More than 400 years after the first enslaved Africans were brought to the American colonies which themselves were founded on native lands, many people in the United States have finally reached a moment of widespread awareness of and reckoning with the issue of systemic racial injustice. Achieving racial equality and creating a truly inclusive community requires continuous effort, dialogue, and education.
"Justice is necessary because injustice exists. Racial discrimination; economic inequality; health care disparities; and inadequate access to quality education, healthy food and transportation are just some of the issues. When we know what injustices exist, we can work to dismantle the systems that perpetuate injustice and create a fair, more equitable society. Our ambition at Augustana College is to promote the social change necessary to remediate the inequities that we see because of racial disparities." (see the full statement and additional resources from Augustana's Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)
This guide provides resources to help students, faculty, and staff deepen their understanding of the pervasiveness of racism, the experiences of people of color, and what they can do to eliminate racial disparities locally and globally.