Juneteenth 2020: A Day of Reflection, Commitment, and Action for Racial Justice - Office of the Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence

In this moment in history, with so much happening nationwide outside of our campus walls, it is crucial that we all stop to reflect, commit, and act. Citizens around the globe have voiced their resistance to the brutality of U.S. law enforcement, and the enduring harm these systems visit upon Black individuals, families, and communities. However, we also want to acknowledge that the brutal murders of Black lives in recent weeks and months is only a symptom of a much bigger problem with a history of over 400 years of oppression. We believe that silence is violence.

Embedded in the very foundation of our country’s formation, these systems have shaped the trajectory of systemic racism, racial inequity, and social divisiveness across race. It is essential that we, as a Tufts community, join the national conversation and contemplate the nation’s histories, the longstanding epidemic of police violence, and commit to our role as change agents in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

In this spirit of solidarity and racial justice, the Chief Diversity Officers, Office of the Provost, and the Office of the President will be hosting a Day of Reflection, Commitment, and Action on Friday, June 19, 2020, the national observance of Juneteenth. While we encourage members of the campus community to engage in this important work with autonomy, we strongly encourage all members of the campus community to attend programming throughout the day, as they are available. We will have opening and closing plenary sessions where all of us in the community can come together to begin to develop the concrete steps we can take as a university, as well as a series of breakout sessions to choose from that will explore, interrogate, and engage attendees in meaningful contemplation and dialogue. Black Lives Matter. Black Trans Lives Matter.

Do you have resources to share? Questions? Would you like to be listed as a resource?

Time	Workshop Description
9am-10am	Reflection: Where Are We as an Institution? A Reflection on Juneteenth. Tony Monaco, M.D. and Ph.D., Tufts University President Nadine Aubry, Ph.D., Tufts University Provost Reverend Gloria Elaine White-Hammond, M.D., Tufts University School of Medicine Alum and Trustee Emerita Rebecca Morin, Head of Research and Instruction, Tufts University Hirsh Health Sciences Library Video Link
10am-11am
Breakout Session #1	Office of the Vice Provost for Research Juneteenth Forum (Closed to OVPR Staff) Caroline Attardo Genco, Ph.D., Vice President of Research Senior Staff This session will explore how we address inequality and diversity in the research workforce. *No Video Recording Available*
Breakout Session #2	COVID-19, A Pandemic Within a Pandemic: Racial Injustice, Structural Racism, and Health Inequities Damian Archer, M.D., Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs and Associate Dean of Diversity & Inclusion, Tufts University Medical School Tony Schlaff, M.D. and M.P.H., Director of Public Health Programs Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine Keith Nokes, M.D. and M.P.H., Director of Sam W. Ho Health Justice Scholars Program This session seeks to explore the intersection of racism, COVID-19 and social justice and what role the medical school plays in preventing health inequities. By the end of the discussion we hope to have several action steps that the community thinks the medical school can take toward becoming an anti-racist medical school. Video Link
Breakout Session #3	Racial Inequities in Veterinary Medicine (Closed Session, Open Only to Cummings Students, Faculty, and Staff) Flo Tseng, D.V.M., Associate Professors and Associate Chair, Wildlife Medicine and Surgery, Seabird Biology, Oil Spill Response Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Cumming School of Veterinary Medicine Alastair Cribb, Dean, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine We will start by addressing why this conversation is needed now and present some statistics about the lack of racial diversity in vet med. We'll then open this discussion session up to faculty, staff, and students and start outlining short and long-term action steps. Video Link
Breakout Session #4	New Data on Police Discrimination and Race Peter Levine, Associate Dean, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life Deborah Schildkraut, Professor, Department of Political Science Jayanthi Mistry, Professor, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development An interdisciplinary team of Tufts researchers fielded a major national survey from May 29-June 10. It included questions about discriminatory treatment by the police as well as other forms of discrimination. Members of the research team will discuss findings and their implications. Video Link
Breakout Session #5	Racial Justice and Sustainability Office of Sustainability Staff Prayank Jain, '20 Graduate of Laws and International Law Cyatharine Alias, '20 Graduate of the Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning A discussion about the intersections between racial justice and the environment and an exploration of potential steps forward, as well as a celebration of Black environmentalists. Video Link
Breakout Session #6	"Hear Our Voices"- Members of the TUSDM Community Share Stories and Reflect on Personal Experiences of Being Black Jeanette Holloway, D.D.S., Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Tufts School of Dental Medicine "You Wouldn't Survive a Mile In My Shoes": This session will cover various topics, headlines, and opinions related to microaggressions, implicit bias, and their impact on the Black community. Video Link
11am-Noon
Breakout Session #7	Where Do We Go From Here? Engineering’s Potential as a Positive Influence in Just and Equitable Societies Chris Swan, Sc.D., Dean of Undergraduate Education and Associate Director for Diversity and Inclusion, Tufts School of Engineering Engineering has an indisputable role in the US society’s development and growth. But does its perceived success translate to all of its citizens? In fact, for some cases, engineering feats have only perpetuated the existing racial and social injustices which permeate American life. Can engineering be transformed to make its value provided to, and delivered from, all members of society? This is what will be explored in this session. The interactive dialogue will focus on three questions: How does systemic/structural racism help shape who participates in the field? How does systemic/structural racism impact what is done via engineering? What can be done to change engineering (both academically and professionally) towards being a steward for more just and equitable societies? *No Video Recording Available*
Breakout Session #8	White Responsibility in Anti-racism Work: Sustaining Commitment to Listening and Unlearning (Open to Faculty and Staff Only) Brianda Hernandez, M.A., Student Programs Administrator and Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life Deborah Donahue-Keegan, Senior Fellow, Tisch College; Lecturer, Education Department; Associate Director, Tisch Social-Emotional Learning and Civic Engagement Initiative Silas Pinto, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer and Director of the School of Psychology Program, Department of Education During this 1-hour session participants will be introduced to a racial literacy framework, and explore how listening and unlearning are essential components of anti-racism work. During this session, we will watch a video clip and reflect on the content, both individually and together, through the lens of the racial literacy framework. *No Video Recording Available*
Breakout Session #9	Digital Justice: Digital disparities across the U.S. and How it Disproportionately Hurts the Black Community Ravi Chaturvedi, Ph.D., Research Director, The Institute for Business in the Global Context, The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy A discussion on recent work regarding the digital disparities across the U.S. and how it disproportionately hurts the Black community. This has many implications during normal times, but has particular bite in a time when the entire economy (jobs, social connectivity, education, etc.,) is reliant on digital connections during the COVID-19 shutdown. The gap will lead to even more gaps in the future unless we recognize this now and do something about it. This is part of IBGC’s ongoing research into global inequality and inclusion as seen through a technology lens: Imagining a Digital Economy for All, IDEA 2030. *No Video Recording Available*
Breakout Session #10	Knowledge is Power: Information Privilege and Access in Research with Underrepresented Populations Rebecca Morin, Head of Research and Instruction, Tufts University Hirsh Health Sciences Library Quetzalli Barrientos, Arts and Humanities Research and Instruction Librarian at Tisch Library This roundtable will involve conversation about information privilege and access in conducting historical research on underrepresented or marginalized populations. Prompts will be provided for discussion. *No Video Recording Available*
Breakout Session #11	Moving Towards a Racially Just and Equitable Health Research Enterprise Sara Folta, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Associate Professor for the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute Jonathan Garlick, Professor of Oral Pathology, Cell, Molecular, & Developmental Biology Alice Rushforth, Executive Director, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute Linda Hudson, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine Robert Sege, Co-Director, Stakeholder and Community Engagement, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Professor of Medicine Research designed to enhance wellbeing and improve health outcomes is the cornerstone of the health and welfare of our population.Yet this same endeavor has been impacted by structural racial bias historically embedded within our society. From the earliest medical studies on enslaved African women, to experimentation on African American men in Tuskegee Alabama, among others, the research enterprise has carried a legacy of racial bias out of which has emerged our principles of human subject research. The success and benefits of health-related research over the last century are enormous and impactful, yet systemic inequities persist. Three short presentations will explore pathways to more racially just and equitable research practice by examining systemic/structural racism related to: diverse workforce development, prioritization of research interests and resources, lack of integration of underrepresented populations and the explicit recognition of the role of racial hierarchies, all with a focus on recommendations for next steps. This will be followed by a facilitated discussion that will be guided by the question: How can we transform research, with consideration for past and present experiences of racism and marginalization, towards an equitable, healthy and safe future for everyone? Video Link
Breakout Session #12	Roundtable Discussion: Identifying Structural Racism in our Professional Spaces as Faculty (Faculty Only Session) Annie Soisson, Executive Director of the Center for Learning and Teaching Many Black voices have written extensively on the ways that structural racism shapes America and higher education in particular. Join with fellow faculty to begin to do the work of dismantling structural racism at Tufts. First, we have to recognize and name it in our spaces. In this dialogue we will work to identify how structural racism plays out in our immediate spaces - our departments, our classrooms, in meetings we host, communications we send. What norms, values and perspectives do many of us hold and enact that perpetuate racist practices overall, but particularly against Black members of the Tufts community? As we begin to become more cognizant of these practices in our spaces, how can we begin to disrupt them? *No Video Recording Available*
Breakout Session #13	Race and Education Steve Cohen, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Department of Education How has the preK-12 education system tackled, ignored, and struggled with the racial inequities in US Society? Video Link
Breakout Session #14	Open Forum--Public Health & Community Medicine/Public Health & Professional Degree Programs Aviva Must, Dean, M.D. and Ph.D., Public Health and Professional Degrees Derrick Young, Alum, School of Medicine's Public Health and Professional Degrees How do we become an anti-racist medical school that realizes the opportunities of population health within our walls and in our greater Boston community? Our recent alumnus, Derrick Young will lead a facilitated discussion with PHCM staff, faculty and PHPD students. *No Video Recording Available*
	Lunch Hour
1pm-2pm	Taking Action: Where Do We Go From Here? Tony Monaco, M.D. and Ph.D., Tufts University President Nadine Aubry, Ph.D., Tufts University Provost Mike Howard, Tufts University Executive Vice President Melissa Mazan, D.V.M. Internal Medicine, Equine Respiratory System, Lung Function, Cummings School of Veterinary Science Lynne Pepall, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Chair of the Department of Community Health Closing remarks and review of breakout sessions and next steps. Video Link

Resources

Tufts Institute for Global Leadership: Resources on Racism, Racial Justice, and Equity
Anti-Racist Resources
Tisch Library Anti-Racist Readings