MANSFIELD — The Richland County Task Force on Racism has announced plans for an Equity Challenge, an online effort to help residents learn how systemic racism impacts the community.
“(We) have been working on many different tasks in our (eight) respective work groups, but this is our first big collaboration and educational piece that will engage our entire Richland County community,” said Amy Hiner, task force co-chair.
The challenge will be patterned after a similar 15-day challenge done in Canton and Stark County in 2020, said Hiner, who co-chairs the task force with Renda Cline.
The eight-day effort from Nov. 14 to 21 will allow participants to receive daily emails or text messages with links to videos, podcasts and/or reading assignments, each aimed at exploring the impact of systemic racism in the following areas:
Day 1 — Implicit bias and wealth gap
Day 2 — Business
Day 3 — Criminal Justice
Day 4 — Education
Day 5 — Employment
Day 6 — Healthcare
Day 7 — Housing
Day 8 — Mental health
“Stark County did something like this in the summer of 2020 and had a great deal of success,” Hiner said. “So we wanted to do it here in Richland County.”
The idea behind the project is to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege and leadership, according to Hiner.
“Participants will explore racial equity and social injustice through activities to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination,” she said.
On Sunday, Oct. 31, the organization will launch a new website at www.richlandchallenge.com. Once it’s live, residents can visit and sign up for the daily emails or text messages.
“Activities like these help 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,” Hiner said.
“This challenge is an exciting opportunity to dive deep into racial equity and social justice,” she said.
In January 2020, the North End Community Improvement Collaborative released a comprehensive study, The Richland County State of the African-American Report, detailing local racial inequalities.
Among other Richland County indicators found in the report:
— Black households are more than twice as likely as White households to receive food stamps.
— Black households are almost three times as White households to fall below federal poverty levels.
— White median annual income is $16,000 higher than it is for Blacks.
— Unemployment rates for Black men and women far exceed jobless rates for Whites.
— More than two-thirds of local Black men were “out of the labor force.”
— Black students made up 29 percent of the Mansfield City Schools, but were far more likely to face disciplinary issues.
— Higher education is a significant concern with report showing almost 18 percent of White residents earning a bachelor’s degree, compared to 7 percent of Black residents.
The Equity Challenge curriculum was originally developed by Dr. Eddie Moore Jr. and Debby Irving and has been adapted by many organizations, around the country, according to Hiner.
Hiner, who said the task force, its steering committee and work groups are continuing to meet and make progress, said organizers hope organizations, schools, employers and others will participate and encourage others to do the same.
Hiner and Cline have said the task force is planning on a five-year effort to look at racism as a public health crisis. It was formed after Mansfield City Council by a 5-4 vote rejected a resolution stating “systematic racism also causes disproportionately high rates of homelessness, incarceration, poor education, family disruption, health issues, including mental health, and economic hardship for African Americans particularly, as well as for other communities of color.”
“(Our effort) has been doing really well,” Hiner said. “The different work groups are meeting and working with experts in their areas. They are coming up with projects and talking.
“We are slowly but surely seeing the needle move a little bit.”
