In 2001, Mayor William A. Johnson of Rochester, New York, appointed a Commission on Race and Ethnicity charged with the ambitious task of eliminating racism in the community. The Commission explored various approaches to address the issue of racism, concluding that a heart-to-heart process that forged relationships between diverse people would be the most effective means to counter the problem. At their recommendation, and with the Mayor’s endorsement, Idea Connections – a consultancy with extensive human and organizational development expertise – designed , developed and implemented the program.

Mayor Johnson initiated the program Biracial Partnerships for Community Progress. As envisioned in its design, the Biracial Partnerships program began with the participation of community leaders, creating a dynamic force willing and able to expand the program to tens of thousands of people in every stratum and sector of the City of Rochester in the years to follow.

The first phase of the project brought together 160 business, government, education and religious leaders to take the first step in creating and bringing about the ‘genesis of a prejudice free community by 2010’.