Elaine Gross
Founder & President
ERASE Racism
Ms. Gross is founder and president of ERASE Racism, a regional civil rights organization based on Long Island, NY. ERASE Racism is exposing and addressing the devastating impact of historical and continuing institutional and structural racism, especially in public school education, housing, and community development. It utilizes research, legislative and policy advocacy, legal action, and educates and organizes the public.
Ms. Gross presented her perspectives on these topics in ten opinion articles in 2020 and six articles thus far in 2021, published in local, regional, and national publications. Additional media coverage of Ms. Gross’s opinion, accomplishments and numerous speaking engagements reflect the broad respect for Ms. Gross’s expertise and successful implementation of critical campaigns.
As an example, Ms. Gross’s activism has elevated the continuing problem of housing discrimination by organizing a statewide coalition that successfully advocated for amendments to the New York Human Rights Law. She encouraged Newsday to undertake a groundbreaking housing discrimination investigation on Long Island that found widespread disparate treatment of People of Color. This report was the catalyst for a fair housing investigation and public hearings by New York State Senate Committees. Ms. Gross was invited twice to offer expert testimony and recommendations, which contributed to the 2021 passage of eleven State Senate bills to increase fair housing enforcement.
Under Ms. Gross’ leadership, ERASE Racism has become a premier civil rights organization that is educating the public about the systemic causes of racial discrimination and segregation and working with others to create greater racial equity.