This anti-racist work is important to me as an educator because I want to contribute to dismantling interlocking systems of oppression and institutionalized racism at Eastern.  Our BIPOC students deserve to be valued, heard, empowered and powerful.  As Fannie Lou Hamer said in her 1971 speech at a National Women's Caucus Event, "Nobody's free until everybody's free."

This committee is important to me as I know:

I am prejudiced

I discriminate

I victimize and 

I am part of the problem

As a proud Eastern alumna, I know how important it is to being a part of ensuring justice and equity for all. I have always challenged myself to enter spaces where I might not see others like myself to encourage others to do the same and advocate for themselves and those that can't. The SACSW department has a special place in my heart with the work they have done, and this committee is a way for me to give back to the community that help build me. Currently I am expanding my knowledge of anti-racism through my Criminal Justice master's program research and my work as the graduate intern in the Women's Center. I am grateful to be a part of a group making a difference on our campus. 

I wanted to be a part of the SACSW Anti-Racism committee at Eastern because I am responsible for addressing and deconstructing the complex web of my own perceptions and exploring the impact in my everyday interactions. I seek to work with others to become comfortable with the internal exploration of these perceptions and to grow. This work is necessary to better understand the role inclusion, equity, and social justice play in my teaching, my research and my social work practice. I strive to commit to both my internal exploration and education and the work I do on campus to make safe spaces for student engagement.

This anti-racist work is important to me because I want to imagine and co-create spaces of shared liberation. As a social work educator and scholar I am well aware of our profession's commitment to social justice and anti-racism.  Operationalizing and enacting anti-racism in the context of my classroom, department, and the institution of Eastern requires ongoing accountability, critical reflection and growth.  I am grateful for this committee as a place to do this work in partnership with colleagues and students.

How we care for and value people in this world needs to improve beyond where we are today. I want to have conversations and hold myself and others accountable to the work that must be done to create genuine safe spaces and experiences for ALL.

It is well established in the field of sociology that one of the top ten American values is racial superiority.  As a sociologist, I am very aware of this sad truth and the impact that socialization has on individuals.  These two social facts lead to the keen realization that since we live in such a culture we are (more or less) racist. Regardless of intent or desire, this seems fundamental to me. I am committed to the work of antiracism for myself so I can work to undo my own internalized racism and ‘re-learn’ to be as anti-racist as I can be. This work informs my teaching, research, and engagement with students.