The Class of 1966’s Racial Justice Program began with a large, enthusiastic group of classmates on January 29, 2022. Facilitator Michele Leonard ’77 of the Wellesley Racial Justice Initiative gave an excellent introduction that has been developed by that initiative, followed by break-out sessions for in-depth conversations. The next two sessions, on February 16 and March 1, continued the discussions, ending with ways to be allies.

WRJI and attendees recommended a number of books and other resources to further our understanding and ability to act. Click here for the list.

This is the first targeted program based on the interests expressed by classmates in the class survey. Class officers are working on several programs. The ’66 Racial Justice Program Team is Susan Forbes Martin, Sally Gregory McMillen, and Phyllis Gottesfeld Knight. They have worked with the Wellesley Racial Justice Initiative to create a program specifically for our class.

The Racial Justice Program consisted of three sessions. Break-out topics for all sessions were Reparations, Institutionalized Racism, Bias, Counteracting racism with being an ally, Microaggressions, Civil Rights, and Wealth Gap. Trained Facilitators were on hand for each break-out session.

For more information on the Wellesley Racial Justice Initiative, see their website.