The YWCA of Asheville will officially kick off its annual Stand Against Racism campaign with a gala tomorrow night. But events throughout the city will last for nearly the next month.
The Black and White gala at the Crowne Plaza Resort is a fundraiser for the YWCA’s programs as well as the official opening of the campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of racism and increase efforts to combat it. But preliminary events have been taking place since late March.
Stand Against Racism campaigns happen throughout the country, but last year Asheville’s drew 159 participating organizations — more than any other — and marked a major expansion in the local efforts.
This year, fewer organizations — 124, including everything from local government to small businesses — have signed up so far (they have until the end of April 20 to join), but YWCA spokesperson Ami Worthen claims “there are more public events this year, which indicates a greater depth of participation.”
The YWCA and Stand Against Racism’s planning coalition chose to spread events over nearly two months. In addition to public events including film screenings, discussions, rallies, and plays, organizations are also offering a slew of private events.
More information on Stand Against Racism can be found here.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.