Allyship for the African American Community

There are many specific actions you can take as an individual to strengthen your allyship and demonstrate your commitment to support our Black students, colleagues and community. We encourage you to consider and take any of the following actions:

• Engage in unit-level conversations: Take your next department meeting to discuss what the department will commit to doing to address bias and dismantle institutional racism. Invite students to provide their perspective in these conversations.
• Provide public statements of what your department will be doing that contain specific commitments to action; if your unit has already sent a statement to your own students, staff and faculty, post that statement on your department website for stronger public accountability.
• Begin or continue the work of anti-racism by: 
• Reading at least one of the Five Books That Every White Ally Should Read on Black Lives
• Watching SDSU’s June 4 2020 Teach-In, Teaching and Supporting Black Students: Advancing Student Needs in Times of Racial Crisis. 
• Watching Responding Racial Bias and Microaggressions in Online Environments. 
• Visiting Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources or Justice in June for ideas about how to continue your work. 
  
  (Aren't entirely sure what it means to be an anti-racist ally? Start here.)

• Participate in the development and implementation of your department / sub-unit diversity plan. 
• Attend SDSU’s annual One SDSU Kickoff and Welcome Receptions to connect with students from various racial, ethnic, and religious groups
• Use the Inclusive SDSU system to report any incidents of bias, as well as examples that positively reinforce our campus commitments  you may experience or observe. Consider adding a statement to your fall syllabus that ensures students know about the reporting system.
• Donate to the Black Resource Center to help cultivate a safe, welcoming and enriching climate for SDSU's Black students.
• If you have not already, sign the Pledge to Create a Welcoming and Safe Climate for SDSU's African-American Community (and/or see the Pledge site for additional suggestions and resources).
• Ensure your students are aware of SDSU resources that can provide help and support at this time. Please go online for Campus Support Services.

If you would like additional information, resources or assistance with any of these actions, please contact the Center for Inclusive Excellence at [email protected]. You can also join the mailing list for the Center for Inclusive Excellence for announcements and resources specifically related to professional learning for faculty and staff.