In 1994 a group of concerned citizens in Kalamazoo, MI found themselves asking those questions – and more. “What if there is more to racism than personal race prejudice? What if institutions are intentionally designed to benefit one race over all others? What if the way they are set up continues to frustrate the best efforts of institutions to be all they aim to be?”

In 1997 the local governing body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the North/West Lower Michigan Synod joined a dozen other Kalamazoo area communities of faith to continue asking vital questions about race and racism. They began exploring how hidden, persistent organizational patterns inherited from past generations and subtly embedded in their systems were preventing them from fulfilling their missions.

One year later the Synod sold property of a local church that closed for $180,000. With an increasing awareness of the devastating role institutional racism plays, the Synod committed the proceeds of the sale to plant a seed of racial justice in Kalamazoo. The goal: to intentionally work with other local organizations to gain the capacity to recognize, identify and understand institutional racism, and to work together to dismantle racism and replace it with new anti-racist organizational structures and practices.

After two more years of conversations, planning and organizing, in January 2000 the Kalamazoo Northside Ministerial Alliance, Kalamazoo Anti-Racism Alliance (KARA) and the Synod jointly announced the birth of Eliminating Racism And Claiming/Celebrating Equality: ERAC/CE. Its vision: to eliminate racism in Southwest Michigan. Its method: host and subsidize the most effective anti-racism workshops in North America.

ERAC/CE began offering the opportunity for Kalamazoo-area organizations beginning to recognize the role of racism in their systems an effective way to address their experience with racism. While the trainings would be open to any institution, the Northside Ministerial Alliance provided direction to offer priority access to local government, faith communities, law enforcement and justice system, educational institutions and health organizations.

As they continued organizing in the community, ERAC/CE members offered colleagues the opportunity to participate in 2.5 day Understanding Racism workshops at the reduced registration fee of $50, heartily subsidized by the seed money from the sale of the Church. The initial year six workshops were offered, and hundreds of community members began to develop a working analysis of racism and gain a growing network of co-workers. ERAC/CE continues to offer several workshops each year.

In addition to sponsoring anti-racism workshops, ERAC/CE – through the dedication of its all-volunteer workers – has been pivotal in organizing further with local community and faith organizations, including Kalamazoo County Government, the Episcopal Diocese of West Michigan, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Immanuel Christian Reformed Church, Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity, Kalamazoo Christian School Association, North/West Lower Michigan Synod of the ELCA and Sisters of Saint Joseph (a Roman Catholic religious order).

Through their work with ERAC/CE, these institutions have come to realize that as they work to dismantle racism internally and transform into systems rooted in true racial justice, they can better serve the communities of Southwest Michigan. They have all developed anti-racism teams that with additional training, are equipped to lead their institutions to dismantle personal, cultural and systemic racism.

Today the demand for ERAC/CE is exploding. Increasingly calls are coming in from local area companies and community organizations for assistance in addressing racism. These include the Stryker Corporation, Kalamazoo County Multi-Purpose Collaborative Body, Portage Public Schools, Western Michigan University, ISAAC (the Kalamazoo area Gamaliel Foundation affiliate), Three Rivers Area Faith Community, Bronson Hospital, Borgess Medical Center, Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan, and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

Each is requesting “the training for their board and staff.” In addition, many are expressing a need for ERAC/CE team members to walk alongside them as colleagues while they organize and design the right training at the right time to strategically selected members as part of a long term strategy for organizational change.

In March 2006 ERAC/CE resolved to develop from its grassroots collaborative beginnings into a regional community service anti-racism organizing and training resource to meet the growing needs of current and future partner organizations. After receiving network support from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation John E. Fetzer Fund, capacity-building support from The Arcus Foundation Gay and Lesbian Fund and team development support from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, in April of 2007, the board approved a detailed plan for developing a Regional Anti-Racism Organizing and Training Team. Since then the Greater Kalamazoo United Way and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation have added their support for Team Training and team-member recruitment is under way.