Kate Towle

Ms. Towle has worked with schools and organizations to foster best practices for engaging youth in the challenges of our times. Her model for intercultural and intergenerational youth engagement won the St. Paul Foundation's 2011 Facing Race Idea Challenge. She now works actively with communities and organizations to explore the intersection of racial equity and educating for peace. Ms. Towle is one of the founding organizers of the community-building model Sweet Potato Comfort Pie®, and was editor of the Sweet Potato Comfort Pie Guide. Kate was presented the 2022 “Batter That Matters" Award for her community-building efforts from the organization Sweet Potato Comfort Pie® at their 8th Annual MLK Holiday of Service. She believes that we can cross a new threshold to humanity by exploring together how to build our individual and collective muscle to break down systemic injustice. Ms. Towle lives in Minneapolis, the heart of our collective dream for liberation.

Author’s Note

Author’s Note A report by the Kapor Center for Social Impact on workforce barriers states that, “75% of whites don’t have any non-white friends in their social network.”i In a Public Religion Research Institute Report from 2016, only 5% of whites have friends of color, while 8% of Blacks have white friends), (Cox et. al., 2016)ii. While there are many great books that can enlighten white people like me on being a better ally, I risked asking myself the question, “What does it look like to be a better friend, to know deep in my heart that our joy and suffering (our sweet burden) is bound together?” What I found missing are narratives for white people that allow us to see ourselves living day to day with the humility and grace required to internalize the lived experiences and struggles of our friends of color. When we care deeply for one another—and know that we are threads together in the web of life—we will find our way to love and to a just world. i “Tech Workforce Barriers.” The Leaky Tech Pipeline, leakytechpipeline.com/barrier/tech-workforce-barriers/. ii Cox, Daniel, Ph.D., Juhem Navarro-Rivera, and Robert P. Jones, Ph.D. "Race, Religion, and Political Affiliation of Americans' Core Social Networks." PRRI. Public Religion Research Institute, 3 Aug. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.