Commit to Transformational Change: Take the Antiracism Pledge

May
2022
ASCCC Treasurer and Equity and Diversity Action Committee Chair
ASCCC At-Large Representative
MiraCosta College
Hartnell College
San Diego City College
Southwestern College
Sacramento City College
ASCCC Area C Representative

At the Fall 2020 Plenary, the Academic Senate of California Community Colleges (ASCCC) renewed the call to adopt Resolution 3.02 F19 Support Infusing Antiracism/No Hate Education in Community Colleges. [1] To this end, the ASCCC Equity and Diversity Action Committee strongly suggests that every campus distribute this pledge and every faculty member take the pledge:

I pledge my commitment to end institutional discrimination and racism and will support deeper training that reveals the inherent racism embedded in societal institutions, including the educational system; and ask individuals to examine their personal role in the support of racist structures and the commitment to work to dismantle structural racism.

The antiracism pledge is a commitment to eliminate institutional, discriminatory, and racist policies. The ASCCC strives to

  • Integrate an accurate portrayal of the roles and contributions of all groups throughout history across curricula, particularly groups that have been underrepresented historically;
  • Identify how racism, bias, stereotyping, and discrimination have limited the roles and contributions of individuals and groups, and how these limitations have challenged and continue to challenge our society;
  • Encourage all members of the educational community to examine assumptions and prejudices, including, but not limited to, racism, sexism, and homophobia, that might limit the opportunities and growth of students and employees;
  • Offer positive and diverse role models in our society, including the recruitment, hiring, and promotion of diverse employees in community colleges;
  • Coordinate with organizations and concerned agencies that promote the contributions, heritage, culture, history, and health and care needs of diverse population groups;
  • Promote a safe and inclusive environment for all;
  • Actively work to clearly define--and redefine as circumstances dictate--key terms and phenomena related to institutional racism; and
  • Critically reflect on antiracism efforts to ensure their relevance and effectiveness. [2]

TRANSFORMATIVE ACTION

We need to commit to “take steps to not only strive for a greater knowledge about and the celebration of diversity, but also to support deeper training that reveals the inherent racism embedded in societal institutions, including the educational system, and asks individuals to examine their personal role in the support of racist structures and the commitment to work to dismantle structural racism.” [3] There are a number of ways individuals and institutions can move from performative to transformative work and commit to racial equity.

  1. Create antiracism pledge/commitment walls or digital spaces. Many California community colleges are actively engaged in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Antiracism, and Accessibility (IDEAA) initiatives which include inviting staff, faculty, and students to take a personal pledge to commitment to IDEAA work. Some examples include MiraCosta College’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Digital Personal Commitment Wall, [4] Diablo Valley College’s Anti-Racism Pledge Information page, [5] and Palomar College’s DEI Progress Dashboard. [6]
  2. Use the cultural humility toolkit [7] to self-reflect, plan, and take action. The ASCCC’s Equity and Diversity Action Committee developed the Cultural Humility Tool, a tool that helps individuals and institutions plan next steps in their antiracism and social justice journey, both for the development of a local plan and for self-reflection and action. The tool is a framework to support groups and individuals at deeper levels to engage in courageous conversations that may be needed to start the cultural humility work and move towards transformation.
  3. Distribute the antiracism pledge through campus listservs. Another way could be to create awareness about the antiracism pledge through newsletters and district/department updates.

CONCLUSION

Transformational work is intentional. It requires that we set goals, make a plan to meet our goals, and be accountable for following our plan and meeting the set expectations. Taking the antiracism pledge is a commitment that requires individuals and institutions to intentionally engage in transformational antiracism work. It is also important to remember that some people may be more ready than others to commit and to engage in work towards racial equity.

You may also get pushback. Recharge and continue to work again. Ultimately, it’s up to each individual to take the pledge. Then, with hopes that collectively we can achieve the goal of creating antiracist and racially just campuses, we work towards racial equity so that in addition to dismantling racist systems, policies and procedures, we consciously commit to creating systems and frameworks that are based on racial justice and racial equity.


1. Resolution can be found on the ASCCC website at https://asccc.org/resolutions/support-anti-racism-pledge
2. The Antiracism Pledge
3. Support the Antiracism Pledge
4. MiraCosta College Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion web page
5. Diablo Valley College Antiracism Pledge Information
6. Palomar College DEI Progress Dashboard
7. ASCCC Cultural Humility Toolkit