Uniting to Fight Racism on Campus

• In Event: Measuring Campus Racial Climate: A Collective Effort to Address Campus Racial Equity Gaps

Abstract

Background: In June 2020, the presidents of 60 California community colleges formed the California Community College Equity Leadership Alliance that aims to combat racism and educational inequities on campuses where the majority are students of color. At the end of same year, following the same model of the Community College Alliance, another alliance uniting 80 liberal arts colleges across the United State was formed.

The move follows mass protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, which have prompted calls for institutions around the country to take a hard look at issues of racism and racial inequity within their own walls. Students and faculty of color have been pushing community colleges to commit to specific steps to address persistent inequities on campus. Those calls grew more urgent as protests swept the country.

Perspectives: There are tremendous racial inequities on the California community college campuses. For example, about 85% of the student body at Los Angeles Community College District is made up of people of color compared to only about 40-45% of faculty are. Mostly white faculty teach a mostly Latino, Black, Asian and Pacific Islander population. Therefore, the curriculum tends to not be reflective of those students’ cultural histories and identities and interests.

Approach: The goal of these equity leadership alliances is to provide higher education leaders with additional tools to examine campus culture and to more effectively lead on issues of racial equity. The Alliance member institutions work with the USC Race and Equity Center to train college representatives on topics like hiring and retaining faculty of color, fostering inclusive classrooms and integrating race across the curriculum. The members will also have access to online tools like case studies and readings on racial equity and will participate in campus surveys to assess how students, faculty and staff feel about their campus climate when it comes to issues of inclusion and diversity.

Significance: This session will present a model on uniting higher education leaders against campus racism, as well as how higher education leaders can collaborate to achieve racial equity.

Author

• T. Shá Duncan Smith, Santa Clara University