Shelter Rock congregations sponsors forums on racism

Teri West
ERASE Racism president Elaine Gross. (Photo courtesy of High Impact Partnering LLC)

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock provided a $100,000 grant to ERASE Racism, which the organization is using to fund a series of public forums addressing racism on Long Island.

The program, called “How Do We Build a Just Long Island?” intends to start a conversation about moving past segregation.

There will be five public forums between Thursday and Dec. 10 that will tackle structural racism and include exercises and conversations, according to ERASE Racism.

ERASE Racism is a Long Island-based organization that has campaigns for housing and education opportunity as well as legal and advocacy initiatives to further racial equity.

The five events are at different locations throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties. The first is Thursday in Stony Brook.

“Segregation is not only wrong, it’s causing Long Islanders to miss out on benefits that are proving vital to a competitive economy and workforce in the 21st century,” said Elaine Gross, president of ERASE Racism. “This much-needed public discussion will illuminate and explore the challenges and opportunities ahead.”

Some co-hosts for the events include Stony Brook University’s Center for the Study of Inequalities, Social Justice and Policy, the Town of Riverhead’s Anti-Bias Task Force and Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Societies.

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