CLAY COUNTIANS FOR INCLUSION

Due to a myriad of reasons, many community members  are unaware of their community’s history. Schools typically don’t address the topic in much depth, and there are few other methods to reach most of a community’s members. One of Clay Countians for Inclusion’s endeavors is to educate our community on its history of racism, starting with the years leading up to the Civil War. In those years, Clay County residents owned a large number of slaves, and that legacy of slavery in our community continues to negatively affect the culture of Clay County. We believe that educating the community on this history will help move us all toward ongoing racial reconciliation.

While our early efforts have focused on racial and ethnic inclusiveness, our community must also work actively to address additional issues, from gender and ethnic bigotry to systemic discriminatory practices that effectively deny equal access to opportunity.  The first step toward having a just community is to understand the issues fully and how they interact with each other. Sharing our knowledge and experience with each other is one of many ways this can be accomplished.