Stand Against Racism - Deputy Westchester County Executive, Kevin Plunkett, Westchester Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center Executive Director, Millie Jasper, Westchester County Human Rights Commission Executive Director, Mark Fang

There was sunshine aplenty for the YWCA of White Plains 5th Annual Stand Against Racism event co-sponsored by the Jay Heritage Center. Featuring a diverse panel of local Westchester voices attuned to the importance of human rights advocacy, the free public program drew a crowd of about 60 people. Community leaders like Mark Fang (Executive Director of the Westchester County Human Rights Commission,) Millie Jasper (Executive Director the Westchester Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center,) Dr. Iris Pagan (Executive Director, Westchester County Youth Bureau) and Olney Reynolds (Vice President of the African American Men's Association of Westchester) addressed the root causes of racism in an effort to encourage conversations across all cultures in Westchester County. They were joined by Deputy Westchester County Executive Kevin Plunkett and NY State Assemblyman Steve Otis who commended the YWCA and Jay Heritage Center for this successful community forum. After a stirring presentation where the panelists revealed their personal experiences with bigotry, a lively Q & A session with the audience covered topics from housing discrimination and "stop and frisk" concerns to the challenges of developing curricula about tolerance in schools.

The Stand Against Racism™ is a movement of the YWCA with the goal of bringing people together from all walks of life - to raise awareness that racism still exists. The methodology of the Stand Against Racism™ is to bring together like-minded people who wish to share in our vision of eliminating racism and celebrating the richness of diversity.

Racism and discrimination hurts everyone and has had a profound effect on children and adults, our communities, and our institutions. Today, we can look back on our history and examine the direction, development and effects of the enslavement of Africans, the exclusion of Asians from immigration and citizenship, the dispossession of Indian and Mexican lands as events that have shaped the current attitudes and actions supported by the power of law, institutional structures, and culture in this country. Race and the legacy of discrimination continue to affect our lives in our everyday interactions with others at work, school, or in our neighborhoods and communities.

Among its goals, the JHC hopes to be "a national focal point for a continuing conversation about the two greatest pieces of unfinished American business--race and land; meaning how we treat each other and how we treat the rest of God's creation." Tony Hiss

The Jay Heritage Center
210 Boston Post Road, Rye, New York 10580
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (914) 698-9275
Fax: (914) 835-8547
Website: www.jaycenter.org
Videos: www.youtube.com/JayHeritageCenter