Healing Ourselves & Helping Others
To advance as a society, we must first understand our history. If we are open to learning the uncomfortable truths of our past there is a greater chance of healing. Learning and understanding that systemic racism is core to our beginnings allows us to heal and fosters conversation that ignites the collective power of diverse individuals and communities to work together to advance change.
"If you have a lake in front of your house and one fish is floating belly-up dead, it makes sense to analyze the fish. What is wrong with it? Imagine the fish is one student failing in the education system. We'd ask: did it study hard enough? Is it getting the support it needs at home?
But if you come out to the same lake and half the fish are floating belly-up dead, would should you do? This time you've got to analyze the lake. Imagine the lake is the education system and half the students are failing. This time we'd ask: might the system itself be causing such consistent unacceptable outcomes for students? If so, how?
Now... picture five lakes around your house, and in each and every lake half the fish are floating belly-up dead! What is it time to do?
We say it's time to analyze the groundwater."
Groundwater Approach
A framework inspired by Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones in 2013 to explain the nature of racism as it currently exists in the U.S.
The Groundwater Approach is based on three observations:
-
racial inequity looks the same across systems
-
socio-economic difference does not explain the racial inequity; and
-
inequities are caused by systems, regardless of people's culture or behavior
​
A Deeper Dive
The following collection of articles, videos, TED Talks and reports will help you learn more about why we focus on the areas identified. We invite you to dive a little deeper.
