About Reading to End Racism

Reading to End Racism (RER) is a community initiative developed in support of the Boulder Valley School District's goal of promoting and valuing diversity. This program also assists schools in meeting Colorado State standards.

The Reading to End Racism project is designed to provide engaging and age-appropriate forums in which to explain and explore institutional racism with students. Through interactive presentations led by volunteer "Readers," students have an opportunity to listen to literature, personal stories and insights regarding racism; participate in discussions about racism; and gain reinforcement about the power of literature. During these class discussions, students are encouraged to brainstorm and come up with their own ideas to end racism. Among the many ideas generated have been: stick up for other people, learn about other cultures, talk to and educate racist people, and use the news media to publicize the problem.

RER organizers offer technical assistance to schools organizing RER events, and conduct training for participating Readers to insure quality outcomes. Volunteer participants are solicited throughout the community representing a wide gamut of lifestyles and occupations but all are committed to working towards the elimination of racism. A key role that these volunteers play in the classroom is the modeling of proactive behavior to students as they form their own approaches to real life situations. Volunteers include police officers, artists, elected officials, entrepreneurs, business professionals, educators and parents. In addition, students from Boulder High's Multi-ethnic Action Committee volunteer as Readers.

We have been extremely pleased with students' responses to our RER project. In fact, depending upon the school, results of student evaluations indicate an average of 85% of participants selected "4" or "5" out of a possible five in increased understanding of racism and an average of 85% responded they would be more pro-active in anti-racist behavior.

Demand for RER continues to grow as we continue to refine our training, technical assistance and materials. The number of students we have served has grown from 1,000 during our first year (1998-99) to 4,300 during 2000-2001.

This project is a local collaborative effort sponsored by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom's Anti-racism Taskforce, the Boulder Public Library Community and Cultural Out reach Program, Boulder Valley School District's Office of Institutional Equity and Multi-cultural Education, and The Center for Diverse Communities.

For further information about RER and for volunteer opportunities contact Ghada Elturk, Outreach Librarian at the Boulder Public Library: 303-441-4941