We stand on the shoulders of giants.

Everything — every human being, idea, creative spark, every value and practice — is the natural expansion of what came before to address the needs of that time. REI is both the result of the past and a beginning. We seek to address injustice in a changing world, and we also seek to address the cause of that injustice, that it may cease to remake itself generation after generation.

REI was founded by Deena Hayes-Greene and Suzanne Plihcik in 2012 — two anti-racism trainers and community organizers, Black and White, who were lead trainers for Dismantling Racism Works and the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. Early in our organizational life, Monica Walker, also a People's Institute lead trainer, joined REI and the Leadership Team. The racial analysis on which their respective trainings were based remains the analysis shared by anti-racist organizers and trainers around the world — and the analysis on which REI's underlying principles are based.

REI and the movement for justice owe both organizations a great debt for their commitment and creativity, as well as for their intelligence and humor. We acknowledge those who came before us and often say, “We stand on the shoulders of giants,” for no one's sight and reach are entirely their own, but always a reflection of the foundation built for them.

As we began, we sought to build upon the analysis in which we were trained and to help others become more effective using a movement approach to organizing. To reach people who had no experience of the Civil Rights Movement or the history of race in the United States, we expanded how the very definition of racism was articulated, and worked to build partnerships between institutions and those they serve through shared power.

REI neither advertised nor sought work through proposals or grant-making, went nowhere uninvited — and the number of requests doubled in short order. REI's clients return year after year, and together we are travelers in the movement for justice.

It was REI's dream, from the beginning, to challenge the common charitable practice of locating the problem within those harmed by injustice. It was our dream to forward the understanding that charity is an unacceptable response to injustice, that the invisibility of power is the prerequisite to oppression, and that power is at the root of human experience — and to work alongside communities to grow their power and reclaim the vitality they once held.

Our history, although only 13 years old, is ancient. We are part of a continuum of learning and organizing that has been passed down for generations. We, too, pass it on in a contemporary voice, calling people to action in our time.

The Racial Equity Institute's approach focuses on racial inequity as an institutional and systemic manifestation that does not require the intention of individuals. We believe effective interventions must address the social systems themselves, because the root causes of disparate social and economic outcomes are connected to our history.

Because our training is designed to bring an analysis supporting institutional transformation, our approach differs from that of traditional consultants. A movement approach creates countervailing structures — caucuses and a core group, sometimes called the Equity Team — to hold the work of transformation. It recognizes the interconnectedness of all institutions, relies on collective wisdom, returns power to the communities served, and depends on ongoing reflection and evaluation.