Combating Racism
December 2021
At the UO, as across the country, we have had to face a renewed reckoning around issues of race and inequality. We know the work of creating a more inclusive and antiracist community is a continuous journey. Each month, these pages will highlight some of the work being done and the resources available here on campus. We hope these efforts act not as a token, but as a turnkey to help open doors for those to come.
Building Community
Over the past year, members of strategies groups have come together in solidarity to create a new sense of community.
With demands for racial justice on the streets and calls for better diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, the work of strategies groups on campus has taken on a renewed meaning.
Strategies groups are open to people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and dedicated to supporting Native, Black, Latinx, Asian, Desi and Pacific Islander, and white identifying members of the university community.
Each strategies group is an autonomous coalition of faculty, staff, and students from various identities at the University of Oregon. They serve as dynamic spaces for community members to congregate and collaborate with each other and strive to improve the UO experience by advocating for equity and inclusion in the campus community.
Over the past year, members of strategies groups have come together in solidarity to create a new sense of community, despite the challenges they faced during the pandemic. They have also been at the forefront of a variety of new academic programs and student success initiatives, in addition to advocacy efforts for the sake of faculty recruitment and retention.
The Division of Equity and Inclusion helps to support groups by providing modest financial and logistical assistance where needed. Group members and DEI staff work collaboratively on projects that strengthen connections across campus.
The Native American Strategies Group was the first to be established on campus and its successful organizational structure has served as a model for others. The UO is currently home to four more strategies groups: Asian, Desi, and Pacific Islander Strategies Group, Black Strategies Group, Latinx Strategies Group, and the Deconstructing Whiteness Working Group.
Asian, Desi, and Pacific Islander (ADPI) Strategies Group
“It’s been an interesting time as an ADPI identifying person in Eugene. With COVD-19 originating from China, we saw a lot more aggressive, violent, etc. behavior towards people that looked a certain way.”
—Lynn Huynh, Community Director, Unthank Hall; ADPI SG co-chair
James Chang found the camaraderie and empathy shared in this community to be especially helpful during this challenging time. “You have to give each other grace and at the same time learn that we deserve grace and space too. We have hopes and aspirations but we’re also only human, and there’s only so much time in the day. If we can connect on things that we care about and share and benefit from, that makes our whole experience better.”
—James Chang, UO Alumni Association Director of Career Networking, Membership, and Business Development; ADPI Strategies Group member
Black Strategies Group
“The work we do around establishing community is intended to rejuvenate and sustain our Black faculty and staff. Within the context of a historically white institution, being a Black faculty or staff member can be draining for any number of reasons. It can be somewhat of an isolating experience, so the impact of our community building work is around helping our new faculty, staff, and students feel more welcome.”
—Marcus Langford, Dean of Students; Black Strategies group member
LatinX Strategies Group
“Throughout the pandemic we have continued to hold monthly meetings. These meetings have allowed us to have a continued sense of normalcy and family. We have had fun virtual gatherings, including having an LSG trivia team. We have also had a few opportunities for socially distanced outdoor gatherings. Being together through this year has helped us continue the sense of home and belongingness that LSG brings us…Throughout the year we support each other by simply being together, allowing members to speak their mind and celebrate their successes and struggles. We always talk about what is going on with our students, our campus work, and our goals to strengthen the UO community.”
—Rosa Chavez-Jacuinde, Interim Director of the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence, LSG member
Native American Strategies Group
“Being one another’s keeper, taking responsibility for each other, holding each other up, learning from and with one another, coming into honest and ethical relationships with history, living as responsible descendants and good future ancestors right here in Kalapuya ilihi . . . these are core values that animate Indigenous ways of knowing and being that can help us all call a ‘new normal’ into being, one that is as welcoming, accessible, equitable, responsible, and empowering as humanly (or other-than-humanly) possible.”
—Kirby Brown, Cherokee Nation, Director, Native American Studies, Associate Professor, Indigenous, Race and Ethnic Studies
Deconstructing Whiteness Working Group
“With deconstructing whiteness, I think that it doesn’t always seem like the most direct form of anti-racism work. But because there is so much harm caused by white folks, myself included, it is something more indirect but still really critical work to engage in.”
—Hannah White, Coordinator for Leadership and Community Engagement at the UO Holden Center; group member
News
Resources
Visit these resources—a small sampling of the many on campus—for ways to listen, learn, and act in the fight for social justice