Dr. Laura Banks-Reed Center for Gender and Racial Equity

Dr. Laura Banks-Reed is one of the mothers of our movement and served as President of the YWCA Southern Arizona board from 1963 to 1965. In 1965 she was the first Black woman elected to the YWCA USA National Board, where she served until 1976. Along with a group of other Black women representing YWCAs from across the nation, Dr. Banks-Reed successfully advocated for the adoption of “eliminating racism” as the priority central to YWCA’s mission. At that convening, YWCA adopted the following as its “One Imperative:" To thrust our collective power toward the elimination of racism wherever it exists.



In honor of Dr. Laura Banks-Reed, and thanks to the David & Lura Lovell Foundation, the Dr. Laura Banks-Reed Center for Gender and Racial Equity launched in 2024, which has allowed us to expand our Racial Justice Center to include gender equity. The Center increases our impact in three key areas – Training & Education, Policy & Advocacy, and Community Engagement. This allows us to make real strides towards our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women while acknowledging what Dr. Banks-Reed has seen all along: the intersectionality of race and gender, along with so many other identities that can create, uphold, or eliminate systems of oppression, and the impossibility of achieving equity for one group without working on behalf of equity for all.

Support Our Work

YWCA is leading the following initiatives as part of a partnership with Pima County Justice Services and the MacArthur Foundation:


Community Listening Sessions - building relationships with grassroots groups and organizations led by system-impacted individuals, hearing from a wide range of voices about what the needs of our community are and what changes might get us closer to meeting them and providing a framework for advocacy toward these changes. YWCA recognizes that over the past two years, extreme political polarization, a global pandemic, and the national Movement for Black Lives have brought greater attention and intention to local conversations around inequity. We will be drawing from our own past work in this space, as well as the resources and approaches developed by YWCA at a national level, and the grassroots work already being done regionally, to continue being a leader in our community and inviting everyone to the table for a series of community listening sessions.


 Proactively Engaging Youth - YWCA’s own Pima County Teen Court is working to develop a community-centered process for examining the school-to-prison pipeline. YWCA will engage and hire teens who have experienced and completed the Teen Court program as facilitators for youth currently in the program, creating opportunities for mentorship and guidance.


Racial Justice Mini Grants - The mini grants were established to support grass roots organizations advancing racial equity and racial justice in Pima County. The grant opportunity supported efforts to transform systems that support racist norms and that produce outcomes that oppress and undermine the success of BIPOC communities.  Mini grants were funded by the McArthur Foundation Safety & Justice Challenge.



Center for Gender and Racial Equity

CGRE EVENTS

A list of upcoming events put on or co-sponsored by the Dr. Laura Banks-Reed Center for Gender and Racial Equity and the YWCA Southern Arizona.

PIMA COUNTY TEEN COURT

A youth-led diversion and restorative justice program, in which teens serve as jurors, attorneys, bailiffs, and clerks in hearings for their peers who have admitted guilt for an arrestable offense.

RACIAL JUSTICE CHALLENGE

An annual 21-Day challenge to learn more about and reflect on racial justice. Each week focuses on a new topic intersecting with racism and racialization, and folks who register will get an email each day with new podcasts, videos and articles to engage with.

RERoot Cohort

In partnership with Pima County Justice Services and Pillars & Bridges. Supported by Safety + Justice Challenge and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

In honor of Dr. Laura Reed Banks, donations of school supplies, backpacks, books, and gardening supplies may be sent to the Laura Nobles-Banks Elementary School of Tucson Unified School District located at 3200 S Lead Flower Ave, Tucson, AZ 85735.


The Dr. Laura Banks-Reed Center for Gender and Racial Equity was created with support from the Safety + Justice Challenge supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the David and Lura Lovell Foundation.