Vision Statement
DiversityWorks envisions a future in which we assume a central role in our communities and have the tools, experiences, and courage to promote a more harmonious society, free of oppression.

A Short History of DiversityWorks
As we begin a new century, we are still haunted by the old demons of racism, discrimination, intolerance, ignorance and exclusion. We live among greater diversity than at any other time in our country's history, yet a vast number of individuals, families and communities still fail to welcome or understand the value of this diversity. And as the increase in hate crimes in this country attests, this lack of understanding is one of the core issues that threatens our society.

Founded in 1998 by J Moses Ceaser, DiversityWorks grew out of a very successful youth development and community-building program called the Northern Ireland Community Leadership Programme (NICLP). NICLP brought together Catholics and Protestants for a year-long experience in skill-building, service learning, and cross-community understanding.

Inspired by the transformational work of NICLP, DiversityWorks created a youth development program that fused together diversity training and peer mentoring for young people. DiversityWorks’ first program—which would later become The Works—involved 17 young people in an intensive year-long program where the participants looked deeply at issues of power, oppression, and community-building. Out of this pilot program grew a shorter 20 hour training program called Reality Check and another year-long youth-to-youth training program called DiverseCITY. In the first four years of the organization, DiversityWorks grew rapidly to serve hundreds of young people each year, and also took on co-sponsorship of the Appreciating Diversity Film Series.

In 2002, DiversityWorks moved its offices from Berkeley to Downtown Oakland, sharing a space with Leadership Excellence and Global Education Partnership. With the move to the new space, DiversityWorks added two new programs, The Spot and GOT Diversity, as well as a space where community members were welcome and could easily access all the organization’s programs and services. DiversityWorks was then able to serve more than a thousand people a year, and over this time, build up a wide base of support including hundreds of donors, volunteers, and community partners.

But while DiversityWorks’ programs flourished, the organization’s internal structure never fully developed and there were ongoing struggles with both funding and leadership. Instead of building up a base of resources, the organization found itself falling into debt and decided to temporarily close its doors in late 2006.

DiversityWorks has used the time since this closure to reflect upon the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, envision what is possible, and create a solid infrastructure to properly support the organization.

During our "hiatus", we continue to run the Appreciating Diversity Film Series and are also working feverishly on The Source, what promises to be the definitive database of diversity/anti-oppression activities for educators.