Racial Justice Resources for Activists, Advocates & Allies

Coalition Highlights 2020-current 

This list of successes has been documented for historical purposes. Members are encouraged to reference it when discussing Coalition work with others.  

 

Year 1: September 2020-August 2021  

The Coalition’s first year emphasized defining organizational structure and initiatives, listening, learning, facilitating discussions, building collaborations within the institution, and writing letters and statements.  

 

 

• 174 colleagues signed the Pledge to Dismantle White Supremacy within Ourselves and Our Institutions.  

 

• Early adopters (~20 signers) developed framework for a cross-campus collaborative space for all faculty and staff to engage in anti-racist action at UC  

 

• Developed organizational structure and strategic plan for 2020-2022. Organizational structure includes 2 co-chairs, 2 co-secretaries, 5 consultants from the Black faculty and staff; and 9 co-chairs of 5 committees (Student-facing, Colleague-facing, Reading & Discussion, Curriculum, and Resource Development) 

 

• Established a network of student leaders and connected regularly to learn from their experiences and better inform CARA’s direction and approach.  

 

• Wrote 3 letters requesting action (Grad School Dean Search, Office of Research DEI Task Force, President Pinto); 3 letters endorsing support of letters written by others (United Asian Advocates, UCAADA, College of Medicine); and 1 statement (regarding the Jan. 6 Insurrection). We drafted 1 letter that was not sent (re: sorority racist rant; still a win, but speaks to systemic issues) 

 

• Megan Lamkin (Coalition founder & co-chair) with Kish Richardson (Black Round Table co-founder and co-chair 2020-2021) co-presented “Addressing Systemic Racism at UC: A Faculty-Staff Coalition to Support Student Calls to Action” at the Anti-Racism Community Engagement Virtual Conference, 2021 

 

 

Year 2: September 2021-August 2022  

Year two emphasized clarifying what “the work” looks like (varies by individual ability and environmental context) and building infrastructure to support organizational sustainability. 

 

• 220 colleagues joined or renewed their Coalition affiliation as members or friends by signing the Pledge to Organize for Racial Equity 

 

• Developed web page. 

 

• Secured a campus “home”: CARA became a part of UC’s Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (March 2022).  

 

• Started CARA’s “Advocacy Buddies” program (Feb. 2022) 

 

• Started a Telegram channel to quickly convene members if a white supremacist group “popped up” campus (40+ subscribers). 

 

• Continued encouraging members to purchase and wear “End Polite Silence” t-shirts on Fridays. 

 

• Leveraged general meetings to illuminate forms of racial injustice experienced at UC and demonstrate various forms of advocacy work 

• June Taylor-Slaughter (UC Libraries) read & discussed her poem, Red, White, and Blue 

• Carol Tonge Mack and Ron Jackson discussed the impact of a 2013 racist cartoon depicting them  

• Coalition leaders shared what motivates them to do the work, including challenges encountered along the way 

• Members shared and discussed sources of racial inequity in a range of spaces at UC and options for advocating for change (e.g., is it individual work or Coalition work?) 

• “Whose Story Gets Told” panel discussion at the AACRC 

• David Warmack’s story: how can we help?  

 

• Co-Chair initiated weekly office hours starting Jan. 2022 

 

• Co-Chairs spoke to the following groups about the Coalition 

• College of Nursing Committee for Inclusive Excellence (Megan Lamkin, Feb. 2022) 

• CAPS DEI Committee (Megan Lamkin, March 2022) 

 

• Colleague-facing Committee identified DEI groups and contacts across the university.  

 

• Curriculum Committee developed a rubric for Inclusive Syllabus Design in collaboration with CET&L. Co-Chairs presented it at a workshop hosted by CET&L. 

 

• Resource Committee developed a list of resources/advocacy guidelines to be shared on our web site. 

 

• Student-facing Committee worked with students to create a CARA icon that will allow students to identify members.