21-Day Stand Against Racism Challenge

YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix and YWCA Southern Arizona partner to provide statewide 21-Day Stand Against Racism Challenge, beginning April 4, 2022

For the first time since the introduction of the 21-Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge in 2019, the two YWCA associations in Arizona will be joining forces to provide a free, statewide 21-Day antiracism challenge.

he Stand Against Racism Challenge is a 21-day racial and social justice challenge for all to participate in, beginning April 4. The challenge is designed to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege, and leadership. The Stand Against Racism Challenge was developed by YWCA Greater Cleveland in 2019, and adopted nationwide as an initiative of YWCA USA.

For 21 days, participants of the challenge will receive a daily reminder with that day’s activity. Daily activities include reading an article, watching a video, listening to a podcast, reflecting on personal experience and more. Participation in activities like these helps us to discover how racial injustice and social injustice impact our community, to connect with one another, and to identify ways to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination.

By taking small, daily actions and participating in a conversation about racism and social justice, we create momentum to build new and positive habits to change our communities and ourselves. YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix and YWCA Southern Arizona are proud to partner together for the first time in this challenge to create a statewide initiative that will further our collective understanding of systemic injustices in our state and nation.

This year’s challenge will feature four topic areas, one for each week of the challenge. Topics include Living Wage, Reproductive Justice, Critical Race Theory, and Representation in TV and Film. Each week, participants in the challenge will examine how the topic relates to racism on a systemic level, and YWCA’s Arizona Partnership will include resources that examine each topic through an Arizona-specific lens.

“We are so excited to be able to partner to offer a statewide initiative around creating space to learn about racial justice issues. This is how we build our state’s capacity to have real conversation and to actually combat inequity within our communities,” says Liane Hernandez, Director of the Women’s Wellness, Empowerment, and Leadership Center at YWCA Southern Arizona.

The challenge will begin April 4, 2022 and end May 2, 2022. Interested individuals can register themselves or their offices today at https://bit.ly/ywsar22 to receive the content for the full challenge.

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About YWCA Southern Arizona
YWCA Southern Arizona has served Tucson since 1917 with a mission to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. We believe the success of our communities depends on upholding equality, inclusion, and opportunity as fundamental values. YWCA provides integrated and bilingual community, leadership, and economic development programs, including workforce, family wellness, and social services that promote multi-generational solutions to end poverty and violence. Our overall goal is creation of sustainable, effective, and efficient means to place women and families more firmly and equitably in control of their futures.

About YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix
Since 1912, YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix has been on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. We imagine an equitable and inclusive Phoenix for everyone. We focus on how race and gender impact the issues that impact Phoenix and we create safe spaces for brave conversations. Additionally, we provide direct services for seniors, women and their families through our prosperity, senior meals, and equity programs. YWCA Metropolitan Phoenix is an independent 501c(3) and a member of YWCA USA.

About YWCA USA
YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. We are one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the nation, serving over 2 million women, girls, and their families. YWCA has been at the forefront of the most pressing social movements for 160 years — from voting rights to civil rights, from affordable housing to pay equity, from violence prevention to health care reform. Today, we combine programming and advocacy to generate institutional change in three key areas: racial justice and civil rights, empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls, and health and safety of women and girls.