Helping businesses and institutions develop anti-racist frameworks.
Open Buffalo is committed to advancing racial, economic, and ecological justice in Western New York. Our Race, Power, and Privilege (RPP) program strengthens local businesses and institutions who are seeking to be drivers of community progress. RPP is an anti-racism assessment and training program specifically designed to provide our clients an in-depth, functional understanding of the history of race and institutionalized racism. Organizations who go through the process develop tools for dismantling internal and external racial oppression. The RPP process also includes a racial equity audit and organizational improvement plan customized to meet your needs. We believe relationship building to be the cornerstone in dismantling oppression, thus we design trust- and relationship-building activities that give participants safe spaces to think, talk, and feel in ways that they haven’t been able to before. It is critical to note that RPP is indeed a process, involving specified steps that are tailored to your organization.
Learn about the 5-Step RPP process here.
The RPP Process is for non-profit organizations as well as for-profit ones. Whether your agency is an educational, health care, cultural/community, religious, business, or governmental organization, Open Buffalo recognizes how systemic oppression infects all areas of society. Thus, RPP training is relevant to your organization and can help you to develop an anti-racist framework, through an intentional interrogation of how power and privilege operate in society.
RPP trainings are led by Dr. Kush K. Bhardwaj, Director of Racial Equity and Justice, with facilitation support provided by other senior Open Buffalo staff.
The RPP Process begins with consultation with the senior leadership of Open Buffalo. The initial conversations may take place at our Jefferson Avenue location, at your facility, or virtually. Once you have an understanding of the specific steps of the process, we partner to see how to budget your organization’s time and resources. In general, the entire process takes 3 to 4 months, culminating in the actual RPP training, with your selected employees/staff/board/leadership team. We like to express it as “a season” that fits in your organization’s yearly plan.
The consultation, preparation, and planning may happen in person or virtually, depending on your needs. Human resources or senior management of your agency will be responsible for remote participating in the RPP data collection process. Further discussion of interpreted data during the customization process may happen in-person or virtually. Due to the “deep dive into sensitive subjects,” the RPP training sessions are preferably held in person, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Open Buffalo has been able to accommodate the trainings virtually.
Following the tragic massacre of May 14, 2022, our society is facing a turning point. Surely, white supremacy manifests itself when a deranged man full of hate travels hours to livestream the slaughter of our community elders. Open Buffalo understands that it operates in insidious and nuanced ways. Institutionalized Racism is so prevalent in our country that Congress is in the process of passing a Resolution Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis. RPP and the discussions involved allow you and your organization to critically think about how you view yourselves and others. By providing these trainings, institutions/agencies may better understand how “other” communities perceive and interact with them.
To find out if the RPP process is right for you or your institution, please contact us at info@openbuffalo.org.