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Our Elevating Equity Anti-Oppression Program (Elevating Equity) serves as an umbrella initiative comprised of diverse equity-focused offerings for individuals and organizations at various stages of their equity journey, while fostering a growing community dedicated to realizing a liberated society where all members can thrive. This multifaceted program includes various components, from tailored learning pathways (introductory to advanced levels), subject matter expert lectures on advocacy, peer dialogue groups, and a community of practice.
Through our Race-Equity Training Workshops, Reading & Dialogue Group, and Monthly Group Dialogue Sessions, including Communities in Conversation and Sipping in Solidarity, participants gain the tools, skills, and connections needed to recognize and take action against systemic oppression, and drive equitable change within all our organizations and communities and begin to dismantle white supremacist structures and practices.
Join us in creating a liberatory society where all people can thrive.
Exciting Programming Coming Soon!
Book Party with Dr. Tricia Rose Honoring the 30th Anniversary Edition of "Black Noise"
We’re so excited to share that Dr. Tricia Rose is returning!
Earlier this year, Dr. Tricia Rose celebrated the 30th Anniversary of Black Noise, which offered an analysis of hip hop and its ties to everyday life.
In honor of this anniversary, Dr. Tricia Rose released a 30th Anniversary eBook Edition of Black Noise! This special edition includes:
- New Essays from leading scholars, including Marc Lamont Hill, Robin D.G. Kelley, George Lipsitz, Nasir Marumo, and Andre C. Willis.
- A New Author Afterword where Dr. Rose challenges readers to reassess the current realities of hip hop study and culture.
- Integrated Media Access, which allows readers to engage directly with the music discussed in the text, with nearly 175 references to songs and lyrics that link directly to their original performances.
Join us on October 23rd for a special Book Party with Dr. Rose!
About Dr. Tricia Rose
Tricia Rose is widely known for her trailblazing insights and ability to deepen our understanding of complex, difficult social issues. Her candor and lively, engaging approach invite a broad range of people into the necessary conversations that open doors to new ways of seeing and understanding the world around us.
Over three decades, Tricia has inspired public audiences and generations of students at New York University, the University of California Santa Cruz and Brown University, where she now serves as Chancellor’s Professor of Africana Studies and Director of the Systemic Racism and Resilience Project at the John Nicholas Brown Center for Advanced Study.
Tricia earned her Ph.D. from Brown University and her B.A. from Yale University.
Elevating Equity Reading Group
Every six weeks, Gathering Ground convenes with a dynamic group of individuals for our Elevating Equity Reading Group.
What is our Elevating Equity Reading Group? Think of it as a book club – but not just any typical book club! We read thought-provoking materials such as Gabor Matés “Myth of Normal“, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paolo Freire, and “The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Nonprofit Industrial Complex” by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower“, and the New Jersey Institute of Social Justice’s “Reparations Now” report, and discuss how the readings may impact or parallel our day-to-day lives. The discussions that take place during our reading group have proven to be so meaningful that members call in from vacation to ensure they don’t miss it!
Interested in joining our Elevating Equity Reading Group? Send an email to Kacy O’Brien, our Director of Programming (kobrien@gatheringground.us).
Past Elevating Equity Programs
Let's Decolonize: An Intro to Practices, Movements, and Frameworks for Our Collective Liberation with Dr. franca roibal fernández
Gathering Ground had the privilege of welcoming Dr. franca roibal fernández to lead the a four-part workshop series, “Let’s Decolonize: An Intro to Practices, Movements, and Frameworks for Our Collective Liberation”, where we deepened our understanding of colonization and anti-colonialist structures in all its forms – not only as it relates to land and territory, but as it manifests across language, culture, identity, knowledge systems, and ways of being – and how interacts with intersectionality, racial capitalism, white supremacy, liberation-focused approaches, community building, and systemic and institutional barriers to true liberation.
Throughout the series, Dr. roibal fernández had us engage in readings from Galeano and Professor Kimberle Crenshaw, discussions, analysis of popular culture phenomena such as art and music including Bad Bunny, as she cultivated a space of intellectual exchange, exploration, and community education and engagement.
Way Out of No Way: Systemic Racism and Resilience with Dr. Tricia Rose
Gathering Ground was honored to welcome Dr. Tricia Rose to lead the the powerful four-part workshop series, “Way Out of No Way: Systemic Racism and Resilience“, which explored how systemic racism has and continues to shape the lives, choices, and opportunities of Black people in America. Through topical presentations, dynamic discussions, hands-on activities, and creative reflection, acclaimed scholar Tricia Rose helped us use systems thinking to uncover the drivers of disproportionate harm — and how to identify leverage points that can spark meaningful change.
Dr. Rose also expertly used the workshops to highlight the enduring legacy of African American imagination, resilience, and collective vision — learning from the many ways Black communities have always made “a way out of no way.”
Race Equity Training Series with Service Never Sleeps
Gathering Ground has been fortunate to welcome Whitney Parnell, Founder and CEO of Service Never Sleeps to our community five times, most recently in February 2026! Based in Alexandria, Virginia, SNS was founded in 2015 with a mission to address key social issues by connecting justice-minded individuals with meaningful opportunities to learn and serve. Through its signature Allyship curriculum, SNS has grown into an equity-focused organization that trains individuals to leverage their respective areas of privilege to advance racial justice as a lifestyle. With this approach, SNS has helped thousands of individuals and dozens of organizations advance their Allyship journeys, and deepen their equity commitments. SNS has worked to inform and mobilize a mass of people with this anti-racist framework, instilling a sense of urgency and responsibility to leverage their various forms of privilege to promote racial justice as an active practice.
