Race at Rutgers: The Path Forward*
June 4, 2020
As Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement, like you, I mourn the reality that in 2020, protest is still needed to recognize the value of Black life. As a sociologist who studies racial inequality, behind this sorrow is a deeper knowing that racial violence is not limited to death but includes indignities, micro- and macro- aggressions, racial assaults that African-Americans and other communities of color experience daily.
It also includes erasure that creates a sanitized version of history that hides our racist past. The Scarlet and Black Project unveils the university’s early history and connection to slavery. It documents the lives of Rutgers’ first African American students and reminds us that the struggle for belonging continued long after admission.
The anger evidenced in the national protest against racism leads many of you to reflect on instances of injustice at Rutgers today, in our classrooms, residence halls, buses, departments/offices, and more. The frustration that results when those experiences are shared without consequence or unspoken out of sheer exhaustion are felt deeply and understood. I acknowledge that there is much work to do to move from a compositionally diverse campus to build an inclusive community.
The 2017 report issued by the Task Force on Inclusion and Community Values, is a natural place to begin. It offers recommendations for tangible changes to interact with our values not only as ideals but as action-oriented goals. Now is an opportune time to revisit, revise as needed, and recommit to fostering a climate of inclusion at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.
This week the campus leadership team began working deliberately to build our collective capacity to engage thoughtfully on issues of race. We need to hear from you to inform our path forward. I invite you to review the Task Force report and complete a brief survey to share your thoughts, concerns and ideas for change. In the coming months, we will work together to craft concrete steps as well as a timeline and will share with you our plans for input and feedback as they develop.
Dr. Ibram Kendi, author of How to Be Antiracist, reminds us that there is no neutral position on racial justice. “One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an anti-racist.” I hope you will choose the latter. This will not be easy work, but it is necessary. The alternative is accepting the world as it is. Join us in working to make it better. Visit diversity.rutgers.edu to learn more.
In Solidarity,
Enobong (Anna) Branch, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement
Professor of Sociology
*Communication released prior to Branch's appointment to Senior Vice President of Equity.