The National Conference for Community and Justice started in 1927 as the National Conference for Christians and Jews. Back then, it sought to heal divisions between religious faiths. Since then, its work has expanded to include all kinds of social justice.
"The last few weeks have been both absolutely devastating and heartbreaking and incredibly exciting," said Cynthia Martin, President and CEO of NCCJ.
She says this was set to be a banner year for the organization until Covid-19 shut everything down, but now her organization's mission is taking center stage.
"I think people’s intentions are great, but they don’t understand what systemic racism is and the truth about what’s going on out there," Martin said.
NCCJ usually holds a quarterly anti-racism workshop, but demand is so high that it will be holding a two-day anti-racism workshop monthly for the next five months. She says the July class is almost booked.
"What’s the history of racism? What are some terms and definitions? Why does history matter because it’s so infused in what’s happening with current events," Martin said.
Closer to home, the California Conference for Equality and Justice is based in Long Beach.
It’s hosting "Elements of Justice," a series of online community dialogs both across races and divided by race depending on individual preferences. It's an attempt to make tough conversations a little bit easier. To that end, it also offers advice for having courageous conversations.
Martin feels it’s not enough to just understand the problem, you have to take action.
"We are moving into doing a lot more consulting work with corporations and organizations, like how do we really look at this? How can we change our workplace so that people will feel more included?” she said.
NCCJ is based in Connecticut, but in this virtual world, she welcomes anyone who wants to attend.
"We don’t care where you live. If you want to take on racism, then please join us. It’s a real worthwhile endeavor, and you will learn, and it will change you," she said.