Mission

The mission of Racial Trust Building, Inc., is to bridge the racial divide in Troup County through trust-building, research, community collaboration, and action in order to remove barriers that prevent full access to opportunities for all.

Vision

We envision a Troup County that is a thriving community where trust is built, unity is developed, hope is inspired, and equal access to opportunity is assured for all people.

History

In 2015, former Troup County Commission Chair Ricky Wolfe and former State Representative Carl Von Epps, Jr., combined their energy and their passionate belief in building a healthy community for all of the citizens of Troup County to spearhead an initiative to address an issue that had been alternatively overlooked, denied, or adjudged too challenging to resolve. The issue was race relations.  The initiative became Racial Trust Building, Inc..

Wolfe and Epps introduced the proposal to multiple stakeholders, including county and city government officials and business, public service, and community leaders.  Citizens discussed the concept in print media as well - some were staunchly opposed to the initiative based on dialogue intended to acknowledge and eliminate barriers, while others embraced the opportunity to bring historic and current racial issues to the surface in a thoughtful process that would result in stronger interpersonal relationships within the county.

Early supporters included the leadership of the cities of LaGrange, Hogansville, and West Point, and LaGrange College, the host for the training sessions.  Their support provided the early funding for the training sessions and community breakfasts that are key to meeting the desired outcomes of the organization.

 In launching the initiative, Von Epps and Wolfe sought the expertise of the leaders of Southern Truth and Reconciliation (STAR) and Hope in the Cities.  STAR, organized in Atlanta in 2003, partners with communities that desire to acknowledge their historical past of racial conflict and injustice while creating a new narrative built on reconciliation and justice. STAR facilitated the first trust-building workshop held in LaGrange in March 2015, attended by 30 invited community leaders. The participants held honest, sometimes difficult conversations that acknowledged the county's racial history and addressed the current environment and perspectives held about "the other". Many who completed the workshop made a commitment to work toward building a community in which issues of racial, social, and economic justice are not characterized by "us" and "them", but are understood as "we". 

Since that initial day-and-a-half session, over 350 residents have completed weekend training sessions at LaGrange College. Each Level 1 and Level 2 training session is facilitated by Hope in the Cities, Richmond, VA., an organization with over two decades of success in facilitating dialogue that leads to the acknowledgment of historical issues, acceptance of personal accountability, and reconciliation that follows trust-building.

While Epps and Wolfe take pride in the bridge-building that has been accomplished to date, the goal is to engage more residents in training, continue to educate about issues such as implicit bias that hinder healthy cross-racial relationships, train more local residents to become facilitators in the process and collaborate with like-minded organizations throughout the county. The organization of Racial Trust Building, Inc. is the means by which those goals may be accomplished.

 Organization

Racial Trust Building, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization registered in Troup County, GA. TAs the initiative continued to evolve, the Board decided to name the organization Trustbuilding Inc., with Racial Trustbuilding being one of the program components. The organization is governed by a 16-member volunteer Board of Directors appointed in 2017. Board selection is designed to represent the diversity of Troup County, with elected officials, community leaders, educators, clergy, and organization leaders serving on the Board. The elected board officers are President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  The organization recently hired its first Executive Director, Chalton Askew.

All activities of the organization are designed to support the mission: to bridge the racial divide in Troup County through trust-building, research, community collaboration, and action, in order to remove barriers that prevent full access to opportunities for all. The organization's long-term vision is that Troup County will be a thriving community where trust is built, unity is developed, hope is inspired and equal access to opportunity is assured for all people.

Programs

Racial Trustbuilding Workshops (Level I & Level II)

Trustbuilding Breakfast Series

Book Studies/Talks