Our Founder and History

History of ERASE Racism

Advocates have been the backbone of the United States for centuries. Consistently, they hold a mirror up to government and the public to reflect barriers to progress for all. In that light, ERASE Racism was founded more than twenty years ago to expose structural racism and its insidious effects on equal opportunities for all, with a particular focus on access to housing and equitable education.

ERASE Racism was founded in June 2001 by Elaine Gross as a special initiative of the Long Island Community Foundation (LICF), the then 24-year-old division of the New York Community Trust. The LICF Board and staff had long recognized racism as a critical issue affecting Long Island, though they received few funding requests from organizations seeking to directly address this issue. In 1999, LICF began convening a diverse group of individuals interested in racism, social equity, and human rights to listen to invited speakers and share their ideas, experiences, and concerns.

Elaine Gross was invited to participate in one of these forums in March 2001. Her comments challenged the LICF to move beyond discussion into action. Ms. Gross was hired as a consultant to help determine how LICF could meaningfully engage in these issues. Her recommendation was to focus LICF's work on identifying and addressing institutional and structural racism. There was consensus to move forward with Elaine's recommendations and, with funding from participants in the donor forums, board members and others who shared an interested, ERASE Racism was founded.

In keeping with LICF's initial intent, ERASE Racism separated from LICF in 2004, incorporated, obtained IRS tax-exempt status and began functioning as an independent not-for-profit organization. As it formed its Board local civil rights icons joined, many of who remain on the Board today, including: Howard Glickstein, Esq.; Marge Rogatz; Fred Brewington, Esq.; and Christine Vargas.

Significant Achievements and More Work Ahead

As Elaine has stated, "The world is changing. We need to be able to live together, work together and for our children to go to school together."

The structurally racism governmental policies that have discriminated against people of color for generations in this country are harmful not only to these communities, but to every community. Integrated communities allow us to move closer to racial equity - particularly in housing and education - and benefit society-at-large.

As ERASE Racism moves through this period of leadership change, we are as focused on our mission as we ever have been.

Elaine reminds us that, "[s]tructural racism must be addressed now. I invite you to consider the urgency of our movement. We cannot wait. It is a steep climb but if we wait, we will likely roll backwards."

We invite you to participate in this work with us.

Click here for the PDF version of our tribute to Founder Elaine Gross

Action in housing and community development

Long Island is among the ten most racially segregated metropolitan regions in the county due, in large part, to housing discrimination. Effective, local fair housing laws and nondiscriminatory affordable housing policies, combined with vigilant fair housing enforcement and aggressive affirmative actions to further fair housing can help ensure that all people have equal access to housing and none are kept out of communities by discriminatory practices and policies.

ERASE Racism's accomplishments in addressing housing discrimination include:

ERASE Racism submitted a civil rights complaint to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) alleging that Nassau County discriminates against African-Americans and perpetuates racial segregation in the administration of its housing and community development programs.
In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, ERASE Racism began to take action to ensure that federal relief funding is utilized promptly in a nondiscriminatory manner.
ERASE Racism and other nonprofit organizations spearheaded a successful campaign to pass a bill in Suffolk County that protects renters from discrimination based on the legal source of income utilized to pay for housing.
ERASE Racism has conducted testing for housing discrimination and has successfully settled cases in which the owners or landlords were found to be discriminating against prospective African American renters.
ERASE Racism has produced detailed research reports that demonstrate rampant racial discrimination throughout Long Island.
ERASE Racism has lead a coalition of over 20 organizations across Long Island to advocate for affordable and inclusive housing for individuals and families.
ERASE Racism has led advocacy that resulted in the enactment of 9 fair housing laws in New York State that prevent bias and discrimination and promote fair housing.

Action in creating education equity

The Education Equity Initiative identifies unequal access to quality public schools and works to increase opportunities for black and Latino students to receive a high quality education and for all students to learn in racially diverse schools and classrooms.

Accomplishments in advancing the goal of education equity include:

ERASE Racism produced a documentary, A TALE OF TWO SCHOOLS: Race and Education on Long Island, which has already been seen by thousands of people.
ERASE Racism has produced various reports, maps, graphs and other resources that show the link between racial segregation and educational inequities.
ERASE Racism has created an Education Equity Working Group to identify and advocate for strategies to create racially integrated schools and classrooms.
ERASE Racism engages more than 300 student leaders each year in advocacy, leadership training, and experiential learning.
ERASE Racism hosts two annual, student-led conferences with over 200 students from 19 different districts across the counties to connect and discuss solutions for the challenges facing their communities as a consequence of structural racism.
ERASE Racism hosts a paid, 6-week internship for high school students to lead and conduct research in their communities and design an action or a program to advance equity locally.
ERASE Racism's Student Task Force provides tools and opportunities throughout the year for students to discuss the issues in their schools and collectively strategize solutions, lead events and programming for other students, and make meaningful connections across district and socio-economic lines.
ERASE Racism regularly publishes groundbreaking research that evidences ongoing and enormous inequities in Long Island's segregated schools.

Action in educating the public

ERASE Racism has utilized an innovative outreach program to reveal how racial disparities continue to deeply affect people of color and the region as a whole. Its Race and Racism Dialogues have created an environment where talking about racism is no longer taboo and myths can be dispelled. ERASE Racism has established itself as an expert on issues related to structural racism on Long Island and elsewhere, which is evidenced by numerous speaking engagements and interviews.

ERASE Racism's accomplishments in raising awareness about structural racism include:

ERASE Racism has educated hundreds of students through its Student Leadership Program, which is a series of workshops that teach students about the history of race in the U.S., the ways that structural racism still affects us today, and what students can do to make a difference in their communities.
ERASE Racism has held several Annual Youth Roundtable Events, which are special opportunities for Long Island students to learn from modern-day civil rights champions and leaders who are making a difference in the fight for racial equity.
ERASE Racism has held dozens of diversity trainings for adults. These trainings provide a context, framework, and language for understanding the realities of racism and how individuals can work to dismantle racism in their personal and professional lives.