“There is work to be done at all levels: our country, our communities, ourselves and our campus,” equity and inclusion leader writes
race and ethnicity
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, ask: ‘What are you doing for others?’
“So much remains uncertain, but my resolve and hope are constant,” campus equity and inclusion leader writes
George Floyd. Rodney King. We’ve seen it before
What changes are needed to end this seemingly never-ending cycle?
Kerner@50: Why the Kerner Report matters for racial equity today
Fifty years ago this week, a special commission assembled by President Lyndon B. Johnson released a blockbuster report. Tasked with investigating the causes of more than 150 civil uprisings that erupted across the nation in 1967, the “National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders,” led by Governor Otto Kerner, squarely placed the blame on white racism. … Continue reading »
Police shootings: How many more must perish before we see justice?
One year to the day that Dylann Roof murdered nine African Americans in Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina, a jury exonerated Jeronimo Yanez, the police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile. In African American communities around the country, few individuals were surprised at the verdict. More than anything, individuals expressed deeper sorrow and intensified disappointment because, once again, many of us held out hope that the justice system would hold the man who killed another human being accountable.
Trump and race
Many months after the election of Donald Trump, new data and research findings continue to provide fresh light on that critical historical moment. The main strand of this research is a search to understand who voted for each candidate, and what motivated their vote. The results are not entirely intuitive, increasingly complex, and, as pundits … Continue reading »
No to Jeff Sessions, a southwest Alabama good ole boy
This week Congress will be vetting Jeff Sessions appointment as U.S. attorney general. It is unimaginable that Sessions could be empowered to represent “law, justice and the American way.” For most of his public career Sessions has represented white interests. Yesterday, representatives of the NAACP were arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, during a protest in which they … Continue reading »
The impact of advisers of color in the UC
At UC Berkeley, the overall population of staff of color has remained flat over the past 10 years. The more senior the position, the less likely a person of color will occupy it. In Sid Reel’s Wisdom Cafe article (http://wisdomcafe.berkeley.edu/2015/11/how-campus-staff-play-a-role-in-advancing-equity-diversity-and-inclusion/), “The 2013 campus climate survey identified that staff members experience a higher level of exclusionary … Continue reading »
Two cents for welfare (Part 1)
On June 15, 2016, California Gov. Jerry Brown and the California legislature agreed to end the cap on support for families in need, most of them single mothers and their children. It took 20 years for California to reject a program based on the Clinton-era attack on “welfare as we knew it.” The 1996 Clinton law replaced … Continue reading »