Welcome,
We show people like you how to cultivate white communities of practice focused on ending racism.
Welcome,
We show people just like you how to cultivate white communities of practice focused on ending racism.
BETTER NEIGHBOR LAB
A community of practice for white people committed to ending racism
Find your people
Connect with members to be challenged and strengthened
Embrace your role
Develop the will and skill to make a difference
Nurture your practice
Tend your commitment to ending racism daily
CONSULTING
Purposeful, humanizing support for teams committed to ending racism
Grow capacity
Cultivate white change agents to make a greater impact
Re-think ideas
Thought partnership for leaders and equity teams
Transform conflicts
Accountability absent shame or blame for the good of all
BETTER NEIGHBOR LAB
A community of practice for white people committed to ending racism
Find your people
Connect with members to be challenged and strengthened
Embrace your role
Develop the will & skill to make a difference
Nurture your practice
Tend your commitment to ending racism daily
CONSULTING
Purposeful, humanizing support for teams committed to ending racism
Grow capacity
Cultivate white change agents to make a greater impact
Re-think ideas
Thought partnership for leaders and equity teams
Transform conflicts
Accountability, absent shame or blame, for the good of all
our approach to change
We often think liberation is for someone else or that it is out of reach. It is neither. Instead, it's relational, life-affirming, close to home, and transformational.
When humanizing values are baked into our daily routines, we are more prepared to withstand the pressure to see ourselves or someone else as not fully human.
While the commitment to practice every day begins in private, it is evidenced in public as we become the people we say we want to be.
our approach to change
We often think liberation is for someone else or out of reach. It is neither. Instead, it's relational, life-affirming, close to home, and transformational.
When humanizing values are baked into our daily routines, we are more prepared to withstand the pressure to see ourselves or someone else as not fully human.
While the commitment to practice every day begins in private, it is evidenced in public as we become the people we say we want to be.
our approach to change
We often think liberation is for someone else or out of reach. It is neither. Instead, it's relational, life-affirming, close to home, and simple but not easy.
When humanizing values are baked into our daily routines, we are more prepared to withstand the pressure to see ourselves or someone else as not fully human.
While the commitment to practice every day begins in private, it is evidenced in public when we become the people we say we want to be.
Ready. Set. Go.
Get 30-days of ideas to jumpstart your Daily Practice here
Ready. Set. Go.
Get 30-days of ideas to jumpstart your Daily Practice here
I used to think that my liberation journey was driven by the urge to change myself and my white community. But I've realized that change isn't what drives me; it's love.
There was a time when Jomo asked me, "Bec, do you love white people?" and I said, "No," emphatically. But that conversation helped me understand that without love, the urge to change is flawed.
My north star is ending racism, and my how is becoming a better neighbor to all living beings. Day by day, I'm changing, and so are many of you.
I love us. I believe in us.
They say
I'm a white male raised in a chaotic home by a single mom, and for most of my adult life, I thought that my humble roots gave me an understanding of the struggles people face. Through looking at myself, I'm realizing that my experiences navigating the world are nothing like the experiences of individuals in the BIPOC community.
Join. Period. Like driver's ed or self-defense. These are life skills. If you think you're progressive, liberal, and aware, chances are - you're not. Put your money where your mouth is and do this work. It's not easy, but you won't regret it.
Working with Rebecca has been a transformational experience for me personally and for Evergreen Public Schools! Rebecca introduced tools to help me and my white colleagues understand dominating patterns that interfere with equity progress. She provided us with a brave affinity space to practice using tools to interrupt these harmful patterns and replace them with patterns that enable us to relate to others and build a culture of dignity and belonging.
What's been your experience with us? Share it here.
For most white people - our families, friends, neighborhoods, workplaces, churches, and schools are very white. Yet with all this opportunity, we rarely talk about race.
In her book, Mindful of Race, Ruth King says, "In a racial affinity group, we put ourselves in intentional spaces with people of our same race, where we can be vulnerable, challenged, and unedited; to examine the stories we have been told and the stories we tell ourselves; to lean toward what is unfamiliar and away from what is habitual; and to understand what is difficult to acknowledge, feel, and attend to within us and among us as a racial group."
We can't say it any better than that.
We believe that white people, as the non-targets of racism, have the greatest responsibility to end it. That means we have to come together with purpose in order to become equipped to make a difference. Remember, you don't have to change the world; just change your world.
The short answer? Yes. Liberation is for everyone.
The long answer? Yes. Tricked ya! Here's the thing, many white people wonder, "Who will be there?" as a metric for determining if a group is as evolved as we believe ourselves to be. But what we are really saying is that we don't want to feel the frustration, terror, anger, and inadequacy that come when we face the fact that, despite our best efforts, racism is still present in our community. This is avoidance and superiority masked in righteousness, and it's not only misguided, it's destructive. If you are far along on your journey, then show us how it's done by being effective at capturing the hearts and changing the minds of people who are not as far along as you are. And may we always remember that every space is an opportunity to practice and grow.
Until the joyous day when racism has ended, liberation-minded white people must keep at it.
Think of your liberation journey like hygiene for your humanity...it's a daily practice.
If you feel discouraged by that, just remember that public perception about seat belts, disordered substance use, and incarceration have and are changing, which is a great reminder of the possibility of large-scale change.
Both. 90% virtual, 10% in-person. We have developed a uniquely human way to gather virtually that engages your senses through rituals, play, and rest. If you want, we share more thoughts here.
I, Rebecca, would not be who I am today without the community of liberation-focused Black, Indigenous, Latina, and white people who have rigorously challenged, strengthened, guided, invited, and loved me to a more whole version of myself. I honor those relationships through a daily practice of taking accountability for my mistakes. This practice continues to teach me that accountability is one of the most life-affirming choices I can make because it fuels connection and dislodges fear.
The prevailing thought that white people should be held accountable by the targets of racism is a flawed model that promotes transactional relationships, which are inherently unjust and must be abandoned. In our spaces, we cultivate the will and skill for white people to rigorously hold themselves accountable, rooted in Jomo's wisdom, "Changed behavior is the only apology that matters."
I invite critical feedback with an appreciation for the role it plays in my life to expand my awareness, and I am committed to repairing the mistakes I make.
If you find something useful, then use it. If you'd like to share - do it. Everything on our site is available to the community. If you would, please credit JORE Consulting if and when you use our materials.
In August of 2023, we introduced Better Neighbor Lab and closed down our JORE email list, which you probably missed because your email gremlins thought we were spam. 🙄 In any case, we no longer write from JORE, so if you want to keep hearing from us, click here to subscribe.