CORE

05/22/2026

An Update from CORE

For over 20 years, Communities Organizing for Racial Equity (CORE; formerly CORR) has pursued anti-racist transformation. We believe the vision of community depicted in scripture is one where people of all nations, tribes, and tongues come together to find unity across our differences. The challenges we face as a nation, as a community, and as people of faith, make it clear to us that this work and vision is needed today. What is less clear is the role we, as the organization of CORE, have in that work beyond this year.

We want to share with you that CORE’s future is uncertain. Over the last 2-3 years it has been a challenge to fill our workshops and we have had to cancel multiple times due to low registrations. Canceling is always a difficult decision for us. We know it impacts our partners who are counting on the training as well as our staff and budget. We are offering two workshops this year and we want to ensure that these can be held. We’ve reduced the rate to $100 in order to increase accessibility and be generous with funds we currently have.

During this season, the CORE Collective (our staff and board of directors) invites you to do the following:

Pray for the CORE Collective, for discernment and wisdom for next steps.

Share our upcoming workshops! Dates are below, please click link below for registration details.

June 4-6 (Thursday Evening- Saturday)

November 13 & 14 (Thursday & Friday)

Let us know if you have any questions or ideas about our future sustainability. You can email us at [email protected] Collective will review these weekly and get back to you as soon as we are able to.



If you’ve been to a workshop you know that we always start with two things. We light the Christ candle, acknowledging Jesus’ presence with us in this work. We also introduce the Sankofa Bird, the inspiration behind our logo. The word "Sankofa" can be translated as, "go back to the past and bring forward that which is useful." The symbol is based on a mythical bird with its feet firmly planted forward while twisting its beak behind itself, in order to bring forth an egg from its back. To the Akan tribe in Ghana, it is the wisdom in learning from the past which ensures a strong future. While CORE’s future may be uncertain, our work over these last decades has been invested in all of you. While it may look different than it has, may we all continue to work toward the beloved community together.

Register for Upcoming Workshops
https://www.corenow.org/upcoming-events

05/13/2026

CORE Understanding Racism Workshop June 4-6 -

CORE invites you to join us at our June 2026 Understanding Racism workshop. Our workshop registration for Thursday, June 4 to Saturday, June 6 workshop is still happening! Come join us and explore racism and its devastating effects. CORE exists to empower and equip churches and other Christian organ...

04/24/2026

https://mailchi.mp/eb8a8e265e3e/an-update-from-core?e=[UNIQID]

For over 20 years, Communities Organizing for Racial Equity (CORE; formerly CORR) has pursued anti-racist transformation. We believe the vision of community depicted in scripture is one where people of all nations, tribes, and tongues come together to find unity across our differences. The challenge...

01/20/2026

10/29/2025

Join CORE in November for Two Events -

The first is the CCDA conference. CORE will be leading a preconference event on Wednesday, November 5 from 1-4 pm. This event is called Internalized Racial Identity and Caucusing. We invite all races/ethnicities to a meaningful experience that creates space to unlearn harmful messages about race and...

10/03/2025

"In the last few months I’ve heard folks wonder if there is anything we can do as we see the hold of authoritarianism in our government get increasingly stronger, as Christian Nationalism’s power grows, and as violence and oppression of Black and Brown communities only intensifies. Perhaps you’ve wondered, as I have, how to hold onto the hope Jesus promises us, in the midst of this darkness.

One of the ways I’ve cultivated hope is by being a member of the CORE Collective. Being a part of a team that supports and encourages one another in this work, as well as debriefs and shares how today's challenges are impacting each of us, has been invaluable. We invite you to join us in this work as we seek to understand the roots of racism: how racism has grown and established itself in our systems and in our selves, and what the fruit of this growth looks like in our communities and nation. Once we have this understanding we can move forward in truth and hope, and take steps towards healing.

Attending and participating in a CORE workshop is an act of hope, grounded in the reality of how difficult the challenges we face are and have been. Act with hope and join us for our last workshop of the year, November 13 & 14. Click the button below for more details and to register! You can come with a congregation or organization, as an individual, or bring someone you know is ready to act in hope with you."

-Alaina Dobkowski, CORE Apprentice and Grand Rapids Mennonite Fellowship Pastor

Register HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1681446434549?aff=oddtdtcreator

09/22/2025

Help us spread the word about our last 2025 Understanding Racism workshop! -

We have had several request from organizations and individuals to have one more workshop this calendar year. Due to having to cancel two workshops this year, we have decided to offer one more workshop, November 13 and 14! And we need your help to promote it so it is well attended. Please share this....

09/12/2025

Last 2025 CORE Workshop -

We have had several request from organizations and individuals to have one more workshop this calendar year. Due to having to cancel two workshops this year, we have decided to offer one more workshop, November 13 and 14! And we need your help to promote it so it is well attended. Please share this....

08/06/2025

LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP -

Communities Organizing for Racial Equity (formerly CORR) will host an in person anti-racism workshop

05/09/2025

CORE is excited to host our next workshop in just under a month. Checkout out the info above and visit our website to register!

Are you struggling to follow or understand so many of the current US and world headlines? Are you wondering how they fit into historical context and events? Then consider joining us for this two day Understanding Racism workshop, where we unpack and analyze the systems, policies and practices that created and perpetuate racism and other forms of oppression and how current events and policies play into these systems and maintain certain ideologies. Whether you’ve been to a CORE workshop once, many times, or not at all, we would love for you to join us in this exploration. Register at: corenow.org.