JEDI Office Newsletter

December 2021

Greetings,

As we near the end of the year, many of us are rushing to complete projects. I ask that you make some time for yourself to slow down, reflect, and get your bearings. I have found that our Heart Space in the JEDI Office has helped me to do this intentionally as things have been especially hectic. Each Friday, our team connects and centers ourselves. One week, we may have a live discussion with question prompts. Another week, we may have a list of actions and reflection questions to respond to. I see it as us building in self-care, community care, and structural care. If other officers and departments are interested in learning more and would like to pilot something like this as a way to check in and support each other, please reach out to us.

As we look forward to the new year, the JEDI Office is providing a list (not exhaustive) of holidays that folks may celebrate here at the IHP. Our office does not celebrate holidays per se. Rather, we recognize the complexities associated with some holidays as well as how (in)equities and intersectionality play a role in the experiences of individuals. We sometimes reference holidays to catalyze education and learning about them as they related to justice and equity.

For instance, I was moved and honored to see Paula’s email with the list names of faculty, staff, and students who are veterans. In using a JEDI lens as it relates to veterans, I might also think of those who might not be included under this umbrella term (e.g., are soldiers who fought alongside U.S. forces in other countries recognized as veterans?), the complexities of war, and about the contributions Black veterans have made to advance racial justice. Bell’s (1980) article, Brown v. Board of Education and the Interest-Convergence Dilemma, recounts the Supreme Court decision and its impact internationally. Other countries were looking at the United States at the time as a world power and recognized how segregation still existed. Black veterans had fought in World War I for freedom and equality that were not afforded to them.

Returning black veterans faced not only continuing discrimination, but also violent attacks in the South which rivaled those that took place at the conclusion of World War I. Their disillusionment and anger were poignantly expressed by the black actor, Paul Robeson, who in 1949 declared, “It is unthinkable…that American Negroes would go to war on behalf of those who have oppressed us for generations…against a country [the Soviet Union] which in one generation has raised our people to the full human dignity of mankind.” (pp. 524-525)

Bell illustrates interest convergence and how it played a role in the Board decision. Interest convergence is a term that Bell coined to show that racial progress happens only when the interests of Whites converge with those of people of color. There are points of convergence and there are also points of divergence. In this article, the interests of Whites and Black soldiers and people converged in the Board decision to desegregate.

I hope this example demonstrates the approach that we take in the JEDI Office to raise awareness about equity issues around holidays. That being said, there are many religious and cultural holidays in December. For those who celebrate them, I hope that you enjoy your holidays to the fullest!! Our office would also like to share a gift guide from the Institute of Anti-Racist Education. As someone who does not celebrate holidays in December, I appreciate the time off to be able to rest and recover as we gear up for the new year. See you in 2022!

In community,

Kimberly Truong, PhD

Chief Equity Officer

Content Overview

Save the Date
JEDI Updates
Continued JEDI Learning
Wellness Resources
Resource Sharing

Save the Date

Power, Privilege, and Positionality – January 12

The next PPP will be held on Wednesday, January 12, 3:30–5:00 p.m. via Zoom. Justice Shorter, a Disability Justice advocate and Black Disabled Lives Matter amplifier, and Subini Annamma, an associate professor of education at Standford, will be on a panel moderated by Jammy Millet, associate director of social justice education and student engagement. This will be the last iteration of PPP focusing on the intersection of race, disability, and heath.

Baugh Lecture – February 17

David Stovall, PhD, a professor in the departments of Black Studies and Criminology, Law & Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will be the next Baugh visiting faculty scholar. He will present on Thursday, February 17, Noon–1:15 p.m. Dr. Stovall's discussion will engage the relationship between racism and health. As communities of color in large cities are bearing the brunt of the current COVID pandemic, health professionals throughout the country are slowly coming to grips with the fact that structural racism deeply impacts health outcomes. Through the use of critical public health and critical epidemiology, we are able to understand that while many understand the current health crisis to be new, others have known it has been with us for time immemorial.

JEDI Updates

Congrats Kim!

Color Magazine, an affiliate of BridgeTower Media, provides premier events focused on empowering professionals of color. Kimberly Truong, PhD, IHP chief equity officer, will receive the DEI Champion, Publisher’s Award Winner at the Chief Diversity Officer's Summit on December 20. Learn more about the Chief Diversity Officer's Summit.

Equity Advocates Ceremony Held

Congratulations to the 2020 and 2021 graduates of the Equity Advocates. On December 1, the IHP celebrated these Equity Advocates who serve on faculty and administrative searches to ensure a fair and thorough search process.

Equity Advocates include Esther Ayuk, Jessica Bell, Luella Benn, Alison Cirino, Anna Cottrell, Michelle Garcia, Mary Ellen Ferolito, Maureen Flynn, Annie Fox, Hailey Lafin, Emilie Larrivee, Joyce LaTulippe, Sarah McKinnon, Lisa O'Brien, Suzanne Pennington, Tasneem Pota, Lauren Putnam, Megan Schliep, Ann Seaman, Tony Sindelar, Jackie Tang, John Wong, Amanda Worek, and Indigo Young. Thank you for your service!

The JEDI Office Has Moved

The JEDI Office has moved to the second floor of Building 34! We will plan an open house for 2022.

JEDI Council Update

The JEDI Council met on November 15. The minutes from the October 18 meeting were approved.

Integration of JEDI Principles into the Curriculum. Pat Reidy, professor and associate dean of academic affairs and program innovation in the School of Nursing, Margie Sipe, assistant professor and director of the DNP program, and Lisa Walker, associate professor and chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, presented how JEDI principles have been integrated into their respective curricula. We recognize that content focused on the Winthrop shootings may be especially traumatic for members of the IHP community, especially our colleagues in PT and Operations who may still be processing.
PPP. The asynchronous portion of PPP will launch on D2L on December 6. The live event, featuring Justice Shorter and Subini Annamma will be held virtually on January 12. This will be the last session focusing on disability and race.
JEDI Strategic Planning for Enrollment Management. Upcoming initiatives include a review of the application, acceptance, and scholarship process from an equity positive perspective, a strategic plan for increasing BIPOC students over a period of time (which is also on the president’s dashboard), and affordability issues
JEDI Curriculum and Pedagogy Community of Practice. The JEDI Curriculum and Pedagogy Community of Practice has been meeting monthly since September. The group is drafting a work plan and focusing on syllabi, term lecturers, clinical instructors, and how to support faculty of color in regard to JEDI curriculum work.

From the Associate Director of Social Justice Education and Student Engagement

Last month I had the pleasure of introducing the IHP community to the key values and principles of Restorative Justice. Restorative Justice is a way of being and seeing the world in a way that centers humanity in all people; especially in the face of harm. Dr. Callie Watkins Liu and I also presented the idea of "trauma mindedness" and cultivating a "community of care" within the faculty senate space. These concepts are how we as a community can manifest restorative practices and justice together. As a reminder, being trauma-minded and restorative starts with us and our inner worlds. That relationship will set the tone for how we engage with others. Three questions that Dorothy Vaandering, a restorative justice practitioner, researcher, and more, shares with us for when we need to check our intentions when engaging with people are:

Am I honoring?
Am I measuring?
What message am I sending?

As we enter the holiday season and we engage more with friends and family, I invite you to reflect on intention. How are you honoring yourself and others? How are you measuring your own importance or value and how are you measuring the value of others? And lastly, what message are you sending, and does it align with the message you truly intend to send. I invite you into yourself once again, as we navigate a season that means something different to all people. It is important to honor all of it; for example, the mourning that people such as, Native People feel during this time. It is more important to understand that honoring and acknowledging different realities begins within ourselves and reflecting on what it is that we value and what we believe in.

To help with this ask yourself, "who has shaped how you see the world, yourself, and your relationship to all that is living around you?" Questioning and reflecting on your worldviews and how they have been shaped is an anti-racist practice! Engaging in this way with ourselves and each other contributes to the Community of Care we aim to cultivate here at the IHP. I wish everyone a restful and reflective holiday season. Be well and take good care.

- Jammy Torres-Millet

Reflecting with a JEDI Lens

Current Events: Rittenhouse Verdict and Ahmaud Arbery Case

The JEDI Office has been reflecting on the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the Rittenhouse verdict. We can't help but think about Tamir Rice, who was killed for playing with a toy gun. We remember Jemel Roberson who was killed on duty as a security officer; he was taking on extra shifts to purchase presents for his infant son’s first Christmas. We are also mourning and grieving Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Tony McDade, Brianna Hill, and countless others. It is upsetting that some individuals have not been held accountable for their actions. We encourage you to read these Boston Globe articles about the implications to the justice system and white privilege and self-defense arguments as well as Insight into Identities: White/Whiteness (Mass General Brigham).

We continue to live in an America where white privilege and supremacy exist and are weaponized against unarmed Black people, other people of color, and those with intersectional marginalized identities (e.g. trans individuals and individuals with disabilities). In this article, "The awful echoes of the Trayvon Martin tragedy in the trial of the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery" you can read about the connection between these two engineered tragedies.

We acknowledge that this may surface a lot of emotions for people given their own racialized experiences. We want to make sure you're always aware of different resources that are available. Please use the below reporting mechanisms listed above to report any incidents. For confidential support, reach out to the Student and Employee Assistance Program at (866) 724-4327. SAP/EAP also created this Coping with Violence resource. MGH Department of Psychiatry created a guide for Mental Health Resources for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). This guide includes local resources, provider directories, online support groups, self-guided virtual resources, and information for clinicians.