Racial Justice Rising is a small, all-volunteer racial justice organization based in Franklin County, Massachusetts.
The members of Racial Justice Rising are ordinary people who are troubled by the persistent racism that plagues this country. Believing that the damage caused by racism must be repaired before our society can be whole, we work for just and respectful treatment for all.
While much of our work is focused in our local area, we reach out to and are connected with the broader movements in our region and the nation.
The members of Racial Justice Rising believe that:
- White people created racism to rationalize and justify the results of colonization: genocide, enslavement of free peoples, destruction of Indigenous societies around the world, and other inhuman behavior.
- White supremacy is the cornerstone of racism.
- Racism is one of the primary tools of social control in the U.S. and world-wide, embedded in economic, housing, education, judicial, healthcare, and other systems, and in civic and interpersonal relations.
- Racism, which can manifest as internalized racial superiority in perpetrators or internalized racial inferiority in those targeted, causes immeasurable harm to both.
Our Mission is twofold: to help build the movement for racial justice by contributing to a deeper understanding of systemic racism and racial justice, and to engage in restorative activities that help to heal the racial divide and bring justice for people targeted by racism.
Our local activities include an ongoing series of free educational programs.
Mass Slavery Apology, the group’s original name, is still the name of the project that started our work — our statement of apology for slavery and commitments to restorative action.
One of our collaborators is the Grassroots Reparations Campaign, The Truth Telling Project’s premier program. More info: https://thetruthtellingproject.org
RJR’S HISTORY
Racial Justice Rising grew from many roots.
- People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond: Several of our original members were part of a white anti-racism group that formed after an Undoing Racism Workshop.
- The Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage, 1998-1999: One of our original members and several of our advisors participated in this journey retracing the path of the slave trade, which was organized by:
- The New England Peace Pagoda, Leverett, MA
In 2004, three members of a white anti-racism group decided to write an apology for slavery. Working closely with UMass anthropology professor Dr. Enoch Page, we researched and wrote “Facing Our Unhealed Past,” completing it at the end of 2008.
We chose the name “Mass Slavery Apology” because of its double meaning: acknowledging our location in Massachusetts and also hoping to inspire a mass movement to redress the legacy of slavery. In early 2009 we printed copies of the statement and put up a website. We began to define ourselves as reaching out primarily to others of European descent in order to broaden white communities’ understanding of racism, white privilege, and racial justice. An important part of our outreach was engaging other whites to sign the apology statement. White group members worked closely with advisers of color.
Our activities over the next few years included our email newsletter, presentations to students and other groups, speaking about our work on local radio shows and at other groups’ events, and a series of four workshops based on films. In January 2014 we began a series of free monthly programs as a way of further reaching out in our local community. Since the start of the pandemic, the programs are presented via ZOOM.
As the group evolved, we realized we needed a name that communicated our commitment to racial justice for all groups. In 2015 we changed our name to “Racial Justice Rising,” while keeping the name Mass Slavery Apology for our original project.
Both people of color and people of European descent are active members and participants in our work. Our monthly program series has become a local fixture and we have expanded our mission to include projects that address injustice in our own communities.
In March 2016, in response to racist acts in our community, we initiated a weekly vigil for racial justice in Greenfield’s town center.
We have been helped along the way by many advisers and mentors. Our great thanks to those who have inspired, taught, and guided us in this project, including Ingrid Askew, Dwayne Brewington, Tim Bullock, Sister Clare Carter, Howard Clark, La Wanza Lett-Brewington, Enoch Page, Mustafa, Brother NorthStar Polaris, Kato Shonin, and Tall Oak.
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