Social Justice and Advocacy Series

We, the students and faculty from the University of San Diego, believe that education is a conduit, which can break the cycle of racism and give rise to social justice. We denounce and stand in opposition to systemic racism that has led to inequities within our community. This group started as a response to the grief and anger we experienced after George Floyd’s and Breonna Taylors’ murders in June 2020. Acknowledging the pain systemic racism is inflicting upon oppressed communities, our commitments have since expanded to addressing the need for justice oriented action and conscious healing.  

We, as a social justice collective of Changemakers, are committed to uplifting and providing a better quality of life for our community. We are educational leaders, scholars, and activists fighting against systemic and institutional racism, and inequities by:

• Organize events for Learning, Expressing, Acting, Healing, and Reflecting
• Share information on social media and professional platforms 
• Collaborate with the community (student organizations, community based organizations, USD faculty and staff, and Changemakers from local and global communities)

We believe that we cannot achieve justice regarding racial, educational, political, economic, climate, health, or any other form of injustice, if it stifles a person’s human rights. An injustice against one person is an injustice against all.

We are called to act and to defend the rights and liberties of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), including those marginalized due to their sexual orientation, differing abilities, and gender identities. These often unheard voices who live within the American tapestry exist in collective oppression and are often excluded from full participation as citizens in our democracy. They have been profiled, detained, and denied their rights – their humanity asphyxiated.

We stand in solidarity with our BIPOC kin in deliberately:

• Empowering Black Lives
• Dismantling white supremacist ideology, systems, and structures in our own institutions
• Establishing anti-racist and equitable hiring practices
• Designing and implementing culturally and linguistically relevant, responsive, proficient, and sustaining teaching practices
• Creating spaces to elevate the consciousness of the humanity of BIPOC people 
• Engaging with campus safety officers to examine data, policies, and practices that may disproportionately impact BIPOC individuals
• Confronting inequities using research, data, and evidence that lead to actionable reforms for more equitable outcomes that lead to policy reform
• Advancing curriculum and instruction to call out and address systemic injustices and to call in more representation from BIPOC 
• Sharing skills and strategies for white allyship/co-conspirators