White Allyship, Action & Accountability Initiative

To advance our commitment to being an inclusive campus, we are expanding our learning initiatives to help deepen and develop greater capacity for anti-racism work and allyship. The Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion has launched the White Allyship, Action & Accountability Initiative, which is open to all campus community members with a focus on learning opportunities for white faculty and staff. Participants will learn how to identify, engage, and mitigate racism to improve the way we teach, lead, and support one another towards achieving equitable outcomes at UC San Diego.

What is allyship?
Allyship is an opportunity to re-evaluate personal beliefs through listening; taking action to dismantle systems of oppression; and consistently working together to advance equity for those who are disempowered.

To learn more about white allyship, the campus community is invited to a webinar featuring Dr. Kathy Obear on Friday, April 30 at 9:30 am. This is the second webinar in a two-part series and will feature Dr. Kathy Obear, President of the Center for Transformation and Change and Co-Founder of the Social Justice Training Institute. The talk will continue to explore many of the critical skills and actions that will help white allies move beyond being “non-racist” to being actively anti-racist.

Why a focus on white allyship?
The White Allyship, Action & Accountability Initiative is open to people of all races and ethnicities, with an intentional focus on the work that white campus community members can do, both individually and structurally, to create and maintain an equitable campus environment in which all members can reach their full potential. The program was created in response to our campus community’s desire to strengthen white allyship. The program enables white allies to deepen their involvement and responsibility for creating a more anti-racist campus community. Learn more about the program in our announcement story here.

What is the goal?
During the Chancellor’s 21-Day Anti-Racism Challenge, we collectively read, watched, listened to, and engaged an anti-racism curriculum that laid the foundation for us to talk about what we have learned about anti-Blackness in America, to ask questions, and to explore what we can do as a community.

The White Allyship, Action & Accountability Initiative continues to build our collective understanding of the concepts of racism, increases our awareness of the ways anti-Blackness shows up, and builds accountability to contribute to change as allies. Faculty and staff may complete the program individually or as a group.

Through books, videos, articles, and webinars, participants will apply a racial lens to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that contribute to the persistence of structural inequality. Topics will range from how white privilege contributes to racism to how to effectively engage with Black friends and colleagues about racism and the difference between allies and co-conspirators.

Each of us has an opportunity to lead in our own spheres of influence. We do have work to do as an institution, but I remain encouraged that we, as a campus community, do not shy away from acknowledging our shortcomings and actively work to do better. Thank you for your partnership and your willingness to be better allies in moving our campus closer towards inclusive excellence.

We look forward to your participation in this new offering.

Becky R. Petitt
Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion