A discussion of racism and its effects from a national to local level was held during an online event hosted by Washington For Justice Sunday.

Group officers Haleigh Brockman and Meredith Henderson spoke about their antiracism and community engagement efforts they’ve made since their formation last year, and welcomed guest speaker Professor Yolanda Spears from the University of Iowa. Spears currently teaches a social work master level course on discrimination oppression and diversity, and has presented in other forums among topics of race, social justice, and implicit bias. Spears spoke about what connections there may be between race and the U.S. capitol riots last week, and she explained how racism hurts everyone, “How does it harm our community when we are constantly holding up systems and institutions that oppress others. You know some of the ways that it harms your community is that means that some of your children, once they leave, may not come back, then that means that your community will continue to get older and older, and if there’s no new infusion of individuals, that can be harmful for your community and its livelihood.”

The discussion lasted about an hour on the Zoom application, with around 45 people in attendance. Some attendees shared personal stories of how racism has existed in the city of Washington, and some of the racially-charged feedback the Washington for Justice organization has received through an online survey they’ve recently conducted. The group’s next scheduled event is a discussion series on the book “Me & White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor,” which begins this Thursday at 7 p.m. over Zoom. Information on how to register can be found here.