SU Faculty and National Scholars Discuss Anti-Racist Strategies at University Summit
SALISBURY, MD---More than 400 Salisbury University community members and invited guests recently participated in SU’s virtual inaugural Anti-Racism Summit.
The event was sponsored by the President’s Office, Academic Affairs, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and Student Affairs.
The goals of the summit were to continue courageous conversations related to race, racism, healing and reconciliation; deepen campus conversations related to concepts of structural, institutional and interpersonal racism, White supremacy and White nationalism in America, and White privilege; develop and/or share strategies for becoming anti-racist individuals and an anti-racist university; and set the stage for anti-racist activities after the summit.
The summit featured more than 15 speakers from SU and renown scholars from other institutions: Dr. Rondall Allen, dean of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions; Dr. Cherie Dawson-Edwards, University of Louisville associate dean of diversity, engagement, culture and climate; Dr. Terri Jett, Butler University professor of political science; and Dr. Damani White-Lewis, postdoctoral scholar in counseling, higher education and special education at the University of Maryland, College Park.
The event included a student spoken-word and interpretative dance performance. Also, the presidents of SU’s Student Government Association and Graduate Student Council also provided reflections and their perspectives on anti-racism.
Dr. Kathy Obear, founder of the Center for Transformation and Change and co-founder of the Social Justice Training Institute, delivered the keynote. Sessions in the four-hour summit included “Unpacking the Language and Concepts to Become an Anti-Racist Individual and Institution,” “Historical Context of Racism and Implications on Institutions of Education, Healthcare, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement,” “Action Steps: Commitment to Being an Anti-Racist Individual and Campus” and “Updates on University Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives.”
Highlights of the latter included the announcement of plans for the creation of an SU Africana studies major and new Faculty Development Center. Attendees also participated in group discussions on civic reflection.
“I have often said that our deepest learning experiences take place when people from different backgrounds, different races, different cultures and different life experiences gather together to have respectful conversations about their differences,” said SU President Charles Wight.
“These are not easy conversations. They push us out of our comfort zones, and they cause us to question the truths and values that we previously believed. But the conversations must be held. They must be embraced if we are to move forward as individuals, as an institution of higher learning, as a community and as a free society.”
Wight joined other speakers in emphasizing that the summit was just one portion of SU’s ongoing commitment to diversity, inclusion and anti-racism.
Following the event, Wight announced the President’s 21-Day Anti-Racism Challenge, an online supplement to the summit based on the Racial Equity Challenge developed by Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., noted racial justice scholar. Additional details are available online.
For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the summit website.