Showing Up for Racial Justice-Santa Cruz County, CA

Cultivating Care

4th Monday of the Month • Next Meeting March 23rd • 5:30-7:30 PM • Free •
Branciforte Library • 230 Gault St. • Santa Cruz • Wheelchair accessible

Our Purpose
In the spirit of collective, interconnected liberation, the intention of Cultivating Care is to actively build anti-racist culture by understanding and dismantling white supremacy as it exists in ourselves and our culture. While we are clear that we must also work in relationship with Black and BIPOC humans to create new systems where all people are valued and thriving, this group is for being in compassionate relationship with each other to address our whiteness. This container is for all of us, wherever we are on our racial justice journey, to have courageous, vulnerable conversations that foster belonging, healing, calling in and showing up.

This space is for:

White people who are new to anti-racism work and want a place to begin learning responsibly
White people who have been engaged in this work and want to continue deepening their practice
People who are willing to be challenged, reflect on their impact, and take accountability for harm
Participants who understand that this space is about learning, not perfection
People who understand this is ongoing work, not a one-time learning experience

Why is this space centered on white people? Are you centering whiteness?
For decades—and longer—Black and BIPOC leaders have called on white people to “get your people”: to take responsibility for organizing within white communities and addressing racism there. Because of racism, white people often have greater access to and influence with other white people, and therefore, have a responsibility to engage their people and communities in this work. This space is one response to that call.

Is this space only for white people?
No. Everyone is welcome to attend. However, the content, focus, and structure of the group are designed primarily to support white people in their anti-racism learning and organizing.

Register here for Cultivating Care

Cultivating Care

4th Monday of the Month • Next Meeting February 23rd • 5:30-7:30 PM • Free •
Branciforte Library • 230 Gault St. • Santa Cruz • Wheelchair accessible

White people who are new to anti-racism work and want a place to begin learning responsibly
White people who have been engaged in this work and want to continue deepening their practice
People who are willing to be challenged, reflect on their impact, and take accountability for harm
Participants who understand that this space is about learning, not perfection
People who understand this is ongoing work, not a one-time learning experience

Enter the New Year of the Fire Horse: Honoring Chinese American Legacies

Saturday • Feb 21 • 3 pm – 5 pm PM • Doors open 2:30 PM • Free
Resource Center for Nonviolence & ONLINE • 612 Ocean Street • Santa Cruz

Explore Chinese-American legacy with Stanford Professor Gordon H. Chang, Flex Kids Culture founder Rui Li, and developer George Ow, Jr.
Join the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV) for an afternoon dedicated to reclaiming a fuller history of Chinese people in the United States and the Monterey Bay region. This special event honors the Lunar New Year by celebrating stories of resilience, labor, and the ongoing work to build a “Beloved Community”.

Professor Gordon H. Chang is interested in historical connections between race and ethnicity in the United States and trans-Pacific relations in their diplomatic as well as their cultural and social dimensions. He is a highly awarded scholar, co-founder of Stanford’s Asian American Research Center, and a member of the Committee of 100. His most recent book was published in 2025, a collection of essays titled War, Race, and Culture: Journeys in TransPacific and Asian American Histories (Stanford University Press).
Rui Li, executive director of Flex Kids Culture, is a community leader and educator dedicated to fostering international academic exchange and cross-cultural understanding. Rui, through Flex Kids Culture, was instrumental in the printing and distribution of 5000 copies of the Chinese version of Sandy Lydon’s seminal local history Chinese Gold. She is currently producing a documentary based on the book.
George Ow, Jr. is a developer, philanthropist, and community pillar born in Santa Cruz’s last Chinatown. George was key to the publication of Sandy Lydon’s Chinese Gold in its full glory. He continues on his enduring quest to ensure Chinese Americans receive the credit and recognition they deserve for building this nation and to honor and give peace to the spirits of an unacknowledged history.
This conversation will delve into the recovery of lost histories, the meaning of nonviolent community building, and the personal journeys of ensuring that early immigrant generations are no longer forgotten.

RSVP

Read this Op-Ed: Let’s decriminalize mental illness: Santa Cruz doesn’t need a mental health jail

Lookout recently published an op-ed written by a couple of members of our Care Not Cages group, responding to a recent Lookout interview with Sheriff Clark where he floated an idea to build a mental health jail. We know that jail is not treatment, and incarceration only deepens trauma and mental illness.

From the article’s quick-take:

“Instead of building new jail cells, they believe Santa Cruz County should invest in robust community mental health services, diversion programs, bail reform and early intervention that keep people out of jail and connected to care.”

Read the op-ed here.