About CoJourn for Racial Justice
​
CoJourn for Racial Justice is a 12-week CoJourn cohort experience designed for organizations who want to help their employees live into organizational Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) visions and statements utilizing the CoJourn support and accountability structure.
​
This CoJourn cohort application was created in the summer of 2020, during the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the resulting worldwide reckoning with racism, as way to support the increased awareness and commitment of individuals and organizations to their anti-racism goals. CoJourn co-founder (and Social Justice Educator) Molly Keehn, Ed.D collaborated with a team of 7 other trained Social Justice Educators and CoJourn participants to create and deliver this program**. The initial pilot group included 140 community members from across the U.S. who paired up to take action on their personal goals for racial justice, with tremendous success.
CoJourn for Racial Justice has now been adopted into K-12, non-profit and higher education environments. In these settings, individuals apply the CoJourn model to stay committed and get support as they move forward with organizational strategy in relation to DEI and Anti-Racism work.
CoJourn for Racial Justice can help organizations:
​
-
Meet people wherever they are at in their journey toward racial justice
-
Move beyond one-time “flash in the pan” initiatives
-
Offer employees the sustained support and accountability needed to navigate the process of racial justice with courage, discernment and persistence to create lasting systemic change
12-Week Program Experience Includes:
A co-facilitated group program launch session, with instructions on how to use the CoJourn framework for support and accountability in a compassionate, celebration-focused way
e-copy of the CoJourn Companion Guide and Workbook
Thoughtful partner matching with a CoJourn partner - or work with a partner of participants’ choosing
CoJourn for Racial Justice Resource List, including our favorite existing curated lists. This will include ideas for action, community-care, and education for people from different racial identities, roles, and experiences with racial justice work
Co-facilitated mid-way check-in meeting to get support, share successes and resources, and a program close meeting for reflection and commitment to next steps
Weekly emails for support and ideas throughout the 12-week process
Opportunity for coaching from our team of trained Social Justice educators for all program participants
​
(Program can be adapted based on the needs and requests of the organization)
Benefits of CoJourn for Racial Justice:
Opportunity to reflect regularly to continually learn, grow, and live into the organization’s DEI values and priorities
​
Self-directed and flexible (participants choose own area of focus and start wherever they are on the journey)
Acknowledges different priorities based on identities, past experience with the topic, and organizational role
Builds relationships, breaks isolation and disrupts transactional ways of being
Supports an orientation toward curiosity and experimentation with new ways of being (with support)
Balances the importance of working on ourselves and our institutions simultaneously and provides a mechanism of gentle peer accountability for personal and institutional DEI goals
Highlights key skills that are supportive of DEI such as active listening, peer support, and self-compassion
Testimonials from Organizations:
Diane Chamberlain
Principal
Fort River Elementary School
Over the last few years, our courageous and committed Fort River School community did a lot of work around understanding racism, systems of oppression and white supremacy culture. After the murder of George Floyd in summer 2020, our community wanted to amplify our efforts to becoming anti-racist educators, including curriculum work, launching a Racial Justice Council, and leaning into to difficult conversations with ourselves and with our students and families. CoJourn has allowed the individualized structure for all members for our community - regardless of where they are in the journey - to craft actionable goals and intentions in service to being/becoming antiracism educators. Integrating CoJourn as a way to enact change in our personal/professional practice has been one of the most meaningful and active professional development structures to-date; educators are digging in within safe spaces, where they can acknowledge and learn from experiences in their journey, all with a partner traveling along with them. They are showing up, allowing themselves to be vulnerable, and engaging in the work. It's the kind of work that we feel will drastically shift the way we work together in community - it is benefiting the educators, but this work will likely have profound effects for the children we educate and the system we educate them in.
Caroline Crowley
Director of Talent Management
UMass Advancement
I was just reflecting with a colleague about how powerful CoJourn for Racial Justice has been for our division [Advancement] in terms of really building connection. It’s so refreshingly different from the other professional development/training programs – very much grounded in compassion and wholesome purpose.
What Participants are Saying:
Q: "Has CoJourn been helpful? If so, how?" (Results from program end surveys)
​
* Yes, it encouraged me to engage in thinking and doing about racial equity on a routine basis, rather than just when an incident occurred that drew my thinking to it.
* Very helpful - in terms of being able to see the world from my partners'
perspectives, it also helped me to dig deeper into the issues of racism in our society, it also helped me to see where I need to work on myself.
* It's pointed my attention in a direction that is important. I'm encouraging myself to go to my uncomfortable edge. The questions keep coming.
* Yes. Accountability is a driving force behind this work. It is so easy to move things down the list of priorities so having a weekly time and goals to keep me motivated and focused really helped.
* This recursive reflective process allowed me to grow as a professional, colleague, and human. Without the weekly check-ins and accountability, my work towards Social Justice would not have had the depth and breadth that it did.
Bring CoJourn for Racial Justice
to your Organization or Group:
If you are interested in scheduling a workshop or creating a custom program for your organization, please contact us below (connect@cojourn.org):
CoJourn Facilitators at a mid-point CoJourn for Racial Justice process check-in for an elementary school
(Pictured from left) Angelica Castro, Jessie Cooley, Latrina Denson and Molly Keehn
Acknowledgements:
We would like to acknowledge and thank the team who participated in shaping the first iteration of the CoJourn for Racial Justice Program, Summer 2020:
Angelica Castro, M.A., CPC, Social Justice Educator, Certified Professional Coach
Oscar Collins, M.Ed., Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant
Jessie Cooley, M.Ed., Nonprofit Leadership, Social Justice Educator and Mediator
Latrina Denson, M.Ed., Social Justice Educator, Higher Education Administration
Elise Manning, M.S.W., LICSW, Trauma-Focused Psychotherapist and Collaborative Artist
Jen Matos, Ed.D., Higher Education Faculty and Certified Professional Coach
Beth Mattison, M.Ed., Social Justice Educator and Youth Worker
Emily Pritchard, M.Ed., Educator with Social Justice Focus, Performing Artist
Tanya O. Williams, Ed.D. Social Justice Educator, Certified Professional Coach