Welcome,

neighbor!

We show people like you how to cultivate white communities of practice focused on ending racism.

Welcome,

neighbor!

We show people just like you how to cultivate white communities of practice focused on ending racism.

BETTER NEIGHBOR LAB

A community of practicfor 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 

daily practice

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. 

  • Accountability 
  • Courage 
  • Curiosity
  • Feeling
  • Healing
  • Play
  • Rest

 our approach to change 

daily practice

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. 

  • Accountability
  • Courage 
  • Curiosity
  • Feeling
  • Healing
  • Play
  • Rest

 our approach to change 

daily practice

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. 

  • Accountability 
  • Courage 
  • Curiosity
  • Feeling
  • Healing
  • Play
  • Rest

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

Hi, neighbor

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 learning in ways that bring me closer to understanding myself and my history. I will forever be grateful for the light y'all shed so I could continue my journey toward living an antiracist life.

Annie Scott

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.

Shannon Shambaugh

Working with Rebecca and her team has been truly transformative, both professionally and personally!  I have felt seen, heard, valued, and loved, while also being challenged to unpack and understand the ways in which I show up as a white bodied person.  The skills and perspectives that I have gained through this work have strengthened my commitment to working to dismantle systems of oppression.

Sarah Lamb-Christensen

What's been your experience with us? Share it here.

Faq

Why do white people need communities of practice?

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.

Is this for me?

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. 

How much time will this take?

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.

What does it cost?

Virtual or in-person?

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.

To whom are you accountable?

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. 

Can I use/share the ideas and resources on your site?

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.

I used to get emails from JORE, but I stopped getting them. How can I subscribe?

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.

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