“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope”
Engraving at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC
Today, as we celebrate the life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I can think of no better way to honor his teachings and his mission that to reflect on the work being done at WLAC to infuse the precepts of racial equity and social justice across our campus.
- A team of seventeen campus "thought leaders" has been engaged in dialogues to identify the College's priorities and how we can best move these discussions into our participatory governance system in support of the District's Framework for Racial Equity and Social Justice.
- An "Inclusivity and Equity Alliance" FIG (Focused Inquiry Group) has been established within our faculty to further discuss ways to infuse racial equity and social justice into our curriculum and our campus culture.
- Multiple professional development offerings have provided an environment, through special sessions, Town Halls and breakout rooms, to allow honest conversation between and among our faculty and staff as to the challenges of addressing systemic racism.
- Our Culturally-Responsive Teaching and Learning Hub continues to be active in faculty development.
- The College is an active participant in the USC Community College Equity Alliance, providing "train the trainer" opportunities in a wide variety of equity-based topics.
- In student support,
- An LGBTQIA+ Club has been established,
- Efforts are under way to expand our Puente program,
- The Dream Center continues to offer services to our undocumented students,
- A WLAC chapter of A2MEND has been established, and
- A proposal for a Black Student Union will soon be submitted for review.
- Faculty conversations have been initiated regarding the integration of racial equity/social justice principles across the curriculum.
At West, we have been able to post these achievements due to the commitment and dedication of our faculty, staff, and students to the values of racial equity and social justice as the core framework for meaningful change in a society that has been significantly fractured at the national level.