The current historical moment is marked by an ongoing national reckoning over the integral place of race in the American experiment, a reckoning which has existed for over 400 years. In the aftermath of George Floyd's murder by police, it has become increasingly clear that the American people can no longer afford to remain ignorant of the historical and contemporary effects of racism, discrimination, and white supremacy. The widespread institutional commitments (and recommitments) to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts seen across the country from private businesses to universities, including here at James Madison University (JMU), reflect this new urgency for a critical engagement with the pernicious legacies of racism AND all other forms of discrimination that are endemic in our society. In 2020, JMU Provost Heather Coltman set out a vision in the Academic Affairs Strategic Plan articulating:

"The Academic Affairs anti-racist and antidiscrimination agenda is fully articulated and drives all other strategic goals."

We (faculty and students) designed the Anti-Racist Gen-Ed Project class as a response to the needs of the moment, bringing together interested students, faculty, and staff to imagine and discuss possible interventions in the Gen-Ed program to ensure that every JMU student is allowed to be confronted with, and challenged by the grim reality of discrimination in American life and culture in a bid to ensure that the lessons of the past are fully learned, so they are not repeated, in order to create a future where all can thrive and flourish. We acknowledge that working out such a goal will be challenging. In President Alger's words,

"Work and conversation surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion can be difficult and at times uncomfortable, BUT THEY ARE NECESSARY." (emphasis added)

Or, as Vice President of Student Affairs Tim Miller put it, "Privilege is a reality."

The class convened during the Fall semester of 2021 and, in consultation with the Gen-Ed council, considered various interventions to achieve the goal of every JMU student educated about race and other kinds of discrimination in America. After considering a series of interventions and possibilities for course design, the class concluded that the best strategy would be to pursue a short-term goal that would, in due time, lead to the actual long-term objective.

In the short term, the class recommends that the Gen-Ed council introduces a new designation to identify courses that fulfill the objective of equipping students with tools to Identify, Address, and Eliminate discrimination and oppression. Building a stable of relevant classes is necessary to achieve the long-term aim of establishing a new Gen-Ed Antidiscrimination requirement. To require all students to fulfill such a requirement would mean that Gen-Ed would have to offer about three thousand seats each semester (taking into account the size of the current student body). This goal can only be accomplished if the Gen-Ed council throws its considerable weight behind this new designation and encourages an increasing number of faculty to participate in the program to achieve the minimum number of necessary seats to create a new Gen-Ed requirement.