{"id":4962,"date":"2020-06-04T13:59:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T18:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/college\/cce\/blog\/?p=4962"},"modified":"2020-06-04T13:59:53","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T18:59:53","slug":"our-work-here-is-not-finished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/college\/cce\/blog\/?p=4962","title":{"rendered":"Our Work Here is Not Finished"},"content":{"rendered":"

The death of George Floyd in police custody last week, and the ensuing outrage that has been expressed in communities around the country\u2014including here in Rochester this past weekend–demand that we redouble our commitment to addressing long standing structural inequalities in Rochester and beyond. For 15 years, the work of the Rochester Center for Community Leadership has connected students, faculty, and community partners to confront these stark realities and to dismantle the structures that perpetuate existing racial power dynamics. Black lives matter:\u00a0 every black life lost represents unrealized possibilities. The current crisis calls for us to think anew about how we undertake this work. We advocate to redress injustice through informed, nonviolent, civic action\u2014and that mission is needed urgently now, not just in word but in deed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our approach to our work is grounded in the belief that community engagement needs to be informed by community-identified needs. We must be respectful of the knowledge of the black community and responsive to its needs. If you have ideas of suggestions about how we might best direct our efforts and resources at this time, please let us know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We also believe that we must start by ensuring that we have done our homework to understand the history and context behind the current manifestation of this crisis. Toward that end, here is a short list of tips and resources that our team has compiled. We don\u2019t pretend that this is comprehensive–if you have additional suggestions, we\u2019d love to hear them.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Do the work. <\/b>This means honest introspection and navigating discomfort with racism, including our own unconscious biases and our relationship with structural racism.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Read up. <\/b>Here are a few titles to get you started:\u00a0<\/span>\n