New Gathering Spaces designed for Peer-to-Peer Connection
In September 2023, GARE gathered 60+ leading racial equity practitioners in Pine Mountain, GA. We collectively cultivated and deepened relationships, elevated stories and best practices from the field, and explored themes like nurturing and sustaining leadership, and assessing and generating strategies to advance racial equity and understanding in this political moment. One 2023 Leadership Summit participant reflected, “Steel sharpens steel. In every conversation I felt like I was speaking with folks with varied and vast experience, some I was familiar with some not, but in every case had the opportunity to expand perspective and analysis.” Read more about the inaugural leadership summit.
Governing for All: California Statewide Convening to Advance Racial Equity
2023 Southern Innovation Community
Innovation Communities are designed as an intimate cadre of 15-25 racial equity practitioners who gather virtually monthly, and once in person for a retreat. Together, they craft a resource for network that reflects their experiences, stories, and visions for their communities. GARE’s inaugural cohort gathered racial equity practitioners from across the south. One participant reflected, “It feels like we represent the work in states where democracy is fragile. It feels critical and important to hold this space, and I am honored to learn with and from each of you.” This cadre has a resource in for the network underway, tentatively titled, Our New Southern Strategy Part 1: A Primer on Practicing the Fundamentals in the South. This resource will be published later this year.
Governing for Racial Justice: Membership Meeting
Our membership meeting is our network’s flagship, big-tent event. It is our real-time, all-network forum, where racial equity practitioners from each of our member jurisdictions are invited to participate, exchange, and fellowship with one another. One 2023 Membership Meeting participant reflected, “The GARE Membership Meeting is always the one I look forward to every year; for making connections, meeting and learning from leaders in the racial equity space and bringing back new strategies and tools. Thank you to everyone who makes it happen!” Read more about the GARE 2023 Membership meeting here.
New Content, Tools & Resources
An exclusive in-network resource that features stories from the network, as well as scans of the best and most relevant tools, resources and conversations within racial equity field curated with government practitioners in mind. Released quarterly, issues from July 2023, October 2023, and January 2024 are available via the GARE Online Community.
GARE’s Learning Center is a one stop shop for learning, tools and resources that racial equity practitioners working in government need. Featuring Self-Paced Learning modules on Advancing Racial Equity in Government (released October 2022), the GARE Approach (forthcoming, Spring 2024), as well as recordings, slides and more from GARE programs.
Many long-time practitioners may know GARE as a training hub and resource. Our signature in-person training, Advancing Racial Equity in Government, is now offered through our anchor organization and strategic partner, Race Forward. For more information about training check out this public training schedule, and for jurisdiction specific training fill out this intake form.
Governing for Racial Justice: Southern Regional Meeting
Our next regional meeting will gather racial equity practitioners from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas for peer-to-peer networking and exchange across GARE member jurisdictions advancing racial equity in the same region. Register to attend by May 13, and preview the program.
Governing for Racial Justice: The GARE Membership Meeting at Facing Race
We are pleased to invite GARE members to join us for our next membership meeting, happening November 20-22, 2024, in St. Louis, Missouri. This is the first official time that the GARE Membership Meeting will take place at Facing Race, a biennial conference for racial justice movement making hosted by Race Forward. Registration is now open.
2024 Innovation Communities
Following a successful statewide membership meeting in 2023, GARE has launched its second Innovation Community, bringing together 25 practitioners from 19 local and statewide jurisdictions across California state and local governments. In Spring/Summer 2024, an additional innovation community will launch and gather practitioners from select regions and states around the theme of place-based strategy for building community trust and relationship, moving from transactional engagement to community relationships.
We look forward to connecting with GARE racial equity practitioners during these opportunities, as well as our monthly programming, and via our online community, where thousands of GARE racial equity practitioners can learn and connect with one another, as well as with resources for advancing racial equity in government.