The Transformative Justice Leadership Initiative (TJLI) will be the Resource Center for Nonviolence’s leading program, designed to respond to Santa Cruz County’s need for transformational leadership education, training and support to address the issues connected to living in a historically segregated community. The RCNV has served the community since 1976 in the areas of peace, nonviolent action and social justice and is committed to providing accessible, high caliber education, training and support as a way forward.

The TJLI will be held over the course of six to nine months, taking a holistic approach to combating racism in our community. The program will be highly collaborative in that it will draw from local experts and organizations doing great work in their respective fields. The topics covered will range from: Cognitive and Somatic experience of racism for BIPOC and White identified people, Kingian Nonviolence, Antiracist Approaches to Policy Change, The System of Racial Inequality, Santa Cruz County’s Racist Historical Legacy, Voting Rights and The Legacy of Joaquin Avila, The Plight of The Farmworker, The School to Prison Pipeline, Criminal Justice Reform; Creating Systems of Accountability, Budget Justice and Reallocation, Finding Healing and Joy Along The Way, Deeper Understanding of “Color Blindness” & The U.S. Caste System.

The secondary goal of the TJLI will also be to provide participants the necessary skills, insight and understanding to effectively address the segregated reality of our community by transforming the institutions and systems creating the disparities. This will be done by facilitating the understanding of racism through the creation of a ‘Beloved Community’. This approach is founded on the principle that racism must be addressed at a systemic level rather than to focus on a set of isolated incidents of a few “bad apples”. The ‘Beloved Community ‘holds in its center a more holistic and interconnected approach of addressing oppression and centers the traditionally excluded realities of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, African, Islander, Middle Eastern People of Color.

This program is currently in development with a planned launch of early 2021. If you, or an organization you are affiliated with, is interested in participating please use the form below to sign up to receive the latest info about the program.