4 minute read
Celebrating our Diversity
From healing circles and LGBTQ+ pride events to a bold new initiative to establish the College of Lake County as a center for truth, racial healing and transformation, the Diversity Council is at the forefront of CLC’s efforts to create a more inclusive, equitable and compassionate world. By September 2020—eight months into a deadly pandemic after a summer of divisive politics and widespread protests against racial injustice—our nation was in dire need of healing. At College of Lake County, some of that healing was already happening as a dozen members of the college community convened virtually to share their lived experiences of race, racism and racial justice in the college’s first Lancer Circle. According to Diversity Council co-chairs Lorri Scott and Jesse Morales— the experience was a cathartic one for everyone involved. “The time was ripe for us to provide a space for healing after the tensions of the summer of 2020,” says Scott, a legal studies instructor at the college.
our DiversityCelebrating“CLC President Dr. Lori Suddick introduced us to the concept of community and restorative circles in 2018,” explains Morales, a college administrator and adjunct faculty member who is a passionate proponent of culturally responsive teaching. “We began to research the topic in 2019. In summer 2020, we trained with a restorative justice practitioner to learn restorative practices and gain insights into circle topics such as community building, peacekeeping and racial healing. Around that time, we accelerated the development of the Lancer Circle program because we could see that there was a growing need in the school community for a safe space where people could come together to talk about challenging, sensitive topics.” Rooted in the circle process used by Indigenous Peoples for millennia, contemporary community and restorative circles seek to unearth and unlearn the deeply held and often unconscious beliefs created by racism, particularly the belief in a “hierarchy of human value,” which is the perception of inferiority or superiority based on race, physical characteristics or place of origin. Since that first Lancer Circle, hundreds of CLC students, faculty members and staff have participated in more than 35 virtual circles on topics such as unintentional harm, open-mindedness, developing trust, the 2020 presidential election, navigating conflict, standing against racism and bias triggers.
“The response has been extremely positive,” says Scott. “People appreciate the opportunity to talk about race, misunderstandings and microaggressions. They want to discuss ways to improve their own skills and responses to those issues as a community.”
In recent years, the Diversity Council also has created diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statements to guide the school’s 2024 strategic plan, worked with the school’s leadership to create the first gender-neutral restroom on campus and updated every gender-assigned restroom on campus with signage that invites students to use the restroom that best aligns with their gender identity.
“We had a lot of conversations about inclusivity and making every member of our school community feel welcomed—especially those who might feel marginalized in society as a whole,” explains Morales. “One aspect of our campus that was not welcoming was our bathroom signage. So we changed the old, gender-restrictive signs to gender-inclusive ones. It was an easy fix that had an immediate, positive impact.”
During the 2019–20 academic year, the Council’s efforts to create a more inclusive campus culture continued with the debut of a new “Through Our Eyes” speaker series featuring Latinx and African American presenters. The Council also kicked off the College’s first LGBTQ+ pride celebration with a virtual presentation by non-binary trailblazer Kate Bornstein, who spoke about her challenges and achievements as a gender-nonconforming actress. Currently, the Council is in the process of drafting anti-racism and land-acknowledgement statements to guide the school community as it deepens its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Next up is the Council’s most ambitious initiative to date: the launch of the college’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) initiative.
“Lorri and Jesse, along with a few others, were responsible for the college’s proposal to become a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Center,” notes Dr. Suddick. “Our work on this project will begin this summer in partnership with the Workforce Development Board and United Way Lake County.”
Through this initiative, CLC will join colleges and universities across the country in a nationwide, community-based effort to bring about transformational, sustainable change and address the historic and contemporary effects of racism.
“Our community partners will be instrumental in helping us develop and implement our TRHT action plan during the coming year,” says Scott. “We will rely heavily on their guidance, mentoring and input as we develop a plan that incorporates the perspectives and needs of our students and faculty, as well as the larger community.”
It’s been a busy couple of years for the Diversity Council and the college’s leadership team as they work together to foster success for every student and employee by creating an inclusive, equitable and barrier-free environment that enables them to achieve their academic, career and personal goals.
But Dr. Suddick and Diversity Council are just getting started. “We’re working hard to make progress and take actions that fulfill the diversity, equity and inclusion statements created by the Council in 2018, which are integrated into our 2024 Strategic Plan,’ she says. “It’s important to have those statements, but it’s even more important to take action.”
W.K. Kellogg Foundation: https://healourcommunities.org