HAMILTON, Ohio — A local women’s shelter is going up against racism and challenging everyone else to do the same. 

What You Need To Know

  • The YWCA in Hamilton, along with several other YWCA locations, are starting an online challenge to "stand against racism"

  • For 21 days, it challenges participants to read, listen and educate themselves about racism and have conversations about it 

  • Organizers are hoping the discussions turn into policy changes and culture shifts that help end racism 

For Charla Hale, her new office at the YWCA in Hamilton is a reminder of the work it takes to fight racism. 

“Understanding the complexities of racial justice and racial inequity in our country takes work and learning,” said Hale. 

She’s taking on racism as the director of racial justice. It's a newly created position she said she knew she wanted, after what she went through growing up in Butler County.

“I knew I was not necessarily the usual face of this community. I also knew I wasn’t gonna be accepted for my identity. I’ve been called racial slurs in this community,” said Hale. 

It's the kind of discrimination and racism that’s been brought to the surface in viral videos.

“How long can we continue to push through? How long can we allow ourselves to be marginalized and oppressed?” said Hale. 

She’s hoping it stops through the work she’s doing to create change. She helped organize the annual "stand against racism" challenge. 

“The challenge itself is 21 days of interactive activity on a virtual platform, whether that’s reading, podcasts, listening to videos, reading articles, and that happens every day for 21 days, and each week has a different topic or component around racial justice,” said Hale. 

The challenge started with a town hall discussion that they plan to continue every week of the challenge, all with the hope that you have a better understanding of racism and what to do to stop it.

“If we can have more conversations, have more relationships across differences, we’re gonna minimize the impact of racism,” said Hale.

After the challenge, she wants to take it one step further with policy changes and culture shifts where she knows her work made a difference.

There’s still time to sign up for the challenge. If you'd like to get involved or find out more information, click here.