CORE VALUES

Fundamentally, ARC’s work to advance racial justice is embedded in the following core values: 

• People of Color: We value the voices, experiences, cultures, intellect and multi-dimensionality of people of color.
• Justice: We value fairness, the best foundation for unity among all people.
• Transformation: We value the ability of individuals and systems to change in ways that make racial justice possible. We recognize the importance of struggle in fueling transformation.
• Bridging: We value the insights, relationships and holistic understandings that are deepened when divergent paths come together.
• Expression: We value voicing and sharing our viewpoints with integrity even when difficult, unpopular or risky.
• Adaptability: We value relevance and resourcefulness in the face of changing social, economic, political and ideological environments.
• Delight: We value making space for laughter, beauty, and joy in the work of social change.

WHAT WE DO

Media: ARC is the publisher of Colorlines.com, an award-winning, daily news site where race matters. Colorlines brings a critical racial lens and analysis to breaking news stories, as well as in-depth investigations. In 2012, Colorlines’ Shattered Families investigation was awarded the Hillman Prize in Web Journalism and Colorlines partnered with The Nation on the Voting Rights Watch series. In addition to promoting racial justice through our own media, ARC staff is sought after as experts on current race issues, with regular media appearances on MSNBC, NPR, and other national and local broadcast, print, and online outlets.

Research: ARC conducts cutting-edge, original research on current racial justice issues. ARC’s research and public policy agenda is built around the concept of “Race and …” – highlighting the intersection and compounding effects of race and key societal issues as demonstrated by our original and follow-up reports on Millennials, Activism, and Race and Good Food, Good Jobs for Al. ARC research also provide insights into the best ways to strengthen social change practice by offering policy solutions that address the ways in which racism interacts with other forms of contemporary oppressions.

Leadership Development: ARC supports activism on complex racial justice issues in several ways, including action mobilization, skill-building and leadership development, organization and alliance building, issue framing and messaging, and advancing solutions. A key example is our Drop the I-Word Campaign, which seeks to eliminate the widespread usage of the inhumane and racially derogatory word “illegal” in reference to immigrants as a way to prevent further punitive and racist public policies. In addition, ARC hosts the Facing Race National Conference, the largest national, multi-racial gathering on racial justice and provides targeted online and offline training and consulting services through our Racial Justice Leadership Action Network.