about

Vielka G & Leah R, BHC

The InterRelations Collaborative was founded as a research and education group in 1991 in response to a rise in intergroup conflict in New York City. In 2001, the Collaborative was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting positive intergroup relations in immigrant and multi-ethnic communities across New York City.

Over the past several decades, major migrations from the Caribbean, Latin and South America, Africa and Asia have dramatically added to the diversity of resident populations in large metropolitan areas such as New York City. Increased immigration, however, has occurred during a time of declining urban resources (due to federal disinvestment of cities and dismantling of urban programs) prompting different groups at times to view each other as "economic competitors" affecting ways in which they interact with each other.

At the outset, IRC carried out exploratory research in the nation’s “gateway cities” (New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco) in order to identify "working" models of intergroup cooperation.

During the research, IRC found that in spite of a climate ripe for intergroup conflict, there were visionary individuals and organizations "in the trenches" carrying out unified efforts in many spheres of urban life. Fundamental to the success of these collaborative efforts was the political awareness that it was more productive for diverse groups to work together to improve conditions for all groups in cities than for them to work apart.

Cooperative research models indicated that requisites critical to the establishment and maintenance of favorable intergroup relations between conflict groups included: equal status contact, positive communication, cross-cultural exchange, and ongoing collaborative efforts.

IRC's research were cited in the New York State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Report, Resolving Intergroup Conflicts in New York City.

Our intergroup research was reviewed in Sage Race Relations Abstracts: "IRC's research has captured powerfully and effectively, the essence, the myriad problems and complexity of examining political and social relations in the USA, but is also aware of the significant political and cultural potential of the particular quality of these relations to change the very direction of public policy, urban and national politics in the USA."

The research findings were incorporated in IRC's intergroup relations-building programs and pilotted at colleges and universities having diverse student populations in the U.S. Northeast. Our educational programs were also adapted for students at public schools and community organizations in demographically changing neighborhoods in New York City.

In 2000, IRC was brought in to Sunset Park, Brooklyn by Sunset United (a collaborative of local community organizations established by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez's office) to build cross-cultural awareness and understanding following a series of intergroup conflicts there. Following year-long implementation of our inter-relations-building programs, the IRC was pleased to receive a Community Vision Award: "In recognition of your commitment to building bridges among our youth, celebrating the beauty of our diversity, and promoting a vision of peace and justice."

Following tragic events on September 11, 2001 and in response to a rise in intergroup violence, the Collaborative brought together young New Yorkers, ages 11-19, from across the City to participate in IRC's Post-9/11 PeaceMaking Initiative to diffuse intergroup tensions and build cross-cultural understanding.

The InterRelations Collaborative delivered testimony at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' New York City Hearings on Recommendations for Alleviating Intergroup Tensions in American Communities. IRC also contributed to the Violence Reduction and Prevention Initiatives Panel at the New York State Human Rights Division's Conference on Intergroup Relations.

IRC was represented as a networking group in "Walking The Walk," a National Network on Race, Class, Culture and Language sponsored by California Tomorrow. The Collaborative is also an organizational member of the Network of Alliances for Bridging Race and Ethnicity established by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC.