Today was a busy day. We went to visit the organization COC (Congress of Communities) who works mostly with the Latino population in Mexicantown but is open to anyone in Detroit. Their goal is for people from the community to get access to resources they lack. After getting to know their headquarters, they gave us a driving tour where we learned more about the city.
The next stop was the Detroit Eastern Market. There, we heard a presentation from the organization Detroit Equity Action Lab. Their goal is to uplift people of color to get into positions where they can combat structural racism. We also get to know about the projects that they have done. One thing we learned from them is shifting the mindset in the workplace and community to help improve the culture of the community. We ended the day with meeting the Eastside Mutual Aid group. We sat down and had an open dialogue, talking about racism and inequality and how to alleviate it. After the briefing we did some volunteer work at the place. Some of us created hygiene kits, we organized donated clothes and shoes. Lastly we had a final debriefing about our experiences and what more we can do. Overall it was a fun, eventful day. – Lucy and Benji