The Alumni Association is committed to fostering awareness, understanding, and action regarding anti-racism, equity, inclusion, and justice. We encourage you to explore the resources on this page and also the resources listed on UMaine’s Career Center Diversity Resources page.
As we navigate this time of national unrest, here are some initial questions to consider as you engage in critical self-reflection:
• Education. What have you been taught about race in the U.S.? What do you know about anti-Black racism?
• Reflection. How are you thinking about ways anti-Black racism has shown up in your life on individual, professional, and systemic levels?
• Awareness. What media and information do you consume? What, if any, Black voices present in those outlets?
• Engagement. What about the current moment has moved you to action? Was your level of interest in anti-racism and/or anti-Blackness as high before the most recent incidents of police brutality? If not, why?
• Learning. Are you practicing accountability for your own learning without placing a burden on colleagues, particularly Black identified colleagues and friends, to educate you?
• Action. In the future, how can you use your knowledge of anti-Blackness and systemic racism to transform your personal and professional environments?
The aforementioned guiding questions are intended to begin an extended process of engagement and reflection. To aid in this process the list below is intended to expand your knowledge on what anti-Blackness is and how systemic racism works, offer resources on meaningful allyship, and shed light on some of the organizations that are deeply committed to this work. (Please note that this is not an endorsed or exhaustive list but an educational start to help aid in knowledge construction).
Take UMaine’s Fogler Library’s 5- Day Racial Justice Challenge
Historical and Contemporary Contexts
- Anti-racist Reading List
- Systemic Racism Video List
- Call it What it is: Anti-Blackness
- #BlackLivesMatter PGI Micro-Syllabus
Webinar or YouTube Series
- Bangor NAACP and UMAA co-hosted this year’s MLK Day virtual event that featured a panel of UMaine alumni, students, and friends who addressed the topic of “Being Black in Maine: Lived Experience and the Prospect for Change” on Jan. 18, 2020. Watch it here.
- Three members of the UMaine Alumni community shared their perspectives and answered questions in a webinar via Zoom conference on June 11, 2020. Watch it here.
- Under the Blacklight
- Brown University Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America “How Structural Racism Works” Series
Leading Departments and Supporting Team Members
(it is important to note that not all employees will want, or expect, the same things)
- How to Manage When Things Are Not Okay (And Haven’t Been For Centuries
- Supporting Black Staff in Times of Crisis
- Demonstrating Care for Black Employees this Week and Beyond – USC Race and Equity Center
- Maintaining Professionalism in The Age of Black Death Is… A Lot
Information on Allyship
- 7 Examples of What Being an Ally at Work Really Looks Like
- Detour Spotting for White Anti-Racists
- 15 Ways To Strengthen Anti-racist Practice
- How to be a Strong Ally Reading List
Organizations Confronting Anti-Black Racism in the U.S.
- Black Lives Matter Movement
- Black Visions Collective
- Movement for Black Lives
- African-American Policy Forum
Books
- So You Want to Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo
- White Fragility – Robin DiAngelo
- Stamped from the Beginning and How to be an Antiracist – Ibrahim X. Kendi
- “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race – Beverly Daniel Tatum
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness – Michelle Alexander
Misc. Resources