YWCA takes stand against racism

Race Against Racism raises money for racial justice programs

More than 100 runners took part in the YWCA’s Race Against Racism Color 5K in Pottstown.

POTTSTOWN » A sea of runners made Riverfront Park a little more colorful on Saturday.

Runners donning pristine white T-shirts didn’t keep them that way for long as they ran through bursts of powdery color during the YWCA’s Race Against Racism Color 5K. As more than 100 runners took their marks, volunteers lined the trail to douse participants in a rainbow of chalky colors to signify their stance against racism.

“The Race Against Racism is really to raise awareness about racial justice issues,” explained Stacey Woodland, executive director of the Tri-County YWCA Pottstown. “We really wanted to do it in a fun way and so that we raise money for our racial justice programs that we do all year long.”

And the fun angle seems to have worked. Participants were all smiles Saturday as they enjoyed the weather and crossed the finish line in an array of colors.

“We’re just getting started, but people have said that it’s been fun just hanging out before the race this morning and it’s a nice day out. It’s the last chance to be out before a few days of rain,” said Woodland.

According to the YWCA website, the race has helped raise $1,851 for the programs and this year it has brought in more people than the previous year and from a larger geographical area.

The Race Against Racism 5K was in connection to the national YWCA campaign called Stand Against Racism. The movement is about working for racial justice and creating awareness about the negative impacts of racism.

“We want to raise money to be able to offer racial justice programs especially in Pottstown School District. We just worked out an opportunity to work with high school teachers at the Pottstown High School over the summer for implicit bias training. So we hope it’s going to help really start to heal the community from the youngest up,” said Woodland. “We really want to have an impact on education equity. We’re really trying to have programs that help teachers and administrators understand their own implicit biases so that when they’re giving subjective discipline that it doesn’t disproportionately affect students of color.”

MARIAN DENNIS – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Volunteers cheered on runners in the Race Against Racism color 5K Saturday with cowbells, whistles and, of course, lots of colorful powder paint.

MARIAN DENNIS – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Volunteers were armed with bottles of powdery color Saturday ready to paint participants as they passed through checkpoints at the Race Against Racism in Riverfront Park.

MARIAN DENNIS – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA The first runners to cross the finish line Saturday donned colorful shirts after passing through several checkpoints where they were doused with bright colors.

MARIAN DENNIS – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Pink and yellow powder flew through the air Saturday as runners celebrated their approach to the finish line at the Race Against Racism in Riverfront Park.

MARIAN DENNIS – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Participants dashed toward the finish line Saturday as they were doused with a rainbow of colors at the Race Against Racism color 5K.

MARIAN DENNIS – DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Runners approach the finish line and bask in bursts of color Saturday during the Race Against Racism 5K.