IDI & IDEA Coordinators Programming

During the summer of 2020, IDI educators and Institutional Diversity: Excellence in Action (IDEA) Coordinators came together to develop campus resources that would address current challenges that we’re all facing on our campus and throughout the world today. The group* discussed the needs identified through the multiple perspectives of our work at MSU, and are pleased to offer the following:

*Many thanks to Amber Benton, Kevin Brooks, Melissa Del Rio, Jackie Heyman, Stratton Lee, Phillip Seaborn, and Patti Stewart for these programs and resources.

Facilitation

This collaborative effort also developed a solution for addressing the need to communicate across difference in many spaces at our institution. We are pleased to offer a list of campus individuals who are identified as having learned the skills to be effective facilitators and moderators for these conversations. Click Facilitation to find out more about what this service entails, as well as helpful tips for successful conversations.

Can we talk? Resources

An online resource designed to assist educators, students, and community partners with identifying tools, strategies and resources to inform and assist with difficult or challenging conversations. This site will continuously be updated to provide as many resources as possible.

Free Speech

Informed Civic Engagement Resource Guide: Free Speech - As we move forward as a nation, free speech is a topic routinely discussed. Please see the link below for resources to help understand free speech and the limits should said speech threaten to infringe on others rights. https://guides.lib.uw.edu/engagement/speech

Critical Conversations

Conversations about Race

The African American Policy Forum: Founded in 1996, The African American Policy Forum (AAPF) is an innovative think tank that connects academics, activists and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality. We utilize new ideas and innovative perspectives to transform public discourse and policy. We promote frameworks and strategies that address a vision of racial justice that embraces the intersections of race, gender, class, and the array of barriers that disempower those who are marginalized in society. AAPF is dedicated to advancing and expanding racial justice, gender equality, and the indivisibility of all human rights, both in the U.S. and internationally. https://aapf.org/ourmission

American Council on Education| Race & Ethnicity In Higher Education: We need to Talk About Race in Higher Education - Shaun Harper emphasizes the importance of discussing race in higher education. https://www.equityinhighered.org/resources/ideas-and-insights/we-need-to-talk-about-race-in-higher-education/

ACE2019: Talking About Race - In this plenary session at ACE2019, two of the country’s leading voices and best-selling authors on race and racism—Beverly Daniel Tatum and Robin DiAngelo—discussed the role of race in the United States and on college campuses, how university leaders can engage their communities on race, and what it will take to close equity gaps. The session was moderated by ACE Vice President for Research Lorelle Espinosa. https://www.equityinhighered.org/resources/ideas-and-insights/ace2019-talking-about-race

Responding to Issues of Racial and Social Justice

https://www.aacu.org/resources-responding-issues-racial-and-social-justice

Understanding Emotions during Conversations: How to Control Your Emotions during a Difficult Conversation - “It’s hard not to get worked up emotionally when you’re in a tense conversation. After all, a disagreement can feel like a threat. You’re afraid you’re going to have to give up something — your point of view, the way you’re used to doing something, the notion that you’re right, or maybe even power – and your body therefore ramps up for a fight by triggering the sympathetic nervous system.” Continue learning at this link: https://hbr.org/2017/12/how-to-control-your-emotions-during-a-difficult-conversation

Civil Discourse: A Plea for Civil Discourse - An article written by Andrea Leskes and published by the Association of American Colleges & Universities defines civil discourse and provides strategies for promoting civil discourse in undergraduate education. https://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/2013/fall/leskes

Teaching and Programing Resources

The Social Justice Toolbox: The Social Justice Toolbox is a resource hub for free, curated, ready-to-rock social justice activities and facilitation guides designed to help you make the most of your diversity workshops and social justice training. https://www.socialjusticetoolbox.com/

Teaching Tolerance: Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners—who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.

Our program emphasizes social justice and anti-bias. The anti-bias approach encourages children and young people to challenge prejudice and learn how to be agents of change in their own lives. Our Social Justice Standards show how anti-bias education works through the four domains of identity, diversity, justice and action. https://www.tolerance.org/

Young, Gifted, @ Risk and Resilient: A Video Toolkit to Support the Well-Being of Students of Color - Mental health among college students has become a national priority. Students of color in particular experience unique circumstances, such as racial/ethnic discrimination, disparities in mental health services, and marginalization. These experiences can contribute negatively to their mental health and well-being and impede both academic performance and college satisfaction.

This video series features scholars and practitioners from across the country who provide evidence-based information for faculty, staff, and providers to foster a positive learning environment and support the mental health and well-being of students of color. https://medium.com/national-center-for-institutional-diversity/young-gifted-risk-and-resilient-4bc84efca3c6

Guidelines for Discussing Difficult or Controversial Topics: Guidelines to help instructors facilitate classroom discussion around controversial issues. Whatever the context, it is helpful to structure such discussions in a way that defines boundaries for the process and provides some degree of closure within the classroom. Such discussions are an especially important time to explicitly discuss expectations for respecting a range of perspectives and experiences in the room.

http://crlt.umich.edu/publinks/generalguidelines https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/inclusive-teaching/inclusive-classrooms/useful-questions-for-dialogue-facilitation/

https://compact.org/resource-posts/dialogue-resources-for-higher-education/

Self-Education & Learning

Justice in June: This resource was compiled by Autumn Gupta with Bryanna Wallace’s oversight for the purpose of providing a starting place for individuals trying to become better allies. Choose how much time you have each day to become more informed as step one to becoming an active ally to the black community. The link below will provide access to a document containing links to learning resources and a schedule of what to do each day. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-Vxs6jEUByXylMS2BjGH1kQ7mEuZnHpPSs1Bpaqmw0/preview?pru=AAABcs4Dd_E*ak2puS43vb0GNqzB87tz_g

The Black Plague: Public officials lament the way that the coronavirus is engulfing black communities. The question is, what are they prepared to do about it? https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-black-plague

How Do We Change America? The quest to transform this country cannot be limited to challenging its brutal police. https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-do-we-change-america

Social Media

Instagram: @ohhappydani, @courtneyahndesign, @them, @blacklivesmatter, @blacklivesmatterlansing

YouTube: NiCole T. Buchanan - I’m done with “Allies” # SayTheirName - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eU2pDINy10

Podcasts

NPRS’ Code Switch: Remember when folks used to talk about being "post-racial"? Well, we're definitely not that. We're a multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how they play out in our lives and communities, and how all of this is shifting. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/

https://www.rd.com/list/podcasts-about-race-you-need-to-hear/

Community Engagement

Deep Listening