Diversity Committee: USC Writing Program
Striving to make Writing a tool to fight oppression, dehumanization, and colonization
Committed to anti-oppression, intersectionality, and denouncing white supremacy in all its forms
Being an ally takes action: below are some of our efforts
Conversation
Have explicit and uncomfortable discussions about institutionalized bias; center voices of the oppressed; and be accountable to how universities and writing have contributed to oppression
"A strong sense of their own history among the oppressed undermines the project of domination, because it provides an alternative story, one in which oppression is the result of events and choices, not natural law." -Aurora Levins Morales
Intersectionality
Learn and be attentive to how intersecting identities impact dynamics in and out of the classroom; and equally value through assessment, feedback, and assignments intersecting identities of students
"The oppression of women knows no ethnic nor racial boundaries, true, but that does not mean it is identical within those boundaries." - Audre Lorde
Training
Commit to consistent training from BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and marginalized scholars that combats white supremacy
"I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world." -Ta-Nehisi Coates
Collaboration
Work with students, faculty, and staff and not just for them. Anti-bias & anti-racism is lifelong work that must be communal to take root
"If you see inequality as a 'them' problem or an 'unfortunate other' problem, that is a problem." - Kimberlé Crenshaw