Racial politics have been thrust into the forefront in the USA, and many are clamoring to make sense of the intense protests and outrage of the past few months. Clarkson’s campus is not unscathed in this regard, and many are wondering how we can do better. We would like to use this as an opportunity to work together to become more educated on race in the United States and to better equip ourselves to act as anti-racists. By anti-racist, we mean going beyond “I’m not racist…” to actively taking an informed and confident stand against racism in all of its forms.
To facilitate this, we are starting an anti-racist book group, reading work by people of color and discussing the ideas together. The group is open to Clarkson faculty, staff, students, community members, and alumni of all backgrounds and experience levels. If you are interested and willing to read, share, listen, and discuss, you are welcome to join whenever you can. The start date will be determined after we gauge initial interest, but the hope is for this to run throughout the summer and likely into the fall.
If you are interested, please share some basic information on this google form by June 19th so that we can get together a member list and work towards setting up meeting dates and book orders. Clarkson should be able to help cover at least some of the book costs- we’re still working out the details on that. The first book we will be reading is Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race (synopsis below)- beyond that we will take input from the group about other books, especially if someone is interested in leading discussions for a book they are already familiar with. So if you wanted to share your reading of Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist; Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis; or Derrick Bell’s Faces at the Bottom of the Well, or something entirely different, you are welcome to bring it to the table.
Thank you for your interest, we looking forward to studying alongside you,
| Matt Manierre Assistant Professor of Sociology Department of Humanities and Social Sciences | Robyn Hannigan Provost |
“Widespread reporting on aspects of white supremacy–from police brutality to the mass incarceration of Black Americans–has put a media spotlight on racism in our society. Still, it is a difficult subject to talk about. How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair–and how do you make it right? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?
In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to “model minorities” in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.”