[Important Information for Employees] Black History Month: Message from President Enyedi & Interim VP for DEI Dr. Richard Miller

Mon Jan 31 15:12:21 UTC 2022

Dear Campus Community,

Welcome to the first day of the Spring 2022 semester!

Tomorrow begins our recognition and celebration of Black History Month.

The United States has celebrated Black History month since 1976, when
then-President Gerald Ford officially designated February as a time to
“seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of
Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Black History Month is the realized vision of Harvard-educated
historian Dr. Carter
G. Woodson <https://www.biography.com/people/carter-g-woodson-9536515> and
minister Jesse Moorland, who co-founded what is now known as the
Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Dr. Woodson
was a staunch advocate of ensuring we celebrate African Americans’ many
achievements, and in 1926 he established Negro History Week as a program to
encourage the study of African-American history.

Initially, Black History Month was an opportunity to teach students and
young people about Black and African-Americans' contributions. Such stories
had been largely forgotten and were a neglected part of the national
narrative.

Today, Black History Month is a celebration of those who have impacted not
just the country but the entire world with their activism and achievements.
In the U.S., the month-long spotlight during February is an opportunity for
people to engage with Black histories, go beyond discussions of racism and
slavery, and highlight Black leaders and accomplishments.

While it is important to recognize Black culture more than one month a year
by integrating Black history into all that we do, this month is
an opportunity to honor and reflect upon the countless contributions Black
Americans have made to our campus, our community and our country.  It is
also a time for us to commit more deeply to learning about and learning our
true American history so that we can move toward a future that honors,
respects, and protects our BIPOC community.

As Cardinals, we recognize that we must learn from our past to better
understand our present so that we can grow our future. Our liberal arts
curriculum is built to achieve those three things. And that awareness
informs the information we share, the messages we send and the
relationships we develop. Our efforts to address issues of systemic racism
and oppression on campus this past year have included conversations that
were both painful and powerful. They have created space for demonstrations
and calls to transform the lens through which we view equity and inclusion
on our campus. And we  assure you, those calls have been heard, and those
conversations are continuing. Our shared commitment to creating and
sustaining this work has challenged us all to show up and speak up in the
name of justice by highlighting our need to better recognize and
continually and consciously choose anti-racist actions, speech and
beliefs. In so doing, this college produces graduates who have the passion
and the ability to create a more equitable world – both in philosophy and
in practice.

As you know, SUNY Plattsburgh is one of only 48 Truth, Racial Healing &
Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers in the country, which speaks to the
great efforts and investment of our staff in carrying out the TRHT mission
to "plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change, and
to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism."  Our SUNY
Plattsburgh TRHT Center
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/about/centers/trht/index.html> is guided by
our Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/diversity/index.html> (ODEI), which
oversees our Title IX office
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/health-safety/title-ix/index.html>,
our DIRECT team
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/diversity/direct.html>and our
recently formed Campus, Community, and Safety Advisory Committee. Together,
these services and resources support and strengthen our continued
commitment to teach and instill values of diversity, equity and inclusion
in our greater campus community.

On January 18,  our TRHT Center hosted its first community event at the
Strand Theatre, to honor the annual National Day of Healing. In February,
the Center will partner with the History Department to co-host an event
featuring a speaker on race, Black and Indigenous culture in the North
Country. Please watch the ODEI website
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/diversity/index.html> for a
specific date, time, and location as more information becomes available.

Throughout February, various groups will host events and activities across
campus  to honor Black history and its pivotal role in our national
identity.

   -

   The Student Health and Counseling Center
   <https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/health-safety/health-counseling-center/index.html>
will
   host several events centered on specific themes, including "The Audacity of
   being Black" and "Coffee and Controversy,” in connection with the City of
   Plattsburgh Mayor’s Office
   -

   The Student Association
   <https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/get-involved/student-association/index.html>
   will host an event every Friday in February, including Trivia, movies,and
   group discussions, and will give out prizes highlighting Black History
   Month. They are also working with the community to host events and
   activities highlighting local black leaders
   -

   Campus Housing and Community Living
   <https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/housing/index.html> will host
   Black History Month-themed BINGO and Trivia events. They will also display
   DEI- focused bulletin boards.
   -

   Fraternity and Sorority Life
   <https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/get-involved/fraternity-sorority-life/index.html>
   will host several events, including:
   -

       2/15: Fraternal Summit on Social Justice
      -

      2/16: "When They See Her" - A discussion about the stereotypes about
      Black Girls & Women
      -

      2/23: A Black History-themed Paint & Sip Event

   -

   Black Onyx and Fuerza
   <https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/get-involved/clubs-organizations/index.html>will
   also be coordinating events

Additionally, on February 24, the English Department
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/schools/arts-sciences/english/faculty/index.html>
will host Dr. Randall Horton. Dr. Horton is an Associate Professor of
English at the University of New Haven whose poetry, memoirs, and
performance groups have won national awards.  Dr. Horton is a powerful
advocate for social and racial justice. His work centers on race,
incarceration, and the power of writing to help rewrite culturally imposed
confining identities, and reveals both the inequities that shape and
confine life narratives and the power of art to address those injustices.
We are honored that Dr. Horton has selected SUNY Plattsburgh to kick off a
grant-winning enterprise called Project Reform, which brings creativity to
prisons and juvenile detention centers to help inmates rethink and reshape
their life narratives.  Dr. Horton draws on his own experience of
incarceration and shares testimony everyone should hear.

Please check the DEI webpage
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/diversity/index.html> and #PlattsLife
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/index.html>often, for ongoing
updates, additions, and specific information about event dates, times and
locations. We will also share details on our campus Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/sunyplattsburgh> and Instagram
<https://www.instagram.com/sunyplattsburgh/>pages, so make sure you follow
both!

Beyond our campus, there are many resources that speak to the pivotal role
the Black community has played creating America’s history. We encourage you
to learn more about the critical importance of celebrating Black History
Month
<https://abcnews.go.com/US/importance-black-history-celebrated-february/story?id=68618746>,
and to dedicate time to learning from and discussing each of these:

   -

   https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/african-american-history
   -

   https://edsitement.neh.gov/teachers-guides/african-american-history-and-culture-united-states
   -

   https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/black-history-month.htm
   -

   https://nmaahc.si.edu/
   -

   https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/black-history-month

Please join us in commemorating Black History Month by continuing the
essential work of self-reflection and intentional anti-racism in the name
of true equity and inclusion. It is through these thoughtful and
constructive efforts and conversations that we will become a stronger, more
equitable, more successful SUNY Plattsburgh.

In appreciation,

Alexander Enyedi
President

Richard C. Miller
Interim Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
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