Racial Justice Initiative

The Racial Justice Initiative (RJI) was formed in 2016 to provide opportunities to deepen our understanding of how racism impacts our economic, social and justice systems, and how we can work together to address these racial inequities.

• The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found that the median net worth of a black family in Boston was $8.50 compared to $247,500 for a white family.
• People of color are 7 times more likely to be imprisoned than whites—1/15 African American men vs. 1/106 white men. By the age of 14, approximately 25% of African American children have experienced a parent being imprisoned for some period of time, compared to 4% of white children.
• Public school segregation is worst in the Northeastern states, with schools serving the largest African American populations severely underfunded and underperforming. In Boston, black and brown children often perform two grades below their white peers.
• While the majority of the nation are homeowners, people of color are much less likely to own their own homes than whites—71.9% vs 42.3%.

Reflect: Deepen congregants’ understanding of racism through increased awareness and knowledge of the historic and present systems in our society that contribute to racial inequities.​
Relate: Develop collaborative relationships within the Jewish community and across people of different races to advance racial justice.
Reform: Affect meaningful change, at the local, state and national levels, to increase awareness, promote positive actions and create transformative public policies and legislation that advance racial equity. Areas of focus may include education, environmental justice, food insufficiency, health care, housing, law enforcement and criminal justice, voting rights, wealth creation and other issues that result in inequities.

These principles are based on the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC)’s Racial Justice Campaign model.