Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
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| Dear Community,
I want to celebrate and acknowledge all the partnerships and contributions that expand and embed Silver’s diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom, field, administrative work, and social interactions. I am so humbled to collaborate with you in transformative spaces that honor the humanity of all. Thank you to all who have participated in our community read of Mia Birdsong’s book, How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community! We are excited to welcome Mia to the Silver community on Thursday, March 30th from 4:00 - 5:15 PM EST (via Zoom) for a Day of Unlearning. I am also excited to highlight students' participation over the past two years in restorative justice training, which strengthens and aligns with the social work profession.
As spring begins, April celebrates holidays for multiple faiths, which richly contribute to the Silver community and are amplified by the work of NYU Global Spiritual Life in cultivating belonging and love in education and action. Let us take a moment to dedicate our thoughts and solidarity to those around the globe, domestic and international, who have been affected by and are currently facing ethnic, religious, and racial-based violence. The programs and events organized by the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) at NYU build international relationships and coalitions to promote peacebuilding and prevent humanitarian crises. I invite you to attend the NYU Takes Action: A Bystander Intervention Training Series, which aims to equip our community with approaches for responding to harassment and violence on 3/27 - Anti-Asian, 4/3 - Anti-Black, and 4/4 - Anti-LGBTQ+ . Let us recommit to transformative change at Silver and within our communities.
Sincerely,
Richeleen Dashield
Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
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| AccountabilityHow are we holding each other accountable for antiracism?
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| Rev. Al Sharpton on Unfinished Business: Centering Social Justice in Society With Reverend Al Sharpton
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Concluding the series of Conversations on Centering Social Justice in Social Work, NYU Silver will host an important, in-person conversation with National Action Network
President and Founder Reverend Al Sharpton, Visiting Scholar and FPWA CEO and Executive Director Jennifer Jones Austin, and Dean Michael A. Lindsey, on the unfinished business of social justice 60 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
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Video: Getting at the Root: Perspectives on Global Justice, Truth Telling and Accountability
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The Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project and the Carr Center for Human Rights hosted a discussion with scholars studying processes and practices of global truth-telling, repair, and justice. Through a lens of accountability, scholars explored what they have learned from cases of truth commissions and repair mechanisms from around the world. What are the limitations of this work for understanding the U.S. context? And what would accountability look like for the U.S. with its history of violence and harm?
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| CommunityHow are we creating an environment for healing and working together? Are we resisting isolation and allowing ourselves to be seen?
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Making Antiracism Institutional at Silver
Department of Field Learning & Community Partnerships
Dr. Anne Dempsey, Dr. Nicholas Lanzieri, and Dr. Juhi Malhotra
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| How does the Department of Field Learning & Community Partnerships advance social justice in its work?
The Department of Field Learning & Community Partnerships connects students with real world social work practice settings to which students bring tremendous energy for social justice praxis in agencies across the NYC tri-state area and in Shanghai. The Field learning curriculum area is the signature pedagogy of social work education and the largest curriculum area in the Silver school, with about 1,100 students in Field learning at any given time. We are a close-knit community of people who enjoy Field education in all its complexity and richness. We have over 100 years of collective agency-based experience.
How does the Department of Field Learning & Community Partnerships hold itself accountable to anti-racist practice?
The administrators, faculty, and Field coordinators in our Department engage in a variety of activities to hold themselves accountable to antiracist practice. Some examples are:
● White Accountability Group (WAG) participation
● Increased diversity of practice backgrounds and lived experience among Field coordinators and Faculty advisors
● Collaboration with doctoral students who have expertise in racial equity work and anti-oppressive pedagogy on Field-related initiatives
What are the achievements of the Department of Field Learning & Community Partnerships in the last year to advance social justice?
The Department has created and implemented a Field Preparatory Lab focused on critical reflection and anti-oppressive approaches to Field education. The Field Seminar and Prep Lab materials educate students during placement disruptions and delays. Through the Field Preparatory Lab, simulation helps students engage with clients and to learn and reflect on anti-oppressive approaches.I n addition, the Department collaborates with the Rory Meyers College of Nursing and the Long Island University School of Pharmacy to offer interprofessional simulation experiences that address race and socioeconomic diversity in healthcare. Lastly, newly implemented reflection assignments ask students to consider positionality and anti-oppressive social work practice.
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| TrustHow are we following through on our responsibility to antiracism? What actions are we taking to ensure all members of the Silver community are protected against bias?
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Article: Finding The Vaccine For Racism
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There is an inherent danger in simplifying our understanding of racism to individual acts of
prejudice and discrimination. To fully address the systemic nature of racism in ousociety, we must recognize and confront it in all its complexity, working to understand its roots, manifestations, and impact on people’s lives.
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| Article: Can Chief Diversity Officers Succeed?
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If you ever wondered what is the role of a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO)? Read this article by Porter Braswell, which explains three different roles. First, if you believe DEI exists to make people feel better at work, then the CDO becomes a hand-holder, who guides the organization through training and difficult conversations. Second, if you think DEI exists to protect a company, especially legally and reputationally, then the CDO is more of a spokesperson. However, if you believe that diverse workforces, equitable policies, and inclusive cultures help a company perform better, then the CDO role becomes more complex. In short, CDOs are integral strategists and implementers leading transformative change that impacts oppressive systems and builds an inclusive community.
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| TransparencyHow, when, and to whom are we communicating important information? Are we only communicating when it is easy or also when it is not?
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| The 13th annual NYU Solidarity Featured Events,April 10–14!
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| Report: Faculty Diversity and Student Success Go Hand in Hand, So Why Are University Faculties So White?
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Faculty diversity plays a key role in college student completion and impacts students’ sense of belonging, retention rates, and persistence. All students benefit from faculty diversity. This report examines faculty diversity relative to student diversity, hiring equity, tenure equity, and changes in faculty representation over time for Black and Latino faculty at public, four-year institutions. It highlights colleges and universities that are making progress in diversifying faculty and institutions where there is more work to do.
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| Asian Mental Health Collective
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Asian Mental Health Collective is an online community of support, with several mental health resources and opportunities for workshops and events for the AAPI community.
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| Brief: How can we ensure that guided pathways and racial equity efforts are seamlessly integrated?
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Another theme in the USC Race and Equity Center series is “Moving from Racelessness to Race-Conscious Approaches.” Applying a racial equity lens to the guided pathways framework requires us to center the strengths and needs of students of color in our redesign efforts. Without doing so, we risk defaulting to whiteness as the norm, perpetuating the inequities we aim to address. In this first brief related to that theme, the author highlights transforming the colleges to achieve racial justice as a personal endeavor that begins with each one of us and provides some tips to move forward.
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| Article: How Student Debt Harms Black Borrowers’ Mental Health
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According to The Education Trust, “Approximately 45 million Americans carry $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, but the financial challenges facing Black borrowers are numerous. Black students are more likely to borrow, borrow more, and are more likely to struggle with repayment than their peers because they collectively have fewer resources due to the generational and ongoing effects of structural racism. This debt burden has far-reaching financial consequences, and research also shows that student debt contributes to poor mental health.
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| Podcast: Making Gay History
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Making Gay History is an oral history of key figures from the LGBTQ+ movement from 1945-1990. Author and historian Eric Marcus’s rare interviews create intimate, personal portraits of known and long-forgotten champions, heroes, and witnesses to history.
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Podcast: Disability Matters
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Disability Matters, hosted by Joyce Bender, a disability employment consultant, talks with experts about recruitment, mentoring, and accessibility in the workplace.
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Asian Enough hosted by Jen Yamato, Johana Bhuiyan, Tracy Brown, and
Suhauna Hussain of the Los Angeles Times invites guests to share personal stories, unpack identity, and explore cultures, backgrounds, and generations as they expand on how being Asian American is defined.
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| INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine
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Left to right: Richeleen Dashield (Director, Office of DEI), Fatima Mabrouk (Silver Climate Peer Advocate), Aysha Aliyar (Social Work Intern), Gerri Connaught (Silver Climate Peer Advocate)
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| Share Antiracism Resources!If you have antiracism resources you would like to share for the next edition of the newsletter we have limited spots available. Please email silver.DEI@nyu.edu with the subject "DEI Newsletter Submission."
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