About BRJE
About BRJE
Brookline for Racial Justice & Equity (BRJE) is on a mission to eliminate racism and all its vestiges in our lifetime.
About BRJE
About BRJE
Brookline for Racial Justice & Equity (BRJE) is on a mission to eliminate racism and all its vestiges in our lifetime.
Mission
We envision an accessible and inclusive Brookline where everyone can live, learn, work, visit, build power, and thrive free of racism and oppression.
We’ll get there by building an informed, motivated, and organized constituency for racial justice while leveraging our collective power to reshape the systems around us.
The Challenge
Racism doesn’t just impact interpersonal relationships. Systemic and institutional racism has a detrimental impact on entire communities — negatively impacting health, economic mobility, education, and more. This impact is evident across our community today:
Barriers like these create lifelong and intergenerational disparities that impair the ability of people of color (POC) to attain stability, access new opportunities, and create thriving communities. Further, systemic racism impacts everyone in this community, whether they identify as POC or not. For example, Brookline’s housing affordability crisis is rooted in restrictive practices like redlining — a policy that led to disinvestment in Black and immigrant communities and reinforced racial segregation.
Addressing these issues and eliminating racism will require bold solutions that build community, advance racially just policies, expand access and opportunities, and provide pathways for every community member to participate in the civic and social fabric of Brookline.
History
Before it was an organization, BRJE was a conversation, one that grew into a collective vision for a fairer, more inclusive Brookline.
Brookline for Racial Justice & Equity (BRJE) began in 2016, when a small group of educators, former students, and community members came together to examine how racism and inequity were present in Brookline. What started as a few heartfelt conversations grew into a movement for lasting, systemic change.
Led by retired high school teacher Abby Erdmann, the founding group included activist residents such as Abigail Ortiz, Jessica Wender Shubow, Jen Kiok, Arthur Conquest, and Emy Takinami. Each person brought a deep commitment to racial equity and a willingness to turn reflection into action. Conversations turned to organising. The group held its first community gathering of over fifty people in the basement of Sinai, a kickoff event that set the tone for honest dialogue and collective organizing.
As BRJE grew, the organization led with dedication, vision, and feistiness, bringing change in the schools supporting delevelling and the growth of The Calculus Project. BRJE moved beyond addressing racial justice and equity in schools to confronting systemic inequities across the town. The organization began hosting racial justice candidate forums, working to ensure that equity and inclusion were centered in key leadership positions both in town government and the schools.
From those early conversations and years of organizing, BRJE emerged as a grassroots, multiracial coalition dedicated to building awareness, advocating for equity, and fostering community relationships. Founding members included teachers, students, parents, and residents who believed that racial justice work begins at the local level with courage, compassion, and accountability.
Today, BRJE continues to honor those roots, centering community voices, promoting dialogue, and taking action to dismantle racism in all its forms. Our story began with connection and continues through collective commitment to justice.
Born from conversation. Built through community. Moving forward in justice.
This history was compiled with input from the founding members of BRJE.
Our Approach
BRJE is a direct response to the urgent need to eliminate the barriers that are preventing everyone in the Brookline community from reaching their full potential. We have nearly 10 years of experience working with and alongside Brookline community organizations and institutions.
Now, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, BRJE is preparing to launch a new strategy that aims to end racism in Brookline in our lifetime while also creating a playbook and best practices that communities across the country can follow through a powerful three-pronged approach:
Drawing on our roots as a community-led coalition, our work is driven by coalition-building events, community education, original research, policy development, and outcomes measurement that leverages the core strengths of Brookline to build an engine for change.
Our Team
Our team is led by Dr. Raul Fernandez, who serves as our Founding Executive Director and has deep experience working for racial justice as an academic, elected, and community leader.
Board of Directors
Our board is composed predominantly of people of color working alongside dedicated white allies – all committed to ensuring that our actions result in measurable progress that can be felt by those who need it most.
Want to join our team? Contact Us >>