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Young Women’s Christian Association Syracuse held its fifth annual “Walk to End Racism” on Wednesday afternoon as a call to action against systemic racism in the city and Onondaga County.

“We know that all this systematic racism was created by somebody else that doesn’t exist anymore, but we are here,” said Fanny Villarreal, the executive director of the YWCA chapter. “So we … are ready to work together to make sure changes are going to be done.”

The chapter organized the walk to give Syracuse community members an opportunity to collectively demonstrate local efforts to combat racism and injustice through conversation and action, Villarreal said.

YWCA organizers and participants walked over a mile from YWCA’s main office building on Douglas Street and finished at the Onondaga County Courthouse.

At the courthouse, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon declared April 26 “YWCA Stand Against Racism” day. The pair also announced the week of April 29 is “YWCA Stand Against Racism” week for both the city and county.

McMahon and Walsh both denounced institutional and structural racism, encouraging residents to work toward embracing diversity and eliminating racism through dialogue, reflection and action.

Precious Gerald, a board member of the local YWCA, said in her opening address that this year’s theme for the walk — “Until Justice Just Is” — was partly inspired by the death of Brexialee Torres-Ortiz. The 11-year-old was killed in a drive-by shooting on Jan. 16 outside Dr. King Elementary School in Syracuse.

Gerald said participants should educate themselves on how inequities in health education, nutrition and employment contribute to creating an environment of poverty, which in turn leads to increased violence.

Approximately 30% of all Syracuse residents live below the poverty line, according to July 2022 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In March 2022, syracuse.com reported that Syracuse had the highest child poverty rate of any U.S. city with at least 100,000 people at over 48%.

Overall, Syracuse has the highest poverty rate for Hispanic people and the sixth-highest poverty rate for Black people in the nation, according to syracuse.com.

YWCA will also host its 25th annual “Day of Commitment” event Thursday morning, where members of different organizations including Jubilee Homes, Liberty Resources and Vera House will host diversity and inclusion workshops. Topics will include health equity, barriers to justice in the local community and trauma-informed care for Syracuse youth.

“We believe in the work that the YWCA is doing to stand against racism,” Gerald said. “It is part of our mission as an organization to help people in our communities live healthier and more secure lives. We are committed to making upstate New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.”

Published on April 27, 2023 at 12:08 am

Contact Dominic: dcchiapp@syr.edu | @DominicChiappo2