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ODI Matters Summer 2020

You are not alone. Even if you have to physically isolate yourself at this time, you don't have to socially isolate yourself. Reach out to get support and reach out to support others. Everyone at Centre is working hard right now, whether on ensuring our diversity is included and central to our community, making our campus safer for students to return in the fall, and/or finding innovative ways to teach their courses and do their work.

Contact Information for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion

  • Andrea Abrams, Associate Vice President for Diversity Affairs & Special Assistant to the President, andrea.abrams@centre.edu, 859-238-5267
  • Ashley Oliver, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, ashley.oliver@centre.edu, 859-238-6520
  • Jo Teut, Assistant Director of Diversity and Inclusion, jo.teut@centre.edu, 859-238-6220
  • Intercultural Suite will remain open as long as the Campus Center remains open

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ODI's Diversity Updates Webpage

Tools from ODI

Our office has been working to provide you with a variety of tools to help you better engage, work, and support yourself and others in various ways. Here are some of the latest offerings we have.

Centre College's Grace Doherty Library created this Anti-Racism and Social Justice: Resource Guide to help you access the resources you need at this time. 

Digital Engagement and Tools

No matter where you are, here are some opportunities to engage with Danville and Boyle County, the Appalachian Trail, and other physical attractions to which you might not have access otherwise.

LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

“Somebody," said Jacques, "your father or mine, should have told us that not many people have ever died of love. But multitudes have perished, and are perishing every hour - and in the oddest places! - for the lack of it."

James Baldwin, American writer and activist, wrote this in his novel Giovanni's Room, which is noteworthy for its depictions of both homosexuality and bisexuality. I come back to this quotation time after time as I think about the impact of hate and possibility of love in various contexts. It's certainly on my mind given the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade; the inequalities of health care and xenophobia made transparent by COVID-19; and the ongoing legal battles for recognition and rights within the Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ communities. This lack of love that leads to hate cross cuts identity groups, histories, and experiences. We need to keep this in mind as we commemorate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, which celebrates the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots led by trans women of color. In recent years, Pride has become known for parades and festivals, but this year, we urgently need to return to our roots as we continue to fight for justice within the Black Lives Movement and in solidarity with all other groups experiencing oppression.

We've curated resources below that address the history of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, self-care, transgender advocacy in Kentucky, and representations of LGBTQIA+ folx, especially those who are rural and/or in the South.

Racial Justice Initiatives and Self-Care Healing Resources

If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. If you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.

Words used by Lilla Watson, Aboriginal elder, activist, and educator from Queensland, Australia.

This quotation always comes back to me as a white queer person invested in anti-racist and social justice work as a reminder to how and why I approach this work. In case you missed our Social Justice Newsletter earlier this month (link above), or if you are looking for more resources to continue this work, we've curated some and are re-highlighting some that are critical right now. We're also sharing resources for mental health, centering BIPOC, that have become available more recently.

Reading/Listening Recommendations

We want to call attention to the ReVisioning American History series from Beacon Press and its available books, below.

Other books to consider putting on your to-read list:

Reminder, the Grace Doherty Library provides you with access to materials digitally via ebooks and other means. If you can't find it there, consider looking at the Boyle County Public Library, which has been issuing virtual cards and has subscriptions to apps such as Libby and Hoopla. Hoopla, a personal favorite, lets you instantly download to your device five titles a month, no waiting and no holds. If you aren't around Danville, consider going to your local public library to see what they can offer or using WorldCat.org to find what you're looking for near you.

While there are still a lot of unknowns about what the future will look like come August and after, our communities will continue to support each other. Thank you.

That's all, folx!

Appreciate
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