Solidarity Statement & Action Plan in Support of #BlackLivesMatter & #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd

Multiculturalism, Race & Ethnicity in Classics Consortium (MRECC)
Solidarity Statement & Action Plan
June 5, 2020

We stand in solidarity with the Black communities in Classics, in America, and around the world. We support #BlackLivesMatter and #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd. We are angry about the murder of Black people by the police and the racism that permeates every corner of American society. In accordance with our mission to fight for equity and antiracism, we are taking action.

Informed by principles of intentional action theory, our action plan has two categories: Ongoing Actions and Actions with Deadlines. The Ongoing Actions section outlines the actions we engage and we encourage others to engage in constantly including listening, reflecting, and being mindful before acting. These are iterative actions that co-occur and must be revisited and repeated frequently. The Actions with Deadlines section lists concrete actions along with specific goal dates so that we can be held accountable and document our efforts accurately. Some of the actions have already taken place but were included for transparency and to show others how we have responded so far. For the Actions with Deadlines section, we have chosen to focus on action related to antiracism in Classics pedagogy because that is one of our greatest strengths as an organization. This is intended not to detract from the great efforts already underway by others in and outside Classics. Below is the current MRECC action plan:

Action Plan:

ONGOING ACTIONS

    1. Listen to the Black leaders in our community and the needs they express.
    2. Regularly boost ongoing fundraisers that are run by or serve Black people including Sportula, Black Lives Matter, and bail funds.
    3. Read and reflect on what we can do as an organization and as individuals while being mindful of the harm of tokenization and avoiding the addition of more emotional, mental, and physical labor on Black people.
    4. Communicate with other organizations and individuals to collaborate and contribute to the collective front of antiracism in and outside Classics as well as support ongoing protests and protestors.

ACTIONS WITH DEADLINES

    1. June 1 – Post on the MRECC Facebook website support for #BlackLivesMatter and #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd.
    2. June 1 – Ask the MRECC community for feedback on how people would like to see us take action.
    3. June  3 – Update MRECC community members via Facebook, express gratitude for their feedback, and go to work on next steps.
    4. June 5 – Post statement of solidarity and action plan on Facebook and Twitter.
    5. June 15 – Create and post on our website and Facebook a comprehensive and updated spreadsheet of CURRENT resources on antiracism (in and outside Classics) including detailed categories that are easily searchable.
    6. June 15 – Ask MRECC community for feedback on the resources spreadsheet and continue to add more resources as information is shared.
    7. June 22 – Create and post preliminary guidelines for course design that center antiracism pedagogy including direct engagement with Black Lives Matter.
    8. June 22 – Invite others to share their feedback on the guidelines created and improve them as necessary.
    9. June 29 – Launch a letter-writing campaign to eliminate implicit and explicit racism in Classics textbooks. A template will be created and shared with everyone in the MRECC community so that as many people can get involved as possible.

This MRECC action plan will be updated monthly with feasible goals and shared with the community on the 1st of the month every month via Facebook and Twitter until June 2021 when we will release a comprehensive evaluation of our actions and results as we make plans for future steps.

How can you help? As we continue to take antiracist action and develop our action plan, we want community involvement. Please send suggestions and reflections on what you want to see MRECC be and do via multiculturalclassics@gmail.com, our Facebook page, or Twitter (@MRECC_Classics).

In Solidarity,
MRECC Executive Board

Shelley P. Haley
Nandini Pandey
Nicole Julia Giannella
Kelly P. Dugan
David J. Wright
Hamish Cameron