ABOUT KARE
OUR HISTORY
Knox Alliance for Racial Equality was organized in 2018. Several of our founding members had been talking about the need for an organization to address racial issues in Knox County long before the group’s founding, but heightened national attention to issues of racism and white supremacy in the wake of the killings of people of color and the 2016 election galvanized us to do more. In 2017, some of our founding members came together to discuss what could be done to promote racial and social justice locally. In February 2018, fifty people attended a public meeting to discuss the need for a local organization dedicated to the work of challenging racial inequality in our community. After several open community meetings where we considered forming a local branch of an existing national organization, we decided that a grassroots community model would work best for Knox County. We held our first KARE meeting in August 2018 and currently have approximately one hundred members. KARE incorporated as a nonprofit in 2020.
WHY WE EXIST
Many of us have been asked why Knox County needs an organization like KARE. We hear that Knox County has no racial problems, that everyone is treated the same, and that folks here don’t even see color. But KARE views colorblindness—or the unwillingness or inability to see how race shapes everyone’s daily experiences—as part of the problem we seek to address.
Living in a predominantly white community, it can be easy to ignore how systemic racism and racial inequality has operated in the past and how it continues to shape many aspects of American political, social, and economic life. In fact, many well-intentioned residents of Knox County may not even know this history or have much practice in recognizing systemic racism. KARE exists because we believe that all Americans, no matter where they live, have a responsibility to understand how race and racism affect us all.
While Knox County is a friendly community, it does not always feel welcoming to people of color. Not only has the county been the site of violent racist incidents, but the Confederate flags that can be seen flying from houses or on bumper stickers, the county’s history of commemorating blackface minstrel performer Daniel Decatur Emmett, and the lack of attention to the histories and experiences of diverse groups in the local school curricula all send the message that Knox County does not fully embrace its Black and Latino residents or the many students of color who spend four years at Kenyon or the Mount Vernon Nazarene University. KARE wants to ensure that Knox County is equally welcoming to all its residents. We also want to promote the value of diversity and to increase diversity in the county.
OUR STRUCTURE
KARE is a nonprofit 501c3 organization. We are governed by an elected executive board and co-chairs with two year terms. The executive board meetings monthly; we hold meetings open to all members four times a year. We welcome anyone who supports our mission as members of our group and are eager to support ongoing work throughout the county to promote racial justice.
CO-CHAIRS:
Lauren Heffelfinger and Renee Romano
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS:
Scott Elliott, Rachel Garcia, Catie Hayes, Chris Kennerly,
Mary Lou Langenhorp, Sharon Metcalfe, Steve Metcalfe,
Kimmarie Murphy, Peter Rutkoff, Jim Singletary, Mike Ulrey