Tri-Town Against Racism (TTAR) has now received official 501c3 non-profit status, which will open them up to more opportunities and future projects.

TTAR began in April of 2020 as a grassroots organization formed in in response to racist incidents happening in the Tri-Town.

The group gained a large following after the murder of George Floyd one month later.

With their nonprofit status finally official, TTAR has many projects underway. Plans for affinity groups are being developed.

A new website will be launched, which will include a community resource guide, ways to get involved with TTAR, and supporters will also be able to make donations to help fund this important work.

In the meantime, tax deductible donations can be accepted via Venmo @tritownagainstracism or by check made out to TTAR and can be mailed to PO Box 271 Marion, Ma 02738.

As part of their ongoing initiatives, TTAR hosts quarterly panel discussions provided to the community on topics related to creating an inclusive community in the Tri-Town.

Recently, TTAR hosted their third Community Conversation led by a panel of local librarians highlighting the importance of representation in literature selection.

Upcoming community conversations are in the works related to law enforcement, education, as well as providing resources to parents and caregivers to support them in talking with their children about racism and the importance of allyship.

One of TTAR’s ongoing projects is designed to provide important information to decision-makers. For the sake of transparency, TTAR created a mechanism for community members to report discriminatory incidents they have experienced or witnessed in the community. Their hope is that this information will help create change and awareness. Community members can access the discriminatory incident report at https://bit.ly/ttarreport

Another one of the group’s initiatives is to get diverse and anti-racist books into the hands of community member.

The organization has Little Free Diverse Libraries (LFDL) in Marion and Mattapoisett, and a third is planned for Rochester. TTAR has donated hundreds of books both to the LFDLs and to each of the ORR school libraries.

TTAR is having a holiday book drive to help keep the LFDLs supplied with diverse books. Community members can drop books off at Always in Bloom in Marion or contact TTAR through their Facebook page to arrange a pick up.