Support Black Community Members at DU
Impact Area: Build support specifically for our Black community
View the DEI Action Plan for 2020-2021
Support and provide resources to address the lived experiences of Black community members at DU.
Action Item Details
Modeling the resources and focused attention for the Latinx and Indigenous/Native Communities at DU (e.g. Latinx Center at DU), this action item, to be launched in Fall 2020, will provide resources to appoint a Black Community Experience Coordinator for the 2020-2021 academic year. The Coordinator will work in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) to facilitate the University’s response to the systemic and institutional exclusion of Black people at DU.
The response coordinator position might specifically address:
- Lack of inclusive physical and social spaces for Black faculty, staff, and students
- Institutional and systematic remedies to address racial battle fatigue experienced by DU’s Black community in the classrooms, offices, and communal spaces
The response coordinator might also identify programs and structures to center and value the Black experience in the intellectual and everyday life of the University. Such programs could include:
- The establishment of a center for Black studies and community engagement
- Protocol for reflection, learning, and action programming around Black History Month and the Juneteenth Holiday
- A Black Community Advisory Board comprised of students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members to help set both accountability measures and priorities for DU
Updates
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Black Community Experience Coordinator position
Black Community Experience Coordinator position posted internally on September 28, 2020 and will close on October 12, 2020.
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ODEI Hires DU's First Black Community Experience Coordinator
Read the full announcement here
We welcome Dr. Andriette Jordan-Fields as the Black Community Experience Coordinator. In this role, Dr.Jordan Fields will immediately establish a Black Community Advisory (BCAB) Board comprised of students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members to help set both accountability measures and priorities for DU. Along with the BCAB, the Black Community Experience Coordinator will come up with specific recommendations to:
- Address the lack of inclusive physical and social spaces for Black faculty, staff, and students
- Identify institutional and systematic remedies to address racial battle fatigue experienced by DU’s Black community in the classrooms, offices, and communal spaces
- Center Black Studies in DU curricular offerings and research and support for Black faculty
- Create a protocol for reflection, learning, and action programming around Black History Month and the Juneteenth Holiday
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Honoring Black History Month
In our continuing effort to recognize and honor the diverse community at the University of Denver, this month we celebrate Black History Month. Over the past year, the United States has continued to grapple with its racial reckoning. At the University of Denver, we commit and affirm the uncomplicated refrain “Black Lives Matter” even as others have questioned and rejected it. Anti-Black racism is real. As an institution dedicated to serving the public good, we must recognize that our pathway to excellence in science, arts, business, government, and human services has depended, and will continue to depend, on the contributions of our Black and African American peers.
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Talking Race, Taking Space: Building and Sustaining a Recognized Black Community at DU
The Heritage Months committee, comprised of representatives from ODEI, C+V, The Cultural Center, and Human Resources and Inclusive Communities, produced the following event:
In honor of Black History Month, Dr. Andriette Jordan Fields, DU's Black Community Experience Coordinator, will host a conversation with Stephanie O'Malley, Associate Vice Chancellor for Government Relations and Community Affairs, Allana Forte, Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer & Legal Counsel at Jacksonville University, and Matthew Solomon, President of the DU Black Student Alliance. They will speak from their lived experiences and expertise about race, space, and how to build and maintain a recognized Black community at DU.
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Establishing a Black Community Advisory Board
As the first step in establishing the Black Community Advisory Board, the Black Community Experience Coordinator will convene a steering committee to help define the mission and vision of the board, its by-laws, and membership structure. The steering committee will also be comprised of Black students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. The work of the Steering Committee will last through the first week of March 2021 with the goal of naming a Black Community Advisory Board by April 2021. This time frame is set to ensure that the advisory board is established soon.
If you are a Black student, faculty member, staff member, or community member and have an interest in participating on the steering committee or being considered for the Black Community Advisory Board, please email andriette.jordanfields@du.edu or complete this form by midnight on February 28, 2021.