RECAST | Winter Racial Equity & Social Justice Programming and Resources
From: Saliba, Therese <SalibaT@evergreen.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2020 2:24 PM
Dear Evergreen Community,
Looking toward Winter Quarter 2021, the Division of Inclusive Excellence & Student Success (IESS) is collaborating with campus and community partners to provide some exciting Racial Equity and Social Justice programming for students, staff, and faculty. Please mark your calendars for the events below and consider integrating them into your programs and courses. Join us in celebrating the achievements of those on the frontlines in intersectional struggles for justice—through activism, artistic expression, and education–as we strive collectively to create a community with this liberatory vision at its center.
Conversation on Community Safety, Policing & Racial Justice video now available
This dynamic panel conversation on November 16 explored urgent national and regional issues, brought to the fore in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, with historic protests calling for Black solidarity and racial justice. Monica Alexander (Evergreen Alum, Board of Trustees Member, and former Chief of the Washington State Patrol), Naomi Ishisaka (Seattle Times Social Justice Columnist and Evergreen Alum), and Dr. Gilda Sheppard (Filmmaker and Evergreen Tacoma Faculty) offered a range of insightful perspectives on these key issues of our times. If you missed the event, or would like to use it in your programs, it is available at https://youtu.be/hnBNcKEg6k0.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Event with First Peoples and Evergreen Tacoma
Wednesday, January 20, Time TBD
You are invited to join the Evergreen community in celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This conversation will lift the voices of those who worked in support of the Black Civil Rights Movement and those who continue to struggle for black liberation today.
Black History Month Celebrations will take place weekly (on Wednesdays) throughout February—stay tuned for more details.
YWCA Womxn of
Achievement Celebration
with Special Guest Patrisse Cullors, BLM
co-founder
Friday, February 19, 6:30 –
8:15 p.m.
IESS, The Evergreen Foundation, and YWCA are pleased to announce the rescheduling of the 2020 Womxn of Achievement Celebration featuring Patrisse Cullors. Cullors is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, a longtime frontline activist for criminal justice reform, and best-selling author of When They Call You a Terrorist. This event honors local activists Talauna Reed, Earth-Feather Sovereign, and Tanikka Watford Williams, who will share the virtual stage with Cullors. Special thanks to Evergreen Media Services for their support. Evergreen community members will be able to register for free in early January.
Toshi Reagon on Parable
of the Sower
Saturday, February 20, time TBD
IESS is partnering with Evergreen Tacoma and several Olympia programs to welcome musician, composer, curator, and producer Toshi Reagon. Reagon’s rock opera Parable of the Sower is based on the book of the same name by Octavia Butler. Reagon is a “one-woman celebration of all that’s dynamic, progressive and uplifting in American music,” in rock, blues, R&B, country, folk, spirituals and funk. More information will be available soon.
Winter Course: Reimagining Community Safety
Evergreen Faculty Eirik Steinhoff will be teaching a 4-credit course in Winter and Spring 2021 entitled Reimagining Community Safety with some events open to the Evergreen community, including the launch of a screening series on mass incarceration and liberation education. Watch your email for announcements of dates and times.
President’s Equity Fund Information
We are excited to announce that, after a short hiatus, the President’s Equity Fund online application will be opening soon for winter and spring quarter applications, so keep an eye on your email for our announcement! New grant guidelines and an updated online application will be posted to our website when the application period opens. Winter quarter applications will be reviewed on a weekly basis and close in the latter part of January. Spring quarter applications will close in early February.
Stay tuned for relaunch of Inclusive Excellence Action Plans
In 2019, the Office of the Vice President for IESS led trainings for each division of the college in developing Inclusive Excellence Action Plans. After a year of staffing changes, pandemic, and shifting priorities, we’re relaunching this vital work. The demand for racial justice nationwide has shown the urgency of placing equity at the forefront of all our efforts. The college has also committed to this work in our Accreditation Report and Campus Climate Survey Executive Summary. Our students and our colleagues are counting on us to lead the way in creating a more just and fair institution. IESS will re-engage the campus in these efforts in the new year!
SAVE THE DATES: Evergreen Equity Symposium April 13, 14, and 15
The Evergreen Equity Symposium is planned for Week 3 of Spring Quarter, and will feature a keynote address, as well as several other exciting speakers, workshops, and other events. More details to come!
Wishing you all a restful, healthy, and joyous holiday break, and more light and justice in the new year!
Warmly,
Therese
Therese Saliba, Ph.D.
she/her
Interim VP of Inclusive Excellence & Student Success
Library 2211/2209
The Evergreen State College | Olympia, WA 98505
Phone: 360-867-6854
