Volume 3, Issue 1: January 7, 2021
R.I.S.E.* Up Newsletter
*Reinforcing Inclusion through Skill-building and Education
Photo of Zora Neale Hurston with quote - There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
This quote is from Their Eyes Were Watching God, a famous novel written in 1937 by the African American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker, Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston, born on this day in 1891, was known for portraying racial struggles in the early 1900's in the American South.  Her words are definitely still poignant today, particularly as we witnessed the events that occurred at the U.S. Capitol yesterday, Wednesday, January 6, 2021 -- a date that will be recorded in the history of our nation. 

While some Christians celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany yesterday (and other Christians prepared for their celebration of Christmas today), our nation watched in horror as an armed mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, some carrying Confederate and Nazi flags, in an apparent attempt to stop Congress from certifying the results of the recent election. Commentators across the country and across the political spectrum have been quick to denounce the violence, the damage, and the terror inflicted upon Congress and Capitol staff yesterday.

The 27 U.S. college and university presidents in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, along with many others, have formally denounced the violence and bloodshed that resulted from these actions, stating: "We join with those citizens and civic organizations across the country that call for an end to the rhetoric and violence that have surrounded this otherwise peaceful election. Violence of any kind is inimical to the principles of democracy upon which this nation was built. The motivations and actions of those who have persisted in denigrating our system of laws are a sad and unfortunate result of tactics that have torn the fabric of our nation.”

But there is another issue that weighs on our hearts today as we reflect on yesterday’s events -- an issue that presents persistent questions, and unfortunately, sad answers. As we witnessed the mob actions and insurrection of yesterday, we were forced to remember, by contrast, the images of the lines of police in military-style riot gear who surrounded Black Lives Matter protests in the US Capitol this summer. Questions arise: why were the behaviors of both the police and the mob so starkly different? What was different about yesterday's event that it did not warrant a thorough police presence at its outset? Did law enforcement simply not believe that a serious threat existed with this particular group? And if not, why? 

Years that ask questions...

While of course, we cannot know the answer to these questions for certain, the statistics and the news reports do tell a grim story of inequality, one highlighted by many life experiences and observations. For all those of our community suffering today as we reflect on yesterday’s events and the disparities it highlights, we see you and we are here for you. For those of our community who are shocked by the hatred, animosity and rage on display yesterday, we invite you to make a resolution to join more deeply into the work of diversity, equity and inclusion in this New Year. 

As leaders of our institutions have asserted, as people “...dedicated to the promotion of justice and truth, we commit ourselves to working for understanding and reconciliation in the days ahead. We call for a recommitment to the ideals of fairness, justice, racial equity, and inclusion to which our nation aspires today."

Years that answer...

In a few weeks, on January 26, my office and the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion will collaborate to welcome internationally recognized researcher Dolly Chugh, Ph.D., social psychologist and professor in the NYU Stern School of Business, who will join us for a virtual conversation about her research and writings. In her work, she shows how much we tend to ignore our own biases if we are too committed to our identities as “good people,” and what we must do, actively, to overcome them. Considering the events of the past days, this topic is more timely than ever, and I hope you will join us in this important conversation.

In this New Year, let us come together to overcome division, to understand and embrace our differences, to destroy inequities, and to become a stronger, more inclusive, more unified community. Let us remember that achieving justice and peace requires a commitment to drive out fears and rage, and replace it with understanding and humanity. 

Zora Neale Hurston perhaps said it best: we must “grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear.” Regardless of where we may stand individually in terms of politics or beliefs, we must value harmony; we must drive out the dangerous narratives that instill fear and incite divisive (and ultimately dangerous) actions. We must resolve to do and become better by acknowledging and dismantling the inequities and false beliefs that keep us divided. 
Headshot of Tiffany Galvin Green
Sincerely,

Tiffany Galvin Green, Ph.D.,
Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Other articles of interest about yesterday's events:
REGISTER NOW!
Promotional image with photo of Dolly Chugh alongside the DEI division logo and CSDI logo
Resolving to Become the People We Mean to Be
A Conversation with Dolly Chugh, Ph.D.
January 26, 2021, 7:00-8:30 pm
The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion welcome Dolly Chugh, Ph.D., for a virtual "fireside chat" in conversation with Dr. Tiffany Galvin Green, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Dolly Chugh is an internationally recognized social psychologist and TED speaker and is the author of the book The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias (our January Community Book Read selection). She is an Associate Professor in the Management and Organizations Department at New York University Stern School of Business. She has been named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics by Ethisphere magazine.

This program is free and open to the public. Advance registration required.
Division Announcements
Join our January Community Book Read now!
Image - cover of the book The Person You Mean to Be - How Good People Fight Bias - by Dolly Chugh
There is still time to join our January Community Book Read of the book The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias, by Dolly Chugh.

All participants will receive an e-book which is theirs to keep. Click below to register.

The book provides a practical guide for how, as individuals, we can move past personal barriers to become active builders for the systematic work of diversity, equity, and inclusion, including racial injustice.

The community book read is open to all staff, full-time and part-time faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, alumni and board members.

The book discussion group will meet virtually over Zoom on January 8, 15, and 22 from 12- 1 pm.
Register now for LGBT 101 for Allies
Promo image for LGBT 101 for Allies
We are pleased to welcome our partners from the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland back to campus for a RISE Safe Zone workshop "LGBT 101 for Allies." (This is a repeat offering of the workshop that was offered on Nov. 16.) Please join us for this engaging and informative workshop.

Date: Thursday, January 28
Time: 4:00-5:00 pm
Where: Virtual via Zoom
Open to: JCU students, faculty and staff
Merry (Julian Calendar) Christmas!
While most Christian churches observe Christmas on December 25, some Eastern Christians (especially in Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Georgia, Poland, Sinai, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Egypt and Japan) celebrate Christmas Day today, January 7 (December 25 according to the Julian calendar).

Wishing a very Merry Christmas to those members of the JCU community who are celebrating Christmas today!
photo of two traditional elements of a Ukrainian Christmas celebration - the didukh and kutia
Image: Two traditional elements of a Ukrainian Orthodox Christmas celebration: the didukh, a sheaf of wheat and flowers, and a bowl of kutia, sweet grain pudding. Image by Janbies on Wikimedia Commons.
R.I.S.E. Higher: Featured Article of the Week
‘Illusion of Inclusion’
Faculty satisfaction data reveal big gaps between how white and nonwhite professors experience campus diversity and inclusion efforts. 
Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed, January 6, 2021

White professors and their nonwhite counterparts have very different perceptions of what constitutes diversity and inclusion, according to a recent analysis from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

White faculty members are much more likely to agree (73 percent) that there is visible leadership support and promotion of diversity on their campus than are Black professors (55 percent). Thirty-one percent of Black professors disagree with the statement entirely, based on data from COACHE's ongoing surveys of faculty job satisfaction across many colleges and universities.

.... (click below to read more)
Announcements from our network...
Ibram Kendi speaks on "Uprooting Racism and Inequality" for the Loyola Maryland virtual MLK Convocation, January 20
Book cover for How to Be an Antiracist
New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author Ibram X. Kendi will speak at Loyola University Maryland's annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, at 7 p.m. The convocation, “Uprooting Racism and Inequality: Antiracist Educator and Scholar Ibram Kendi in conversation with Karsonya Wise Whitehead,” will be live streamed.

Kendi will discuss “How to Be an Antiracist” and other significant actions to uproot racism in a conversation moderated by Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Ph.D., associate professor of communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola.

This event is free and open to all, but advance registration is encouraged.
Loyola University New Orleans launches "J Term"
Image of students gathered around a Loyola sign on the Loyola New Orleans campus
This week, Loyola University New Orleans launched its first-ever optional J-Term, with all coursework related to topics of race, equity, and inclusion. The J-term is a tuition-free intensive two-week session held in the first two weeks of January. A J-term course is worth three credits.

The program offers a variety of courses that address social justice through the lens of multiple disciplines. Topics include race and mass incarceration, the “own voices” movement in young adult literature, race and justice in literature, experiences and representation of people of color in the media, health disparities, diversity in STEM, the Say Her Name movement, Black Heroes and Black Respectability politics, forms of difference in the Middle Ages, and environmental justice and equity.