C.U.R.E.
Beschermde donatie
The Coalition for Undoing Racism through Education is a volunteer, community advocacy group that works to bring education to Larchmont and Mamaroneck on the subject of institutional and systemic racism in our community and our country. I was inspired to found C.U.R.E. out of my deep desire to create a more equitable world now and for our kids' future.
C.U.R.E. consists of a group of people and organizations committed to undoing racism on a structural level, including community members, parents, students, local educators, houses of worship, and community non-profits. My incredible core team members enhance this mission on a daily basis. They are Meg Kaufer, my co-founder, Anne Mottola and a handful of other amazing founders you can learn more about on our website! www.learnwithcure.com
We are very close to partnering with a 501c3 fiscal sponsor and will announce that as soon as it happens! However, our pressing work cannot wait. We need funds NOW to bring renowned social justice warriors to our community for honest and challenging conversations! Key events are already booked with expenditures that will need to be covered in the coming weeks. (see events below)
So, what will C.U.R.E. do and how will your funds be used?
Here is the big picture: Through public events and small gatherings in our community, we will explore and discuss institutional racism with the goal of building a more equitable world starting in our own backyards.
I believe that we can't fight for EQUITY if we don't understand WHY there is inequity to begin with.
In years to come, we can level the playing field, liberate ALL of us from this existential crisis that we did not create and give rise to a new story - a story that has never been played out in this country before.
*Scroll down to read about our events and the costs associated with bringing each event to our area.
For those who know me, I have never been one to ask for money. But I have never had a mission that I feel is so critical to our lives and to the perspectives of the youth in our community. As much as this is not an easy ask for me, I cannot stay quiet in the face of the urgent need for these conversations. The more I researched and went out into our community to seek support and venues, the more it became abundantly clear that there is a deep yearning for these opportunities. People want to dissect the feelings that they have harbored around the social construction of race and systemic racism in the current climate and the time is NOW. From local leaders to parents - folks are looking for the tools to have honest conversations and to bring more people into the fold regarding these challenging topics.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for EVERY penny you give to help launch C.U.R.E!
No gift is too small! If you are not ready to give there are other ways to support us! Become a team member or just join our conversation by putting your name on our mailing list.
Email us at: [e-mail geredigeerd]
With Deep Gratitude,
Nicole Alifante
Founder and Executive Director of C.U.R.E.
BUDGET DETAILS
On October 11th, 2018, C.U.R.E. will be presenting a screening of 13th, the Oscar nominated documentary by Ava DuVernay and a talk back with social justice warrior, Baz Dreisinger. This evening is strongly aligned with the Mamaroneck High School history and journalism curriculum.
Costs for this event are $2500.
13thTrailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66F3WU2CKk
About Baz: https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/baz-dreisinger
On January 13th, 2019, C.U.R.E. is honored to host John Beiwen, host of the Scene On Radio Podcast.
John will be joined by Chenjerai Kumanyika, professor, activist and artist. They will discuss an episode from their SEEING WHITE series on Scene on Radio.
Costs for this event are $4000.
About John: https://documentarystudies.duke.edu/people/john-biewen
About Chenjerai: https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/kumanyika-chenjerai
PAST EVENTS - FUNDED & IMPLEMENTED THANKS TO A PRIVATE DONOR
On August 23rd, 2018, a generous donor from our community helped C.U.R.E. to bring the EPIC Theatre Ensemble to the Mamaroneck High School Jump Start Program. Epic is a troupe of high school kids of color who write plays around social justice, engage in audience talk backs and writing workshops.
The Jump Start program consists of a group of diverse incoming 9th graders who get academic support before high school begins and throughout the school year! The event was a HUGE success!
The cost was $700.
About Epic: http://www.epictheatreensemble.org
In addition, C.U.R.E. holds Intimate Gatherings in community members’ homes. We eat, drink and discuss inspiring material of all genres that address race and racism. This spring we will introduce our BREAKING BREAD series where we host potluck dinners with folks from all corners of Larchmont and Mamaroneck!
Tickets to our October 11th event will be ready SOON at:
https://thirteenthdocumentary.eventbrite.com
Learn more at: www.learnwithcure.com
HOW I GOT HERE
Racism. I always knew it existed. However, I was unable to articulate WHY race and racism were so much a part of my consciousness. Some of the feelings I had around race disturbed me. They were biases that my head believed but my heart rejected.
In the last two years, I have enrolled in workshops, read books, listened to podcasts and watched educational films. More importantly, I have learned face-to-face from social justice giants and I have had the honor of having deep discussions with people of color. I still have a long way to go!
I learned about INSTITUTIONAL and SYSTEMIC RACISM and that is when my LENS changed and my LIFE changed forever. Whether white people and people of color have warm and fuzzy or aggressive feelings toward each other is actually a byproduct of systemic racism. Thoughts like, “I am kind to people of color, so I am not racist" don't address structural racism which has been in place since the inception of this country. Prejudice goes both ways. However, RACISM = Prejudice + Power. (www.pisab.org ) This is the formula that helps explain and unpack institutional versus interpersonal racism. I get that this can be confusing! This is because, sadly, most of us don't know our true history and we are taught from a Euro-centric perspective in schools.
There is not one single experience in my life that has moved me as much as the revelatory understanding that America's institutions were built on oppression and more specifically, the oppression of Black and Brown people. This was done for money, politics and power and it continues as you are reading this. It has been taking on a new face, generation after generation for over 400 hundred years and it is bipartisan.
Through this experience I have also realized that one of my primary jobs in the fight to undo racism is to share what I've learned about systemic racism with people of all colors because it has purposely been kept from us. However, I believe my main responsibility is to open the eyes of people who have come to be called "white." Race is a social construct that was created as a form of social control with white supremacy at its core. The KKK is an OPEN and exaggerated example of white supremacy but day-to-day white supremacy is the air we breathe, the neighborhoods we live in, the schools we attend, and more importantly the LAWS and policies we pass and how they are interpreted differently depending on our skin color.
I MUST believe that the more white people understand this truth, the harder we will work to lift the veil off of America's caste system and shift the old narrative to a more humane one.
I MUST believe that we will use the generations of power that have been handed to us and demand EQUITY for Black,Brown and Latinx communities.
I MUST believe that this is a BI-PARTISAN issue and we can come together on it. Both sides have used race and racism for the benefit of gaining political power and both sides must come to terms with and heal this reality as Americans.
I MUST believe that we won’t feel we are “giving something up” if we take action but, instead, we will be gaining priceless gifts. We are not made up of many "races." We are one human race that comes in many beautiful shades.
Thank you for reading this. I am truly grateful for your open minds and open hearts.
Nicole
C.U.R.E. consists of a group of people and organizations committed to undoing racism on a structural level, including community members, parents, students, local educators, houses of worship, and community non-profits. My incredible core team members enhance this mission on a daily basis. They are Meg Kaufer, my co-founder, Anne Mottola and a handful of other amazing founders you can learn more about on our website! www.learnwithcure.com
We are very close to partnering with a 501c3 fiscal sponsor and will announce that as soon as it happens! However, our pressing work cannot wait. We need funds NOW to bring renowned social justice warriors to our community for honest and challenging conversations! Key events are already booked with expenditures that will need to be covered in the coming weeks. (see events below)
So, what will C.U.R.E. do and how will your funds be used?
Here is the big picture: Through public events and small gatherings in our community, we will explore and discuss institutional racism with the goal of building a more equitable world starting in our own backyards.
I believe that we can't fight for EQUITY if we don't understand WHY there is inequity to begin with.
In years to come, we can level the playing field, liberate ALL of us from this existential crisis that we did not create and give rise to a new story - a story that has never been played out in this country before.
*Scroll down to read about our events and the costs associated with bringing each event to our area.
For those who know me, I have never been one to ask for money. But I have never had a mission that I feel is so critical to our lives and to the perspectives of the youth in our community. As much as this is not an easy ask for me, I cannot stay quiet in the face of the urgent need for these conversations. The more I researched and went out into our community to seek support and venues, the more it became abundantly clear that there is a deep yearning for these opportunities. People want to dissect the feelings that they have harbored around the social construction of race and systemic racism in the current climate and the time is NOW. From local leaders to parents - folks are looking for the tools to have honest conversations and to bring more people into the fold regarding these challenging topics.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for EVERY penny you give to help launch C.U.R.E!
No gift is too small! If you are not ready to give there are other ways to support us! Become a team member or just join our conversation by putting your name on our mailing list.
Email us at: [e-mail geredigeerd]
With Deep Gratitude,
Nicole Alifante
Founder and Executive Director of C.U.R.E.
BUDGET DETAILS
On October 11th, 2018, C.U.R.E. will be presenting a screening of 13th, the Oscar nominated documentary by Ava DuVernay and a talk back with social justice warrior, Baz Dreisinger. This evening is strongly aligned with the Mamaroneck High School history and journalism curriculum.
Costs for this event are $2500.
13thTrailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66F3WU2CKk
About Baz: https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/baz-dreisinger
On January 13th, 2019, C.U.R.E. is honored to host John Beiwen, host of the Scene On Radio Podcast.
John will be joined by Chenjerai Kumanyika, professor, activist and artist. They will discuss an episode from their SEEING WHITE series on Scene on Radio.
Costs for this event are $4000.
About John: https://documentarystudies.duke.edu/people/john-biewen
About Chenjerai: https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/kumanyika-chenjerai
PAST EVENTS - FUNDED & IMPLEMENTED THANKS TO A PRIVATE DONOR
On August 23rd, 2018, a generous donor from our community helped C.U.R.E. to bring the EPIC Theatre Ensemble to the Mamaroneck High School Jump Start Program. Epic is a troupe of high school kids of color who write plays around social justice, engage in audience talk backs and writing workshops.
The Jump Start program consists of a group of diverse incoming 9th graders who get academic support before high school begins and throughout the school year! The event was a HUGE success!
The cost was $700.
About Epic: http://www.epictheatreensemble.org
In addition, C.U.R.E. holds Intimate Gatherings in community members’ homes. We eat, drink and discuss inspiring material of all genres that address race and racism. This spring we will introduce our BREAKING BREAD series where we host potluck dinners with folks from all corners of Larchmont and Mamaroneck!
Tickets to our October 11th event will be ready SOON at:
https://thirteenthdocumentary.eventbrite.com
Learn more at: www.learnwithcure.com
HOW I GOT HERE
Racism. I always knew it existed. However, I was unable to articulate WHY race and racism were so much a part of my consciousness. Some of the feelings I had around race disturbed me. They were biases that my head believed but my heart rejected.
In the last two years, I have enrolled in workshops, read books, listened to podcasts and watched educational films. More importantly, I have learned face-to-face from social justice giants and I have had the honor of having deep discussions with people of color. I still have a long way to go!
I learned about INSTITUTIONAL and SYSTEMIC RACISM and that is when my LENS changed and my LIFE changed forever. Whether white people and people of color have warm and fuzzy or aggressive feelings toward each other is actually a byproduct of systemic racism. Thoughts like, “I am kind to people of color, so I am not racist" don't address structural racism which has been in place since the inception of this country. Prejudice goes both ways. However, RACISM = Prejudice + Power. (www.pisab.org ) This is the formula that helps explain and unpack institutional versus interpersonal racism. I get that this can be confusing! This is because, sadly, most of us don't know our true history and we are taught from a Euro-centric perspective in schools.
There is not one single experience in my life that has moved me as much as the revelatory understanding that America's institutions were built on oppression and more specifically, the oppression of Black and Brown people. This was done for money, politics and power and it continues as you are reading this. It has been taking on a new face, generation after generation for over 400 hundred years and it is bipartisan.
Through this experience I have also realized that one of my primary jobs in the fight to undo racism is to share what I've learned about systemic racism with people of all colors because it has purposely been kept from us. However, I believe my main responsibility is to open the eyes of people who have come to be called "white." Race is a social construct that was created as a form of social control with white supremacy at its core. The KKK is an OPEN and exaggerated example of white supremacy but day-to-day white supremacy is the air we breathe, the neighborhoods we live in, the schools we attend, and more importantly the LAWS and policies we pass and how they are interpreted differently depending on our skin color.
I MUST believe that the more white people understand this truth, the harder we will work to lift the veil off of America's caste system and shift the old narrative to a more humane one.
I MUST believe that we will use the generations of power that have been handed to us and demand EQUITY for Black,Brown and Latinx communities.
I MUST believe that this is a BI-PARTISAN issue and we can come together on it. Both sides have used race and racism for the benefit of gaining political power and both sides must come to terms with and heal this reality as Americans.
I MUST believe that we won’t feel we are “giving something up” if we take action but, instead, we will be gaining priceless gifts. We are not made up of many "races." We are one human race that comes in many beautiful shades.
Thank you for reading this. I am truly grateful for your open minds and open hearts.
Nicole
Organisator
Nicole Alifante
Organisator
Larchmont, NY
