Young, Danielle M., Jeffrey J. Sable, and Jack Curran. “Exploring the Intersections: Racial Justice, our Lasallian Heritage, and the Catholic Tradition.” AXIS: Journal of Lasallian Higher Education 9, no. 2 (Institute for Lasallian Studies at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota: 2018). © Danielle M. Young, PhD, Jeffrey J. Sable, PhD and Jack Curran, FSC, PhD. Readers of this article have the copyright owner’s permission to reproduce it for educational, not-for-profit purposes, if the author and publisher are acknowledged in the copy.  

   

Exploring the Intersections: Racial Justice, our Lasallian Heritage, and the Catholic Tradition

Danielle M. Young2, Jeffrey J. Sable3, and Jack Curran, FSC4

From January 31 to February 2, 2018, twenty-one representatives5 from the six North American institutions6 of the Lasallian Association of Colleges and Universities (LACU) of the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN) met outside of Baltimore, MD. The majority of these attendees work closely with students, either as faculty or as student-engagement administrators. We7 explored the intersections of our Lasallian8 heritage with the challenging racial justice issues on our campuses, ranging from hiring and personnel practices to curricular and course syllabi concerns to fostering student engagement with racial justice. Racial justice issues are not a new phenomenon, but recent events in the United States – including the increasing boldness with which some people express their opposition to racial justice – are impacting our campuses at unprecedented levels in recent U.S. history. This intensive three-day colloquy was seminar oriented, with small groups meeting together to explicate or tackle specific problems. This paper serves to document the experience of being at the colloquy, to share what we learned, what we created, and how we hope to shape Lasallian responses to racial justice moving forward. First, we will set the stage for the 2018 colloquy by reviewing the first Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy on Racial Justice.9 Second, we will briefly describe the colloquy experience, pulling out themes that should drive and inspire future work. Third, we will conclude with some of the major outcomes of our meetings: 1) a working draft of the Mission Mandated Lasallian Vision for Racial Justice, which applies Lasallian values to racial justice issues and 2) a call for the creation of Lasallian Affiliates for Racial Justice collective that, together and by association, would connect racial justice actions across campuses. History: The First Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy on Racial Justice In January 2017, seventeen individuals representing all seven RELAN colleges and universities met at the San Alfonso Retreat House, Long Branch, NJ for the first Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy on Racial Justice. We were invited to share resources and set a course of support for ourselves, our colleagues, and – with typical Lasallian focus – our students. This first Colloquy on Racial Justice produced a working draft of a Mission Mandated Lasallian Vision for Racial Justice (see Table 1), penned initially by Maureen O’Connell (La Salle University-LSU), Jordan Pascoe (Manhattan College-MC), Jeff Sable (Christian Brothers University-CBU), and Jack McClure (Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota-SMUMN), and endorsed by the Colloquy attendees in general. Over the next year, the draft received refinements and revisions, and it laid the opening framework for the second Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy on Racial Justice.

19

  

The Second Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy on Racial Justice Our first evening of the January 2018 colloquy fostered a sense of openness and community. The colloquy opened with a welcome by the Faculty Planning Team: Mehnaz Afridi (MC), Chip Gallagher (LSU), Jeff Trask (Lewis University-LU), and LACU Mission Officers Brother Ernest Miller, FSC (LSU), and Brother Jack Curran, FSC (MC). We adopted a community agreement to stay engaged, speak our truth, experience discomfort, expect and accept non-closure, and to practice confidentiality.10 After each member shared personal goals in attending the colloquy, we adjourned the first day. These opening activities set the stage for members to authentically share and be supportive during the colloquy. A review of the previous year’s meeting opened the second day of the colloquy. Jeff Sable summarized the experience and outcomes of the first colloquy. During the 2017 colloquy, Fr. Bryan Massingale, Professor of Theology at Fordham University, pointed us toward resources in our own Lasallian tradition that might animate our commitments to educating for racial justice. Over the course of the 2107 Colloquy, these resources were translated into the draft of the Mission Mandated Lasallian Vision for Racial Justice (see Table 1), which was shared by Maureen O'Connell. To continue this work, the 2018 participants broke into groups to review that document for resonances and lacunae, and then identified action steps that might be taken in each of the five commitments to build inclusive communities and educate for racial justice throughout the Lasallian network. These additions were then incorporated into the original draft of a “Lasallian Vision for Racial Justice.” The next four sessions illustrated the use of different perspectives and tools to engage students, faculty members, and administrators in actively creating inclusive communities, ensuring respect for all persons, enhancing concern for the poor and social justice, cultivating faith in the presence of God among us, and providing quality education. Chip Gallagher demonstrated a teaching exercise leveraging perceptions of racial / ethnic / religious groups to facilitate conversations about the forces that shape inequality. Mehnaz Afridi led participants Maeve Adams (MC), Karin McClelland (Saint Mary’s College - SMC), and Teresa Taylor (SMUMN) in furthering the theme of integrating racial justice and religious racialization in the Lasallian context. Speakers discussed specific examples of inclusion of others in reading texts, pedagogy, administrative initiatives, and interfaith encounters. Jeff Trask, Laura Roy (LSU), Sara Shuman (LSU), and Daisy Sherry (LU) shared personal and professional stories surrounding the realities of race, immigration, and the alt-right on campus. Small groups discussed concrete actions to effect institutional transformation on their respective campuses. The last session of day two, facilitated by Chip Gallagher, Frances Sweeney (SMC), Erin Mae Clark (SMUMN), and Erica Davila (LU), directly engaged colloquy members with difficult conversations around issues of justice. In general, viewing racial justice through the lens of our Lasallian values indicated the need to engage and transform our institutions as a whole – professors, students, and administrators – in the service of racial justice.

20

  

The third and last day of the colloquy pulled together ideas generated in earlier sessions that intersected across a variety of subjects: race, class, gender, religion, institutional identity, institutional administration, pedagogy, and professional development. Adam Koehler (MC) and Cory Major (CBU), along with participants Gloria Sosa (SMC), Danielle Young (MC), and Kristin Callahan (LU), instructed colloquy participants to generate action items for faculty to take back to their home institutions. The final session, facilitated by Mehnaz Afridi, Chip Gallagher, Maureen O’Connell, Jeff Sable, and Jeff Trask, specifically looped back to the Mission Mandated Lasallian Vision for Racial Justice (see Table 1), and further developed it by proposing an additional fourth column, entitled “Now What? Recommendations for Contemplation and Action,” as one means to maintain the momentum generated by the colloquy going forward. Lessons Learned: Outcomes of the Second Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy on Racial Justice Though brief, this three-day colloquy called several important things to attention. First, our Lasallian mission compels us to directly engage with racial justice. We cannot sit idly by, but must instead lead by example in creating change on individual and institutional levels. To share the beginning of this conversation, we integrated new themes and actionable steps into the Mission Mandated Lasallian Vision for Racial Justice (see Table 1). This table provides recommendations for contemplation and action (column 4: “Now What?”) that emanate from resources of our Lasallian heritage (column 3: “How?”) to address societal realities of racial injustice that have been exacerbated post 11/9, the day after the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, (column 2: “So What?”) in light of our Lasallian Core Principles (column 1: “What?”). These recommendations reflect an active commitment to integrate racial justice issues into our pedagogy and life at the college. We want this document to be developing, not stagnant, and to inspire contemplation, revision, and action. Second, in order to accomplish this important, mission-driven work, we could not operate alone. Thus, we wrote a call to embody “together and by association” by creating a Lasallian Affiliates for Racial Justice Collective that would connect racial justice actions across the LACU campuses of RELAN. This call included a working draft of a mission statement for the collective, next-step actions, and support requests. We envision that Campus Affiliates would act as campus liaisons, organizing working groups on their respective campuses, establishing connections with already-occurring racial justice initiatives, and coordinating actions both within and across campuses. These working groups will be flexibly responsive to the needs of the individual campuses. They will also pursue recognition of racial justice as mission-related work in issues surrounding hiring, tenure and promotion, and classroom support – as well as, in co-curricular student life programing and service learning activities. Affiliates would also facilitate the conversation by keeping the work visible. We further identified ways to keep this work visible within the Lasallian community and beyond through publication (this White Paper being the first step) and presentation. Finally, we discussed preliminary plans for the Colloquy next year, to keep this work moving forward, including, for instance:

21

  

● having the Colloquy meet annually, maintaining a focus on racial justice; ● welcoming the involvement of additional colleagues by having the participants from

the 2017 and 2018 Colloquies inviting colleagues so as to have new voices and perspectives while at the same time building on the wisdom of the previous Colloquies;

● ensuring the involvement of faculty, as well as staff and administrators, who “together and by association” will implement and put into motion these ideas through course syllabi, student services, new student and employee orientations, as well as faculty and staff development.

22

Tabl

e 1.

Mis

sion

Man

date

d L

asal

lian

Vis

ion

for

Rac

ial J

usti

ce. T

his

is a

dyn

amic

dra

ft o

f th

e vi

sion

, ini

tiat

ed b

y at

tend

ees

of th

e fi

rst L

asal

lian

C

ollo

quy

on R

acia

l Jus

tice

, hel

d Ja

nuar

y 10

-12,

201

7, a

nd r

oote

d in

the

Las

alli

an C

ore

Pri

ncip

les7 . V

ario

us r

evis

ions

, inc

ludi

ng th

e re

com

men

dati

ons

for

cont

empl

atio

n an

d ac

tion

, wer

e pr

opos

ed b

y at

tend

ees

of th

e se

cond

Col

loqu

y on

Rac

ial J

usti

ce, h

eld

Janu

ary

31-F

ebru

ary

2, 2

018.

Thi

s is

not

in

tend

ed to

be

a fi

nal a

nd d

efin

itiv

e do

cum

ent,

but r

athe

r a

star

ting

poi

nt a

nd a

n on

goin

g ch

alle

nge

for

the

Las

alli

an c

omm

unit

y.

WH

AT

? L

asal

lian

C

ore

Pri

nci

ple

SO

WH

AT

? T

ran

slat

ion

in p

ost

11/9

HO

W?

Res

ourc

es f

rom

ou

r H

erit

age

NO

W W

HA

T?

R

ecom

men

dat

ion

s fo

r C

onte

mp

lati

on a

nd

Act

ion

Con

cern

fo

r th

e p

oor

and

so

cial

ju

stic

e

Soc

ial j

usti

ce a

ddre

sses

the

root

cau

ses

of in

just

ice.

In

the

U.S

., ra

cism

fue

ls e

cono

mic

in

equa

lity

and

pove

rty

is

raci

aliz

ed.

Soc

ial j

usti

ce, r

oote

d in

the

Jude

o-C

hris

tian

trad

ition

, is

answ

erin

g th

e ca

ll o

f th

e pr

ophe

ts to

sta

nd in

the

gaps

cr

eate

d by

rac

ism

and

em

body

a v

isio

n of

re

latio

nshi

p.

Our

inst

itut

ions

are

pe

rpet

uatin

g in

equa

lity

and

are

ofte

n no

t aw

are

of/in

de

nial

abo

ut it

).

“Con

cern

for

the

poor

” ne

eds

to

be c

ouch

ed in

lang

uage

of

“The

H

eroi

c V

ow o

f 16

91”8 ,

whi

ch

defi

nes

asso

ciat

ion

and

unio

n as

ta

king

ris

ks to

sta

nd in

sol

idar

ity

with

the

vuln

erab

le.

Soc

ial j

usti

ce in

the

cont

ext o

f ra

cism

use

s a

syst

ems

anal

ysis

le

ns to

con

side

r ro

ot c

ause

s of

ra

cial

ineq

uali

ty a

nd r

esis

ts

indi

vidu

aliz

ing

or p

atho

logi

zing

un

ders

tand

ings

of

and

resp

onse

s to

rac

ial i

nequ

ity.

“O

ur m

issi

on

mus

t not

be

redu

ced

to m

ere

assi

stan

ce b

ut r

athe

r go

to th

e ro

ots

of p

over

ty in

ord

er to

fin

d st

ruct

ural

sol

utio

ns a

nd e

duca

te

to ju

stic

e.”9

Be

awar

e th

at o

ur in

stitu

tions

are

wor

king

fro

m a

def

icit

mod

el w

hen

it co

mes

to o

ur

stud

ents

of

colo

r, w

hich

in tu

rn g

ives

ris

e to

an

aust

erit

y m

enta

lity

whe

n it

com

es to

di

stri

butin

g in

stitu

tiona

l res

ourc

es.

Be

awar

e of

the

way

in w

hich

the

very

lang

uage

of

“con

cern

for

the

poor

” is

ob

ject

ifyi

ng.

Bui

ld c

lass

es in

to o

ur c

urri

cula

that

add

ress

issu

es o

f ra

cism

ove

r th

e li

fe c

ours

e of

al

l of

our

stud

ents

.

Fai

th in

th

e p

rese

nce

of

God

Rac

ism

ren

ders

fai

th a

pri

vate

ex

peri

ence

, rat

her

than

so

met

hing

that

ani

mat

es o

ur

conc

ern

with

and

co

mm

itm

ent t

o—in

re

latio

nshi

p w

ith o

ther

s—th

e co

mm

on g

ood.

R

acis

m h

as m

ade

an id

ol o

f th

e C

hris

tian

God

, ren

deri

ng

Inca

rnat

ion:

All

are

crea

ted

in

the

imag

e of

God

, a G

od in

the

Chr

istia

n tr

aditi

on w

ho is

bes

t kn

own

in th

e m

ultip

licit

y of

the

Tri

nity

. C

ircu

lar

461:

The

them

e of

God

in

the

Las

alli

an h

erit

age

is

wel

com

ing

peop

le o

f al

l fai

ths

and

reco

gniz

ing

non-

Cat

holic

s as

Des

ign

and

supp

ort o

ppor

tuni

ties

for

mul

ti-fa

ith p

raye

r an

d ac

tion

on c

ampu

s an

d in

ou

r co

mm

uniti

es.

Cre

ate

way

s of

sha

ring

our

act

ivit

ies

amon

g th

e in

stit

utio

ns, p

arti

cula

rly

wit

hin

the

FS

C c

omm

unit

y.

Exh

ibit

dive

rse

relig

ious

sym

bols

to c

aptu

re th

e pr

esen

ce o

f G

od in

dif

fere

nt

trad

itio

ns –

or

the

mul

ticu

ltur

al e

xpre

ssio

n of

pre

senc

e of

God

.

23

that

God

as

excl

usiv

ely

whi

te, m

ale,

and

Chr

isti

an

a va

lued

par

t of

the

Las

allia

n co

mm

unity

.10

God

is p

rese

nt in

mid

st o

f su

ffer

ing

and

drea

min

g.

Com

mis

sion

pub

lic a

rt–s

uch

as a

mur

al, f

or e

xam

ple—

that

cou

ld e

xist

on

all

Las

allia

n ca

mpu

ses.

C

ultiv

ate

notio

ns o

f be

long

ing

by in

vitin

g th

ose

of o

ther

trad

ition

s to

exp

lain

to u

s w

hat i

t mea

ns f

or th

em to

be

in th

e pr

esen

ce o

f G

od o

r th

eir

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

wha

t it

mea

ns to

be

Las

allia

n. T

his

coul

d “f

lip th

e sc

ript

” an

d in

vite

a d

eepe

r, u

nfol

ding

, and

sh

ared

und

erst

andi

ng o

f ou

r he

rita

ge.

Hav

e pe

ople

trai

ned

in a

nd c

omm

itte

d to

rel

igio

us p

lura

lism

on

our

cam

pus

min

istr

y st

affs

. A

ssis

t fac

ulty

in f

igur

ing

out h

ow to

cre

ate

spac

es f

or r

emem

beri

ng th

e ho

ly

pres

ence

of

God

in a

n in

clus

ive

way

in o

ur c

lass

room

s.

Res

pec

t fo

r al

l per

son

s

Rac

ism

, in

its

man

y fo

rms

(per

sona

l, cu

ltura

l, in

stit

utio

nal,

etc.

) de

nies

the

full

hum

anit

y of

peo

ple,

pe

rcei

ving

them

thro

ugh

a na

rrow

lens

of

ster

eoty

pes

and

prej

udic

es.

Rac

ism

stu

nts

the

abili

ty to

ac

hiev

e fu

ll fl

ouri

shin

g an

d th

e in

tegr

al d

evel

opm

ent o

f pe

rson

s an

d pe

ople

s.

Rac

ism

den

ies

resp

ect f

or

pers

ons

in a

var

iety

of

syst

ems,

incl

udin

g ou

r L

asal

lian

educ

atio

n sy

stem

. In

equa

lity

is b

oth

inte

ntio

nally

and

un

inte

ntio

nally

con

veye

d an

d pe

rpet

uate

d by

lang

uage

. S

truc

tura

l ine

qual

ity

base

d on

ge

nder

, gen

der

iden

tific

atio

n,

sexu

al o

rien

tati

on, r

ace,

and

et

hnic

ity

pers

ists

. The

se

real

ities

of

a pe

rson

’s id

entit

y ar

e de

eply

con

nect

ed –

oft

en

“The

ant

hrop

olog

ical

vie

w o

f hu

man

nat

ure

that

mot

ivat

es

Las

allia

ns r

ecog

nize

s an

d di

gnif

ies

ever

y hu

man

bei

ng a

s be

ing

uniq

ue, u

nrep

eata

ble,

and

ed

ucab

le. D

iscr

imin

atio

n ba

sed

on g

ende

r, c

ultu

re, r

elig

ion,

se

xual

ori

enta

tion

or p

oliti

cal

affi

liat

ion

has

no p

lace

in th

e L

asal

lian

educ

atio

nal m

issi

on.

As

soci

al b

eing

s, h

uman

s ar

e ca

pabl

e of

est

abli

shin

g m

eani

ngfu

l rel

atio

nshi

ps. A

s sp

iritu

al b

eing

s, th

ey a

re o

pen

to

tran

scen

dent

rea

lity

and

the

sear

ch f

or li

fe’s

mea

ning

. Thi

s ho

listic

vie

w o

f hu

man

nat

ure

incl

udes

inte

llect

ual,

emot

iona

l, so

cial

, cul

tura

l, et

hica

l, an

d sp

iritu

al d

imen

sion

s.”12

H

uman

per

sons

can

not b

e re

duce

d to

or

defi

ned

by

artif

icia

l and

arb

itra

ry c

ateg

orie

s of

rac

e an

d et

hnic

ity.

W

e liv

e ou

r he

rita

ge w

hen

we

resp

ect p

erso

ns b

y ho

nori

ng,

Rec

ogni

ze th

at th

e dy

nam

ics

and

cond

itio

ns o

f ra

cism

inte

rsec

t wit

h ot

her

expr

essi

ons

of h

uman

iden

tity,

par

ticul

arly

gen

der.

H

elp

stud

ents

and

col

leag

ues

avoi

d a

redu

ctio

nist

app

roac

h to

our

sha

red

heri

tage

by

unde

rsta

ndin

g it

in li

ght o

f th

eir

lived

exp

erie

nce

and

not i

n ar

bitr

ary

and

stat

ic

cate

gori

es.

Em

brac

e th

e re

alit

y th

at a

ckno

wle

dgin

g th

ese

live

d ex

peri

ence

s of

our

sha

red

heri

tage

are

way

s of

hel

ping

eac

h ot

her—

part

icul

arly

our

stu

dent

s—tr

ansf

orm

thei

r re

aliti

es a

nd b

uild

bri

dges

to e

ach

othe

r an

d of

bui

ldin

g co

mm

unity

/con

nect

ion/

asso

ciat

ion.

H

elp

our

stud

ents

and

fac

ulty

to b

e pr

oud

of b

eing

Las

allia

n in

this

reg

ard.

24

inex

tric

ably

so

– an

d ef

fort

s to

add

ress

them

nee

d to

be

root

ed in

this

un

ders

tand

ing.

11

enga

ging

, and

cel

ebra

ting

diff

eren

ce.

Incl

usi

ve

com

mu

nit

y

Rac

ism

fra

gmen

ts, f

ract

ures

, di

vide

s, a

nd is

olat

es p

eopl

e w

ith o

ther

wis

e co

mm

on

conc

erns

and

com

mon

dr

eam

s.

In th

e na

me

of p

oliti

cal

corr

ectn

ess,

neu

tral

ity,

as

sim

ilatio

n, a

nd p

ublic

or

der,

rac

ism

mai

ntai

ns

com

mun

ities

that

ex

clud

e/de

ny th

e ex

peri

ence

s of

man

y of

its

mem

bers

.

Lan

guag

e on

“so

lidar

ity”

from

th

e 45

th g

ener

al c

hapt

er.13

In

clus

ive

com

mun

itie

s ar

e ce

rtai

nly

open

to a

ll, a

nd c

anno

t be

neu

tral

. The

y af

firm

the

dign

ity o

f th

eir

mos

t vul

nera

ble

mem

bers

and

cul

tivat

e ge

nero

sity

in c

onte

xts

of

disc

omfo

rt.

Be

awar

e th

at th

e w

ork

we

are

doin

g he

re h

as to

be

mor

e th

an r

eact

iona

ry, s

ince

for

m

any

amon

g us

the

real

ity w

e’re

atte

mpt

ing

to a

ddre

ss p

reda

tes

11/9

/201

7.

Mov

e be

yond

alie

natio

n, b

ut s

till p

rovo

ke d

isco

mfo

rt, d

isru

ptio

n, c

onfl

ict,

and

expl

orat

ion

by:

cu

ltiva

ting

prac

tices

of

diss

ent w

ith c

ivili

ty

un

cove

ring

our

ow

n as

sum

ptio

ns a

nd o

ur o

wn

pers

onal

bia

ses

cr

eati

ng s

pace

s w

here

we

can

be v

ulne

rabl

e w

ith

each

oth

er

br

eaki

ng s

ilenc

es

If w

e w

ant o

ur s

tude

nts

to b

e st

atus

quo

bre

aker

s, th

en w

e to

o ne

ed to

bec

ome

vuln

erab

le e

noug

h to

be

stat

us q

uo b

reak

ers

ours

elve

s.

Qu

alit

y ed

uca

tion

Rac

ism

pre

clud

es

oppo

rtun

ities

for

stu

dent

s to

en

coun

ter

idea

s an

d pe

ople

w

ho a

re d

iffe

rent

. S

yste

mic

rac

ism

cre

ates

ba

rrie

rs to

edu

catio

n,

part

icul

arly

for

com

mun

ities

of

col

or, a

nd to

mul

ticu

ltur

al

educ

atio

n fo

r al

l tea

cher

s an

d le

arne

rs.

We

draw

on

the

twel

ve v

irtu

es o

f L

asal

lian

14 te

achi

ng to

mee

t st

uden

ts w

here

they

are

, to

help

th

em r

ecog

nize

thei

r po

sitio

nalit

y in

the

mor

ass

of

raci

sm, a

nd to

acc

ompa

ny th

em

in g

row

th n

eede

d to

fin

d th

eir

own

purp

ose.

Ju

st a

s th

e fi

rst B

roth

ers

“dis

cove

red

God

’s c

all i

n th

e fa

ces

of th

e ur

ban

poor

chi

ldre

n an

d yo

ung

peop

le e

xclu

ded

from

ad

vanc

emen

t in

soci

ety”

15,

Las

allia

n ed

ucat

ion

is c

omm

itte

d to

cha

lleng

ing

the

norm

s of

“m

erito

crac

y” b

uilt

into

co

ntem

pora

ry s

ocia

l sys

tem

s,

part

icul

arly

edu

catio

n.

We

enco

urag

e bo

th d

ialo

gue

and

enga

gem

ent w

ith d

iffe

renc

e as

a

lived

exp

erie

nce

in o

ur

Be

clea

r ab

out w

ho a

re o

ur p

eopl

e? O

ur p

eopl

e ar

e ou

r st

uden

ts, f

acul

ty, s

taff

, and

ad

min

istr

ator

s ac

ross

our

Las

alli

an n

etw

ork.

E

nsur

e cl

assr

oom

s th

at p

rom

ote

qual

ity e

duca

tion

need

to b

e de

dica

ted

as “

safe

” or

ev

en “

sanc

tifie

d” z

ones

(be

ing

atte

ntiv

e to

pot

entia

l exc

lusi

vity

with

that

lang

uage

).

Hav

e re

sour

ces

avai

labl

e fo

r al

l of

our

educ

ator

s: b

ooks

, cou

rses

, etc

. C

ontin

ue to

bui

ld u

p th

e L

asal

lian

Aff

iliat

es f

or R

acia

l Jus

tice

Col

lect

ive

so th

at w

e ca

n ex

chan

ge id

eas

and

reso

urce

s.

Enc

oura

ge a

gro

wth

min

dset

am

ong

ours

elve

s, s

ince

the

wor

k of

und

oing

rac

ism

is

ongo

ing.

U

se o

ur g

eogr

aphi

cal/

phys

ical

spa

ces

as p

lace

s fo

r un

cove

ring

the

full

his

tory

of

who

we

are

and

to le

arn

from

that

his

tory

. C

ondu

ct in

stitu

tiona

l aud

its o

f w

here

we

are

in te

rms

of o

ur:

m

issi

on s

tate

men

ts

de

mog

raph

ic r

epre

sent

atio

n in

all

area

s/di

visi

ons

cu

rric

ulum

and

lear

ning

out

com

es

sy

mbo

ls o

n ca

mpu

s

25

clas

sroo

ms

and

cam

puse

s as

pa

thw

ays

to tr

uth.

tenu

re a

nd p

rom

otio

n pr

oces

ses

(to

see

how

inno

vatio

n is

or

is n

ot v

alue

d,

and

how

mai

ntai

ning

the

stat

us q

uo is

or

is n

ot v

alue

d)

Pay

atte

ntio

n to

dat

a: T

he n

atio

nal d

ata

are

out t

here

and

we

need

to c

onne

ct it

to th

e da

ta w

e ar

e or

cou

ld b

e co

llect

ing.

M

ore

expl

icitl

y in

corp

orat

e ou

r co

re v

alue

s an

d L

asal

lian

heri

tage

into

our

cou

rses

an

d as

sist

oth

er f

acul

ty in

mak

ing

that

hap

pen.

D

ecen

ter

whi

tene

ss b

y m

ovin

g fr

om b

eing

alli

es (

colo

nial

mis

sion

arie

s) to

ac

com

plic

es (

libe

rati

on w

orke

rs).

L

ook

at te

nure

and

pro

mot

ion

proc

esse

s: H

ow d

o w

e (a

nd h

ow s

houl

d w

e)

ackn

owle

dge

thos

e w

ho a

re d

oing

this

wor

k an

d ho

ld th

ose

who

are

not

acc

ount

able

. C

reat

e sp

aces

for

peo

ple

of c

olor

.

   

26

  

Endnotes

1. This paper documents the second Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy on Racial Justice held January 31-February 2, 2018. Through contemplating and applying Lasallian values, colloquy participants explored challenges and solutions to racial justice issues on Lasallian college campuses. Seminar-style sessions promoted breadth and depth of discussion, developed important themes for carrying out racial justice work in a Lasallian context and participants also actively created tools to facilitate this work.

2. Danielle M. Young, PhD, assistant professor in psychology at Manhattan College, earned

her PhD in personality and social psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her current research focuses on the process and impact of social categorization, with a focus on stigmatized groups.

3. Jeffrey J. Sable, PhD, is an associate professor in the department of behavioral sciences at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2003 with an emphasis in cognition and neuroscience and an interdisciplinary graduate minor in college teaching.

4. Jack Curran, FSC, PhD, is vice president for Mission at Manhattan College in Riverdale,

NY. He previously served in senior administrative roles at two other Lasallian higher education institutions, Bethlehem University and Saint Mary’s College of California. He completed his bachelor's degree at Manhattan College, entered the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1979, and went on to earn his master’s and doctorate in social work from the State University of New York at Albany.

5. Participants of the 2018 Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy on Racial Justice:

Maeve Adams, PhD, assistant professor of English, Manhattan College: maeve.adams@manhattan.edu

Mehnaz Afridi, PhD, associate professor of Religious Studies and director of the Holocaust, Genocide, Interfaith Education Center, Manhattan College: mehnaz.afridi@manhattan.edu

Erin Mae Clark, PhD, assistant professor of English, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota: eclark@smumn.edu

Kristin Callahan, MFA, assistant professor of Art and Design, Lewis University: callahkr@lewisu.edu

Brother Jack Curran, FSC, PhD, vice president for Mission, Manhattan College: jack.curran@manhattan.edu

Erica Davila, PhD, associate professor of Educational Leadership, Lewis University: davilaer@lewisu.edu

Chip Gallagher, PhD, professor and chair of Sociology, La Salle University: gallagher@lasalle.edu

27

  

Adam Koehler, PhD, associate professor of English, Writing Program director, and Center for Faculty Development chair, Manhattan College: adam.koehler@manhattan.edu

Cory Major, dean of Academic Services and Faculty Development, Christian Brothers University: cmajor@cbu.edu

Karin McClelland, director of Mission and Ministry Center, Saint Mary’s College of California: klm14@stmarys-ca.edu

Brother Ernest Miller, FSC, DMin, vice president for Mission, La Salle University: miller95@lasalle.edu

Maureen O’Connell, PhD, associate professor of Christian Ethics and chair of the Religion and Theology Department, La Salle University: oconnellm@lasalle.edu

Jeff Sable, PhD, associate professor of Behavioral Sciences, Christian Brothers University: jsable@cbu.edu

Laura Roy, PhD, chair and associate professor of Education, La Salle University: roy@lasalle.edu

Daisy Sherry, PhD, assistant professor of Nursing, Lewis University: sherryda@lewisu.edu

Sara Shuman, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of Public Health, La Salle University: sshumans@gmail.com

Gloria Sosa, PhD, chief diversity officer, associate professor and program director, College Student Services Specialization, Counseling Department, Saint Mary’s College of California: gas6@stmarys-ca.edu

Frances Sweeney, PhD, professor and chair of World Languages and Culture and the faculty chair of the Core Curriculum, Saint Mary’s College of California: fsweeney@stmarys-ca.edu

Teresa Taylor, EdD, Culturally Responsive Teaching instructor and program director, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota: ttaylor@smumn.edu

Jeffrey T. Trask, PhD, assistant professor of Healthcare Management, Lewis University: traskje@lewisu.edu

Danielle Young, PhD, assistant professor of Psychology, Manhattan College: dyoung01@manhattan.edu

6. Christian Brothers University, Memphis, TN (CBU); La Salle University, Philadelphia,

PA (LSU); Lewis University, Romeoville, IL (LU); Manhattan College, Riverdale, NY (MC); Saint Mary’s College of California (SMC), and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona, MN (SMUMN).

7. By engaging with this text in the first person plural, we want to encourage us, the readers,

to consider the challenges described in this paper as belonging to us all.

8. We want to note the inclusive religious and spiritual nature of the Lasallian heritage, reflected both in the attendees and the tenor of our conversation, “Let it be stated clearly and unambiguously that calling oneself Lasallian is not relegated only to those of the Christian faith. Many faith-filled people professing other creeds participate daily in the Lasallian educational Mission. They are a valued part of this community. In turn the goal, in those places where

28

  

Lasallians minister in a multi-religious context, needs to be the deepening of faith in each student. It is our hope that students of all religions would graduate from our Lasallian schools professing their beliefs more faithfully and be committed to the construction of a better world.” Associated for the Lasallian Mission…an act of HOPE, Brothers of the Christian Schools, Circular 461, 2010, General Council, Rome, Italy: [http://www.lasalle.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/circulares/461_circ_en.pdf], page 36.

9. There actually have been four Lasallian Higher Education Colloquies since June 2015. The first took place in June 2015 at the Loyola Retreat Center in Morristown, NJ, and included 14 participants from La Salle University and Manhattan College. The theme was “Deepening our understanding of how we bring to life the Lasallian heritage.” It was facilitated by Maggie McGuinness, PhD, and Brother Jack Curran, FSC, with Brother Gerard Rummery, FSC, as the keynote presenter. The theme of the second Colloquy was “Lasallian Higher Education Colloquy: Together and by Association.” It was facilitated by Brother Ernest Miller, FSC, and Brother Jack Curran, FSC. Eighteen participants from La Salle University and Manhattan College convened in January 2016 at the San Alfonso Retreat House in Long Branch, NJ. Thus, the first and second Lasallian Higher Education Colloquies on Racial Justice (January 2017 and January 2018) are the third and fourth Lasallian Higher Education Colloquies.

10. Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton, Courageous Conversations about Race: A Field

Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2006).

11. Lasallian Core Principles [https://www.lasallian.info/lasallian-family/5-core-principles/].

12. On 21 November 1961, John Baptist de La Salle, Nicholas Vuyart, and Gabriel Drolin professed the “The Heroic Vow” of unity and commitment to the “society,” even if it required great poverty. [text: https://www.delasalle.org.au/blog/the-heroic-vow].

13. Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, FSC, “New Wine in New Wineskins,” in Report

of the International Assembly: Associated for the Lasallian Educational Mission (Rome, Italy: Brothers of the Christian Schools Generalate, 2006), pages 41-44.

14. Brothers of the Christian Schools, Circular 461, page 36.

15. The Ford Foundation: https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/challenging-inequality/

gender-racial-and-ethnic-justice/.

16. Brothers of the Christian Schools, Circular 461, page 3 (section 3.3).

17. Solidarity is mentioned numerous times in the The Documents of the 45th General Chapter: This Work of God is also our Work, Brothers of the Christian Schools, Circular 469, November 30, 2014; General Council, Rome, Italy: [http://www.lasalle.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Circ469_Actas45CG_eng.pdf, 24], pages 17, 21, 29, 41, 44, 50-51, 57, 59-60.

29

  

18. The twelve virtues of Lasallian teaching were originally published in John Baptist de La Salle’s, The Conduct of the Christian Schools (trans. F. de La Fontanainerie and Richard Arnandez), (Landover, Maryland: Lasallian Publications, 1706/1996), and expanded in Brother Agathon’s, The Twelve Virtues of a Good Teacher (Landover, MD: Christian Brothers Conference, 1785/2000).

19. Brothers of the Christian Schools, Circular 461, page 28 (section 2.5.2).

30