June 9, 2020
As collegial members of the SRJC community, as responsible and empathetic humans, and as supportive educators tasked with inspiring and preparing generations of students, we fully honor the Black Lives Matter social movement -- and all for which it stands.
As instructors by profession, we pledge to continue to listen, learn, and to help our students and community with whatever positivity and constructive change we can bring about. We will vehemently fight racism, work for equality, stand up for society’s mistreatment of our black brothers and sisters, and provide insightful information and resources that support those actions.
As business faculty, we will support and fight for inclusion in our pedagogy, our classrooms, our offices, and our college service work. We will contextualize themes that dismiss archaic stereotypes and replace them with hopeful examples of black entrepreneurial spirit and business successes. And we will provide consultative student contact that specifically mentors our black students navigating a white-dominated business world.
As we all celebrate this moment of enormously overdue social change, we stand united in solidarity and recognize more than ever, that black lives matter.
As (Stevie Wonder)
“So, make sure when you say you’re in it but not of it
You’re not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called Hell
Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love
And maybe our children’s grandchildren
And their great-great-grandchildren will tell”
- Justice in June: a crowdsourced antiracism curriculum of books, podcasts, and articles
- The Guardian: "Do the work: an anti-racist reading list"
- The Guardian: "‘No reader is too young to start’: anti-racist books for all children and teens"
- Medium: "75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice"
- Recognizing and supporting groups in our area doing work that substantively supports the Black community and antiracism: Black Lives Matter Bay Area, Showing Up for Racial Justice Bay Area, Anti-Police Terror Project, 100 Black Men of Sonoma County, North Bay Black Chamber of Commerce, North Bay Organizing Project, the Lime Foundation
Recognizing and supporting Black-owned businesses in Sonoma County with our buying power, as Black business owners face unique systemic barriers to owning and operating a business, long before COVID hit.
With respect, gratitude, and commitment,
Your Business Department
Santa Rosa Junior College