Rochester Racial Justice Toolkit

Collaborators 

Lead Organization: RRJ

Contact: Rick Morris ; Email: TBD ; Phone: TBD

Known/Likely Collaborators:

Potential Collaborators: Diversity Council ; First Unitarian Universalist Church (Racial Justice Task Group) ; Growth & Justice ; Rochester for Justice ; Third Judicial District - Equal Justice Committee ; Voices for Racial Justice

Related Projects

ACT-SO Olympics of the Mind ; Allies & Advocates ; Coalition for Rochester Area Housing ; Community Dashboard ; Diversity Council Civic Equity Focus Area ; Diversity Council Rochester Area Racial Attitude Survey ; Equity Resources ; Human Libray of Southeaster Minnesota ; Journie 8 Step Program ; enCounter Poverty

Impacts 

Major Impact: 

PlanScape Impacts :

Level 1: Diversity and Inclusion

Level 2:

DMC Impacts:

Community Health Impacts:

Type of Project

Tooling  

The Toolkit is a compilation of articles, guides, news, videos, social media, and other tools from several online sources on racial justice and Black Lives Matter activism. The site is a work in progress with ongoing updates and contributions to each section. Please contact us with any suggestions or resource contributions! The Toolkit is an online social justice resource rooted in a committment to radical love and service to the Rochester, MN community.  

The 2016 shooting deaths of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, MN and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA, and the fatal shooting of police officers, Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Lorne Ahrens and Michael Smith in Dallas, TX have deeply polarized our nation and local communities. Since then, similar tragedies have continued to occur across the country.

Beyond hashtags and political posturing, these were all valued individuals with families and friends, and dreams like all of us. There are devasted partners, children, parents,  siblings, and dear friends left behind. These were precious human lives that have been lost to not only the violence of gunfire, but the violence of ongoing inequalities and hate. 

​Rochester is a growing and increasingly diverse community. In addition, communities of color continue to confront systemic inequalities here in our city. Our city depends on informed citizens-in-solidarity, leadership, and change partners who are dedicated to creating a truly inclusive community where all members can thrive and belong without fear or marginalization. The Toolkit is about supporting a deeper dialogue, building solidarity, and helping to build a community culture that is anti-racist at its core. 

​

We honor the lives of law enforcement officers who risk their lives daily for our safety and protection. We honor and mourn  the lives of men, women, and children killed by police violence.  It is our great love for our nation and our communities  that pushes us to demand better, demand justice, demand peace from those in power and sworn to protect us. This work finds strength, resilience, and understanding through love aimed at achieving justice, peace, and healing.

CMRC pausing public activities and investment potential white paper availability announcement.

Sept. 16^th: Workshop: Finding your First Customers and sell without being salesy; Sept 21^st: Workshop: Financial Literacy; Sept. 28^th: Workshop: How to Start a Business from Scratch (Part 1); Oct. 5^th: Workshop: How to Start a Business from Scratch (Part 2);

2024-08-12 PB Reporting GRAUC leads project to build prototype sim center The Southeast Minnesota Community Healthcare Simulation Center is set to open in downtown

Rochester by mid-October

Racism, Anti-Semitism and the Fight Against Hate

"Abolishing racism, hate crimes, and white supremacy isn’t a problem for one group to face alone; it’s a shared burden that requires a strong and unified response."

August 2024 Report : Age-Friendly Olmsted County (AFOC) activities implementing the Age

Friendly Olmsted County 2022-2025 Action Plan since our annual report in February 2024.

3Q2024: July 2024 Admin Message and Reports

Newsletter Highlights:

Systems Change Designation; Data Updates; Network Updates; Contributors

Home Ownership Creation Program - Prairie Ridge: "NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Common Council of the City of Rochester, MN hereby approves the contribution of $4,000,000 to the Prairie Ridge development to support the creation of 201 for-sale homes via the Home Ownership Creation Program.

The framework defines structural racism as the “totality of ways in which societies foster racial discrimination through mutually reinforcing systems of housing, education, employment, earnings, benefits, credit, media, health care and criminal justice.”

2Q 2024: June 2024; May 2024 - Admin Message, TBE Report; April 2024 - Admin Message, TBE Report

1Q 2024: Feb 2024 - Admin Message, TBE Report; Jan 2024: Admin Message, TBE Report

Special callouts: Women in Construction; City of Rochester Equity in Development 

June 24, 2024 City Council Study Session: Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Audit per Goodenough 

Departmental Audit reports of: Human Resources; Rochester Public Library; Parks & Rec 

SASSA to receive $1M from MN to train workers for high-demand employment. 

The funding is awarded under the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Targeted Populations Workforce Competitive Grant Program.

"Example of careers they are interested in include radiology, artificial Intelligence, surgery, aeronautical engineering, psychology, sports, business administration and many more!"