Multicultural BRIDGE

Background

Multicultural BRIDGE (Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups and Education) was founded in 2007 by left-of-center activists including Gwendolyn VanSant to advocate and train activists on left-wing racial theory and action. Later in June 2008, the organization was established as a charitable organization under the name Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups and Education Inc. ^{2 3 4}

Multicultural BRIDGE is an affiliate of the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition and Sidney Global. ¹

Views

In Multicultural BRIDGE’s 2022 “Race Equity Statement,” the organization’s board of directors declare that the organization is “anti-racist,” that its “central practice” has always been to conduct all of its activities through a “race, gender” lens, and that it is committed to “naming and disrupting white supremacy culture” within the organization itself, in part, by means of a specially established subcommittee of the organization that centers the voices of individuals the board describes as “historically marginalized in our organization.” ⁵

The organization published a statement aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement, which claimed that the death of George Floyd in May 2020 was the result of centuries of state-sanctioned violence and the “normalization of white supremacy.” ⁵

Activity

Multicultural BRIDGE maintains a variety of left-of-center critical race theory-aligned advocacy programs and services, including community and online trainings, workshops, policy campaigns, professional networks, consulting programs, and community groups. ⁶

In addition to providing free programming to nonprofit groups, Multicultural BRIDGE also provides “fee-based services” for businesses. ⁶

Advocacy

Multicultural BRIDGE engages in policy advocacy campaigns. For instance, in 2017, the organization operated a campaign in the town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts in support of policies prohibiting residents of the town from being subject to any discrimination on the basis of their race, sexual orientation, or immigration status; prohibiting the town’s police force from using a resident’s immigration status or professed beliefs as a basis for detention or surveillance; and establishing that the town would regularly communicate its policy to residents for how its police force works with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ⁷

Coalitions

Multicultural BRIDGE either leads or co-leads advocacy coalitions including Towards Racial Justice and Equity in the Berkshires, the Berkshire Trust Policy Partnership (formerly known as Great Barrington Trust Policy), the Town of Great Barrington Du Bois 150th Legacy Commission, and the Town of Great Barrington Du Bois 150th Town Manager Task Force. ¹

Funding

Organizations and government entities that have provided financial support to Multicultural BRIDGE include Greylock Federal Credit Union, Berkshire Bank, Berkshire Gas, General Dynamics, Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, Jacob’s Pillow Festival of Dance, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Bard College at Simon’s Rock Center for Equity and Inclusion, RISE at Kripalu, United States Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Services of the Civil Rights Division, Steve Narey, Donavon O’Connor and Dodig LLP, Stacie Collier, Nixon Peabody Law Firm, ​Jaclyn L. Kugell, Morgan Brown and Joy, and the Du Bois Center of Great Barrington. ¹

Leadership

Gwendolyn VanSant is the chief executive officer and co-founding director of Multicultural BRIDGE, as well as a member of the Berkshire County, Massachusetts branch of the NAACP. Previously, she was the co-curator and co-designer of the Du Bois 150th birthday festival commissioned by the Town of Great Barrington, a leader in the “Not in the Berkshires” coalition, and a founding director of equity and inclusion at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. ⁴

Michael Obasohan is the co-chair of Multicultural BRIDGE’s board of directors, as well as the chief diversity officer of the City of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Previously, he was the assistant director of diversity programs and multicultural education and associate director of college readiness and success at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, academic advisor at Berkshire Community College, and City Councilor in the municipality of North Adams, Massachusetts. ^{8 5}

J.V. Hampton-VanSant is the information technology director and digital strategist of Multicultural BRIDGE. Previously, she was the president of the Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition. ⁴

Silvia Soria is the women to women facilitator of Multicultural BRIDGE. Previously, she was an advocate and counselor at the Elizabeth Freeman Center. ⁴