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Rochester Mosaic Partnerships

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Rochester’s modern racial history was seared into public memory in July 1964, when a police arrest at a Joseph Avenue block party escalated into a three-day uprising. The National Guard was deployed; five people died (four in a helicopter crash), hundreds were injured, and nearly a thousand were arrested. The causes—police brutality, discriminatory housing and hiring—were stark, and the aftermath catalyzed new organizing that would shape civic life for decades.

 

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Johnson’s Commission on Race & Ethnicity

In 2001, Mayor William A. Johnson, Jr. convened a Commission on Race and Ethnicity with an ambitious aim—build a “prejudice-free community.” The Commission concluded that policy change must be paired with person-to-person change, recommending a structured approach that forges genuine bonds across racial lines.

 

BiRacial Partnerships Program: the Rochester model

Acting on those recommendations, Mayor Johnson—working closely with innovation leader Robert (“Bob”) Rosenfeld and his team—launched the BiRacial Partnerships for Community Progress program. The design paired community and business leaders in cross-race “partner pairs,” coached over a year to build trust, social capital, and shared problem-solving capacity. The pilot seeded what later became known nationally as Mosaic Partnerships.

Rochester’s initiative didn’t stay local. The model has since been adapted in multiple cities, retaining its core mechanics: carefully matched interracial pairs, guided dialogues, and measurable steps toward empathy and collaboration—an approach born in Rochester’s own search for durable reconciliation. 

Why it still matters

History shows that spikes in racial tension here have been triggered by both acute incidents (1964, 2020) and chronic inequities (housing, health, policing). Rochester’s BiRacial Partnerships answered with a systems-plus-relationships strategy—changing rules while changing hearts—offering a replicable roadmap for communities facing the same headwinds.

Highlights

  • Initial Participant Reach and Expansion

    • In Phase I (around 2001-2002), approximately 160 business, government, education, and religious leaders were brought together as partner pairs. 

    • In a subsequent phase (Phase II), some participants in these initial pairs served as mentors or counselors for about 40 additional biracial partners (students, staff, faculty) in expanding the program.

    • Participants reported that, after a year of pairing, they experienced increased trust and a sense of personal connection: one pair of executives said they came to regard each other “as family,” and felt they had someone to call on in times of need. 

    • Other reports included pairs sharing cultural practices: dinners, faith traditions, even attire, enabling deeper understanding of each other’s backgrounds and faiths. 

  • Institutional Cross-Sector Engagement

    • The program involved leaders from multiple sectors (government, business, education, religious institutions), which reportedly helped bring racial dialogue into settings that may not usually engage across racial lines. 

    • There’s some evidence that because participants came from leadership positions, their change in perspective had ripple effects: e.g. mentoring newer pairs; encouraging institutional practices of more inclusive interaction.

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Sustained Presence & Adaptation

Although the program was strongest in the early years (Phase I and II), selected community organizations in Rochester still use variants of biracial/multiracial partner-pairing or Mosaic Processes. 

The model was adapted elsewhere (Greensboro NC, Milwaukee WI, etc.), validating its structure is transferable and viable in various civic contexts.

 

Participant reach & completion (2001–2007)

At least 438 Rochester volunteers enrolled across four measured cohorts—158 (2001–02, ~80% completion), 30 (2002–03, 100%), 56 (2004–05, ~86%), and 194 (2006–07, ~88%). 

 

Trust growth (2006–07 cohort) 

By program end, partner-to-partner trust reached up to 83% of the level participants report with their close friends (breakout: People of Color up to 81%, White participants up to 86%). 

 

Network sharing (social capital) in 2006–07

Participants reported 42% shared professional networks (87% willing), 35% shared friend networks (95% willing), and 43% shared family networks (95% willing) with their cross-race partners—evidence of concrete bridging activity.

 

Early-phase engagement (2002–03)

A targeted Phase II pairing focused on Muslim/non-Muslim relationship-building involved 30 volunteers with 100% completion, indicating strong retention while expanding beyond Black/White dyads. 

Ollie Silva

Artist

 

Grace Boyd

Creative Director

Adrian Rodriquez

Support Staff