21-Day Equity Challenge

21-Day Equity Challenge

ABOUT THE 21-DAY EQUITY CHALLENGE

The 21-Day Equity Challenge is an opportunity to expand our shared knowledge and understanding of the historic and persistent inequities that play a role in our social and economic landscape here in Acton and Boxborough.

  • Each day, October 1st-21st, receive an email with content to learn about a specific topic
  • 100% FREE to participate
  • Daily topics include Understanding Privilege, Housing & Redlining, Justice System Inequities, Allyship, and many more

The experience deepens understanding, suggests ways to take action, and helps launch what we hope will be a lifelong commitment to improving equity and inclusion in our community.

The 21-Day Equity Challenge was originally developed in 2014 by speaker and educator Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., who created the concept as a way for participants to build habits of seeing and addressing racial inequity. In 2015, Food Solutions New England adapted the challenge as an annual way for their supporters to learn about racism in relation to the work the organization does. Since then, many companies and organizations have adapted their model to highlight inequities and injustices in communities across the country.

Following the national reckoning on racial inequity and police brutality in 2020, Acton-Boxborough United Way embarked on an effort to expand both our incorporation of diversity, equity and inclusion into our organizational practices and culture, as well as create sustainable change in our community.

Drawing on content pioneered by United Way chapters like United Way of Washtenaw County and United Way of Des Moines, a small team from A-B United Way's IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism) Team developed a 21-Day Equity Challenge specific to Acton and Boxborough.

We recognize that every person is on their own journey of understanding equity and inclusion. It is our hope that no matter where you are on this journey or what your lived experiences are that you can gain something new from participating in this challenge.

Thank you to our community partners for amplifying this challenge:

AB School Logo   UCC Boxborough   St MetthewsFirst Connections


Find each day's content here:

Day 0 - Pre-Challenge Email

Day 1 - Defining Race and Racial Identity 

Day 2 - Stereotypes

Day 3 - Privilege 

Day 4 - Levels of Racism

Day 5 - Internalized Racism

Day 6 - Addressing our Internal Biases

Day 7 - Personal Reflection and Biases (Microaggressions)

Day 8 - Institutional Racism

Day 9 - Systemic Racism

Day 10 - Housing Inequality

Day 11 - How Your Race Affects Your Health

Day 12 - Racialized Outcomes in Early Childhood

Day 13 - Education & School-Aged Children

Day 14 - Politics & Race

Day 15 - The Racial Wealth Gap

Day 16 - Criminal Justice System

Day 17 - Equity & The LGBTQ+ Community

Day 18 - Building A Race Equity Culture

Day 19 - Tools for the Race Equity Change Process

Day 20 - Final Reflections

Day 21 - Take Action in Acton & Boxborough