about

Vielka G & Leah R, BHC

The InterRelations Collaborative was founded as a research and educational organization 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 intergroup relations in immigrant and multi-ethnic communities across New York City.

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

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

During its research, the 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.

These 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.

The InterRelations Collaborative's research findings 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.

The Collaborative's intergroup research was also 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."

These research findings were incorporated in IRC's intergroup relations-building educational programs and pilotted at selected community organizations serving ethnically diverse populations in demographically changing neighborhoods throughout New York City. These educational programs were also adapted for rapidly diversifying student populations at schools, colleges and universities in New York City as well as the U.S. Northeast.

In 2000, the IRC was brought in to Sunset Park, Brooklyn by Sunset United (group of local community-based organizations established by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez's Office) to promote cross-cultural awareness and intergroup understanding following a series of intergroup conflicts occurring there. Year-long implementation of IRC's inter-relations-building programs was capped by a Community Vision Award reading: "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 the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and in response to a rise in intergroup violence, the InterRelations Collaborative brought together young New Yorkers from ethnically diverse communities across the City to participate in IRC's Post-9/11 PeaceMaking Initiative to diffuse intergroup tensions and prevent intergroup conflicts.

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

The IRC was also 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 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.