open dialogue with our members and attendees from the community.

Why ‘Institutional Racism’ as a Topic?

We’ve observed many diversity and inclusion initiatives that have failed to acknowledge racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and other systems of advantage as serious factors in why there’s a representation gap in political and business leadership. By providing opportunities for candid and open dialogue in an educational setting, we hope to discuss race and other topics that are consistently overlooked. Institutional racism is one of the core drivers of social challenges that affect Sacramento as a whole (discrepancies in educational attainment, life expectancy, incarceration, homelessness, etc)—in order to eventually address these issues as a community, it’s imperative we build an understanding of one of the roots of the problem.

What can I expect?

1 - Speakers that belong to and can sufficiently represent the Asian Pacific Islander, African American/Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. In many cases, the history and background of these communities has been delivered in a second-hand, indirect fashion. Metro EDGE believes that in order to enable productive conversation and lasting connections, these experiences must be led by community voice.

2 - A focus on the institutional part of “Institutional Racism” (IR). Not a single person attending this forum helped create racism, discrimination, or systems of privilege and we won’t be discussing this topic as if anyone in the room is at fault. Part of being a leader is listening to and valuing different perspectives. We promise there will be no finger pointing! It would be pointless to do so, especially because privilege comes in all shapes and sizes. While the forum will discuss the outcomes that IR has led to, it will more importantly provide productive strategies and mindsets that will support your understanding of different communities, and will enhance your ability to support and connect with even more individuals than in the past.

3 - Even though there are no dumb questions, we’ll provide the opportunity to ask questions anonymously. We expect many questions, as this topic is rarely addressed directly in public venues. Since this is the first forum of the year, we’ll make sure to kick off our professional development off with a promise to be welcoming and open.

No one is a full-on expert in the history, current dynamics, and allyship of the Asian Pacific Islander, African American/Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. Think of this forum as a way to help identify and work with your blindspots. We’re all learning together. #EDGE4All

We look forward to you joining us!

Parking Information

Parking at 501 J Street Garage:
• When entering the garage, you will take a parking ticket for the parking arm to raise.
• When leaving, you insert your parking ticket into the exit machine.
o It will look like it’s trying to charge you for parking.
o Scan the validation and it will remove the cost of the ticket.
o Exit arms will raise and you leave the garage.

** We will provide validation at the event