Author: nevrekar.1

Equity and Inclusion Spring Discussion Links

After the 2020 Election: Where do we go from here?

We’re looking forward to seeing you for our Equity and Inclusion Discussion! In the discussion, you will get the choice of 4 different breakout rooms. To provide context and encourage discussion, we’ve provided a few articles for each topic. Please feel free to read these in advance of our discussion and/or bring your own resources!

Discussion details:

Day/Time: Tuesday, 2/23 Noon – 1pm

Zoom: https://osu.zoom.us/j/96243080122?pwd=WUJLQ1lCT1hROVpaSkI3WE53aURMZz09

RSVP: https://doodle.com/poll/szpx8cqfreceq7ad?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link

Equity and Inclusion’s Black Lives Matter 30 Day Challenge – Weeks 3 and 4

Thank you for joining the Black Lives Matter 30 Day Challenge! We plan to post two weeks at a time, so please feel free to catch up on previous weeks’ challenges. You can find weeks 1 and 2 here.

WEEK 3 

15. Call your school district and request a more diverse curriculum and ask what their next steps are. Consider listening to episode 120 of “How One District Learned to Talk About Race” from The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast to learn how other districts are learning how to improve race education in K-12 schools.  

16. Watch “Dear White People”, “American Son”, or   https://filmschoolrejects.com/free-movies-to-support-black-lives-matter/  

17. Visit https://www.greenamerica.org/blog/6-reasons-support-black-owned-businesses 

18. Find something that you like from a black-owned beauty supply store and purchase it. 

  •  Regal Beauty Supply: https://www.regalbeautyco.com/ 
  •  Buckeye Cents: 6760 Refugee Rd, Canal Winchester, OH 43110 
  •  Willis Beauty Supply :1491 E Livingston Ave Columbus, OH 
  •  Ms. Melanin Beauty Supply: 3601 Gender Rd Canal Winchester, OH 4311 

19. Follow organizations doing racial justice work and unfollow companies with racist practices.  

20. Research & visit or drive past Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (field trip!), or visit some of the #ArtUnitesColumbus art work around the city. To learn about the artists and the art, as well as each location, visit https://www.artunitescbus.com/ 

21. If you can, march/attend a protest or rally (or pass out water) or visit https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory  and donate. 

WEEK 4 

22.  Unplug from social media for a day. 

23. WHEW! This has been a lot to take in … Now, let’s really take a moment to decompress. This is hard on everyone. A “decompression day” might include taking a vacation day, holding your calendar, or taking it easier than usual. You can use this time to reflect, or meditate. Here’s an idea: http://drcandicenicole.com/2016/07/black-lives-matter-meditation/ 

24. Read a book by a black author: https://mashable.com/article/new-books-black-authors-you-should-read/  (this could very-well extend past the 30 days AND that is OKAY we hope that all work will continue past 30 days!)

25. Make it a point to pick an organization to donate to. We challenge you to donate monthly for the next year, BUT if you cannot make such a large commitment, pick an organization that you can do a one-time donation to. 

26. Invite someone who has not participated in this challenge to do some of these challenges! 

27. Consider signing the 15% pledge: https://www.15percentpledge.org/ 

28. Meet with Equity and Inclusion and your colleagues to reflect and discuss openly and honestly on what you experienced during your challenge. Zoom invite coming soon! 

Days 29-30: Catch-up and continue the work! We know this was a lot to complete this month. Catch-up on what you didn’t do and continue the work you started. The hope is this lasts longer than 30 days!

Equity and Inclusion’s Black Lives Matter 30 Day Challenge – Weeks 1 and 2

Thank you for joining the Black Lives Matter 30 Day Challenge! We plan to post two weeks at a time, so please feel free to catch up on previous weeks’ challenges.

WEEK 1

  1. Sign a letter of commitment to:  https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_egoPiLhYZgYx8Z7 
  2. Watch “When They See Us”. Or, if you have already watched “When They See US” you could also check out the following list: https://filmschoolrejects.com/free-movies-to-support-black-lives-matter/ 
  3. If you see, it (and we all see ignorance at some point) call it out! 
  4. Research “Juneteenth” and its significance 
  5. Participate in the celebration of Juneteenth: have a cookout/ dinner to celebrate and/or research and participate: https://sixnineteen.com/  
  6. Pick a day to talk to a loved one (could be an aunt, uncle, child parent, spouse etc.) openly and honestly about the movement, racism and why differences are beautiful  
  7. Watch https://www.facebook.com/iammiketodd/videos/2576768509263393/  

 

WEEK 2 

  1. View the Highline College document about Black Lives Matter in Advising: https://osu.box.com/s/esawj74rkwwcanh6s2cti5me1jgj2k5i  
  2. Register to vote! https://olvr.ohiosos.gov/ If you are already registered to vote, take action to promote voting:
    1. Join Congress-Person’s Joyce Beatty’s “Voting Rightrs and Equal Justice Forum” on 6/23 6-7pm (RSVP https://bit.ly/37EWZh6); you can dial (866) 757-0608 during the event to participate and/or view the Forum on Facebook Live. 
    2. Contact your State Senators https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators to express support of SB 191.
      Possible Script:
      Hi, this is [NAME], a constituent, calling from [TOWN]. I urge you to take action to strengthen and streamline Ohio’s absentee and early voting systems to make sure we’re prepared for the November election, even if there is another health crisis. Please support Senate Bill 191 so Ohioans can apply for an absentee ballot online, and support prepaid postage on applications and ballots, multiple drop boxes and Early Vote centers per county, and other improvements to make voting safe and secure.
  3. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrHIQIO_bdQ  
  4. Purchase or make your own T-shirt in support of black lives (https://store.blacklivesmatter.com/store/).  We will also provide a list of local black-owned t-shirt printing businesses later in the week. 
    1. If you want, send a pic of you sporting your support to ratleff-horton.1@osu.edu to enter into a drawing and be featured on the Equity and Inclusion page. Winner will be announced at our first on campus event (COVID permitting) 
  5. Pick a black-owned store or restaurant to support AT LEAST once this month. Consider opening an account with One United Bank. 
    1. The Central Ohio African American Chamber of Commerce’s list: https://www.coaacc.org/thelist.html 
    2. Ohio.org’s statewide list: https://ohio.org/100-black-owned-ohio-businesses-to-check-out/  
  6. Make a short list of things you can do better as an individual – goal list  
  7. Watch “13th” on Netflix or “2 Black Men a Week” on Amazon Prime 

Ways to Stay Engaged from the Equity and Inclusion Committee

Hello advising community! We hope you are staying safe as we continue to provide support and resources virtually to students. The Equity and Inclusion Committee wanted to share some resources and ways to stay engaged in inclusive work over the summer. Please feel free to check out some of the sources for engagement and comment on this post if there are others we didn’t mention! Otherwise, be on the lookout for Equity and Inclusion events to pick up in the Autumn semester. 

How are you staying engaged? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Equity & Inclusion Blog Post

The Silent Majority

by a community member

At the start, I was going to write about a specific incident or two where individuals have shown an irrational fear of me and displayed acts of hatred due to my background. However, something clicked in my mind. My issues are not with the few individuals who expressed hatred and displayed racism toward me, but really with their silent peers. Reflecting back, in all of the incidents where I was forced to face hate, racism and bigotry, I was surrounded by the silent majority. In most of my unfortunate cases, members of the silent majority would pretend that they are suddenly deaf, blind or mute in the hopes that they do not have to intervene. As a result, it leaves individuals like me to our own fates in addressing this bigotry.

According to the United States Census Bureau, this silent majority constitutes 76.6% of the overall population of the United States of America[1]. Being part of this heavily represented population politically, socially and demographically places responsibilities on all members of the silent majority due to the fact that power on the political, social and communal levels resides with them. This means that the words and actions of the silent majority matter. They carry weight and have an audience that will listen and adjust their behavior accordingly. So the next time you see an act of hatred being displayed, ask yourself; if I do not intervene, who else will?

In the end, I would like to leave you all with this quote by Pastor Martin Niemöller’s, a former supporter of Nazi Germany and later one of its most outspoken adversaries[2], “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

 

[1] “U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: UNITED STATES.” Census Bureau QuickFacts. Accessed March 21, 2019. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/IPE120217.

[2] “MARTIN NIEMÖLLER: “FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE SOCIALISTS.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Accessed March 21, 2019. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists.

**The Equity & Inclusion Committee posts blogs, articles, and other events in order to keep advisors engaged with tough topics of the day. Please feel free to comment below!**