Mission Moment – RSJ Learning Community

About

YWCA Spokane’s Racial and Social (RSJ) Learning Community is an intentional space for courageous conversations about systemic issues that impact our community. Together, community members and YWCA Staff & Board can learn what to do with our awareness and how to create change.

Explore our racial and social justice work at ywcaspokane.org/rsj, including our events, blogs, activities, and learning opportunities! To learn about our racial and social justice efforts from 2023, check out the Community Engagement Impact Report.

Cultivating Community

Fostering connection and creating community is an important role of the Learning Community.

The Learning Community is a space for members to have nuanced conversations on issues of equity, justice, freedom, and more. As the name implies, the purpose of the group is to center learning in a communal environment. It is an opportunity for individuals to grow at their own pace and learn alongside and from other members.

“The purpose of the Learning Community is just that: it’s to learn!” says Tamika LaMere. “Learning is also a continuum and we are all in different spaces along the journey of awareness to action.”

Tamika is in her fourth year as the Native Education Coordinator at Spokane Public Schools (SPS). She has been part of the Learning Community since 2022 and stepped into a leadership role last year. “I’m very passionate about this work,” states Tamika. “I wanted to expand my involvement outside my current work with SPS and into the community.”

The Learning Community currently has over 30 members. The commonality between individuals in this diverse group is a commitment to learning how to create more equitable environments, dismantle white supremacy culture, and create change in our community. Every month, members show up because they want to engage in courageous conversations with a community of folks that share interests.

Alondra is a YWCA Spokane Domestic Violence Support Advocate and joined the Learning Community last year. “My experience has been very rewarding,” says Alondra. “I have only been in Spokane for about three years, so I don’t know everything that Spokane has to offer. Being in a space where I’m connecting with other people is a great way to feel that I’m a part of something big.”

The group represents a wide variety of backgrounds, professions, and lived experiences. Such a wide range of representation allows for different perspectives to be brought into the space and creates rich dialogue.

“Activism doesn’t just mean protests,” says Alondra. “It’s more or less about having those hard conversations, educating your peers, educating yourself, consistently deconstructing your own biases. At the end of the day, we’re all learning and we’re all human.”

Conversations around Black liberation are important to have all year long, not just during Black History Month. Just as all oppressions are linked, so are the solutions. Tamika believes one of the best learning resources we have is each other. “Be in community,” Tamika says, “We have to be in community with one another in order to learn from one another.”

Learning From The Community

Another priority of the Learning Community is to connect with and learn from other community organizations doing similar equity work. For instance, the Learning Community’s February meeting featured Alex Gibilisco with Spokane City Council. Members were able to ask Alex questions and hear more about the progress and inner workings of city council.

The Learning Community and YWCA Spokane are committed to supporting a variety of powerful community events that center historically marginalized communities and promote equity, inclusivity, and diversity in the Spokane community.

Activism in Action

The Learning Community is a great opportunity for members of the community to increase their awareness and deepen into activism. It can be a launching point to get involved with other YWCA Spokane opportunities.

As an agency, YWCA Spokane hosts the annual Equity For All event in April as well as an annual Racial Justice Challenge. Members of the Learning Community support both of these offerings by providing insights and educational resources as well as leading specific components. The Racial Justice Challenge will be held this year in September and provides critical information and historical context to key issues affected by systemic racism. Equity For All this year will focus on Maternal Health in Communities of Color and will take place on April 25th. Register to join us in person or virtually here!

Joining the Racial and Social Justice Learning Community helped Tamika and Alondra find like minded individuals who are passionate about making Spokane a more equitable community for all. In order to support the cohesion of the cohort model, the Learning Community has a limited enrollment window every June. Learn more at ywcaspokane.org/rsj-community-interest. To stay informed of our enrollment window and other agency news and events year-round, be sure to subscribe to our community eNews letter.