SOMA Living August 2024

COALITION ON RACE ANTI-BIAS/ANTI-RACISM TRAINING BY THE COMMUNITY COALITION ON RACE As part of the Coalition on Race’s mission to achieve racial integration, inclusion, and equity, we host trainings for organizations – social service agencies, nonprofits, small businesses, chambers of commerce and local governing bodies – seeking change and improvement through anti racist goals. Dismantling racism requires understanding one’s own biases as well as understanding the impact of structural racism. Our training method involves presentations, honest conversations, large and small group discussions, experiential exercises, role plays, and additional resources for reading and learning. In 2024, with funding from The Maplewood Foundation, we developed and delivered trainings to the Maplewood Police Department. We focused on understanding unconscious bias, personal strategies for addressing biases that may interfere with work outcomes, and the evolving language of inclusion. We also conducted a training for the SOMA Adult School board of directors and staff, focusing on anti racism and anti-bias practices in service delivery and ways to assess the organization’s progress toward diversity and inclusion goals. Our Community Engagement Committee will conduct Deconstructing Racism workshops on Mondays this September from 7-9 p.m. through the SOMA Adult School at Columbia High School. The workshops will cover topics such as systemic racism from a historical perspective, privilege, and methods to disrupt racist practices. To register for Deconstructing Racism, visit communitycoalitiononrace.org. Organizations interested in training can contact us at soma@communitycoalitiononrace.org.

Learn to Swim with the Best! Now Enrolling in Maplewood Winchester Gardens Community at — 333 Elmwood Avenue, Maplewood, NJ 07040 • Water acclimation, water survival, and stroke development • Highly trained instructors • Swim lessons for all ages

Start Swimming!

201-676-3630 • britishswimschool.com/hudson-waterfront

Nancy Gagnier, Executive Director of the South Orange/ Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, develops pro-integrative strategies to support racial equity and inclusion.

AUGUST 2024 | SOMA LIVING 21

@somalivingmagazine