By Greg Archer | Contributing Columnist Making sure the Inland Empire is equipped with enough information and opportunities to successfully fight against all forms of racism is at the core of the Center Against Racism and Trauma, or CART. A recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation throug h its Community Impact Fund will allow the nonprofit to strengthen its work on that front and continue empowering individuals, communities, and local governments to help free systems from racist and discriminative roots. Racism is any prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their particular racial or ethnic group. Janice Rooths, CART’s executive director, credits the nonprofit organization for using a combination of systems change, community action, and youth engagement to generate real social change. Partnerships are key here. “We are always collaborating with other organizations,” Rooths said, noting the nonprofit provides racial equity tools and resources which can help policy makers reach decisions that help them understand the ways policies can discriminate. “We also appreciate people who want to volunteer,” she said. “Depending on their interests or concerns, we will try to find ways to work with them and perhaps point them to other community organizations that might specifically be doing something that falls under their concern.” People interested in volunteering can submit an email on CART’S website. Many find CART’s collaboration with various organizations to be instrumental in its progress. CART is working with several organizations in Riverside, including Antiracist Riverside, Starting Over, and Fair Housing to organize and try to retain the $20.1 million in Homekey+ funding from the state that was declined, Rooths said. “It’s a terrible thing,” she said, “but it feels like a trend.” Rooths work is across the region, and she says it’s happening in different places like the “school district declining $7.7 million from the Board of State and Community Corrections for disinvolved youth who are in the Palm Springs Unified School District.” CART’s various programs and educational arms may offset any perceived setbacks. Events, such as the Inland Empire Annual Antiracist Summit, also create opportunities for CART to expand its reach. In 2025, the organization featured social justice icon, scholar, and author Angela Davis, who addressed her book, “Are Prisons Obsolete?” and restorative justice. The nonprofit encourages people to consider its antiracist library, which features the works of writers Ibram X. Kendi (“How to Be an Antiracist”), Richard Rothstein (“The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America”), and Howard Zinn (“A People’s History of the United States”), among others. Rooths is hopeful for today’s youth. “Many of them are graduating this year, and they understand,” she said. “They care about having youth public spaces where they can congregate, and they care about what community concerns are.” She cites one group, the Perris Youth Coalition. Related Articles ‘Black Renaissance’ exhibit draws inspiration from historical movements These extraordinary women are ‘unsung heroes’ in Riverside Perris students learn to make mariachi music Riverside celebrates Year of the Horse at 14th annual Lunar Festival New Morongo school will combine three campuses into one “They’re a totally independent group,” Rooths said. “Our job is to support them in their work. We provide training and have meetings to help them to reach public officials.” On March 3, they were to meet with Perris City Councilmember David Starr Rabb about their concerns and desires around youth public spaces and public transportation. “I find young people to be extremely caring and concerned about everything that’s going on,” she said. “They want to do something about it. They just need the opportunity and support to make it happen.” For more information, visit destroyracism.org. Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy. To learn how you can create a fund that supports the causes you care about, contact the IECF Charitable Giving Team at [email protected] or  visit iegives.org for more information. ...read more read less