To our Bentley Community, Institutional and systemic racism destroys communities. The murder of George Floyd and countless others at the hands of police devastated Minneapolis and communities across the country that face injustices every day. We recognize the Bentley Orientation Team is the first step in connecting our new students to our community. We need to not just present a diverse student body, but act to welcome one and understand the plights of our incoming students. That is why we firmly stand with the Black Lives Matter movement and will continuously work to engage fellow community members about issues regarding racism and discrimination. Many members of the Bentley community have the privilege to never know what it is like to fear for their lives simply because of the color of their skin, while others must fight against the perpetrators of institutional racism every day. That is why throughout Orientation, we make it a goal to learn about each other's experiences and try, at the very least, to understand. Only from a viewpoint of empathy and compassion can the tragedies perpetuated by institutional racism be dismantled. We urge members of the Bentley community, even as we are apart, to reach out to one another and listen. Communicating and building spaces for conversation are essential components for strengthening our community. Building a stronger community, one that understands each other and is sensitive to the everyday trials in each other's lives, is how we can all stand together against the perils of systemic racism in this country and around the world. To strengthen our community, we must first recognize who we are. Our institution is predominately white and has inherently contributed to the institutional and systemic racism that plagues America. We call on ourselves as the Central Staff and other white people to educate themselves and better advocate for those that live without such privilege. We recognize the work that we have not done yet and pledge to continue educating ourselves in order to combat institutional and systemic racism through our programming and training. Here are the resources we are using to educate ourselves:
Resources: o Social Justice 101 Resources: https://tinyurl.com/drjotengiiSJ101 (Credit: Joseph Oteng, @drotengii)
o Anti-Racism Resource Guide by Tasha K. Ryals https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hpubjkm9cLzJWqZSsETqbE6tZ13Q0UbQz--vQ2avEc/edit
“Ways to Help”: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ (Credit: Nico @dehyedration)
The 1619 Project: https://open.spotify.com/show/7j5MhJCMBvOjF1Asi9LPLX?si=wAGdQAn8TBaywa7 MvsGPHQ (Credit: Nikole Hannah-Jones) Books/Articles: (Credit: Cara Snider) o How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi o So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo