Join Community, Equity and Diversity for the DE&I 365 Symposium
BLACK LIVES MATTER. Community, Equity and Diversity (CED) established the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) 365 Symposium as a virtual "third space" for University of Rhode Island students, faculty, staff, alumni, affiliates, and community members to convene conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and decolonization. The conversations will take many forms, including panels, workshops, book talks, discussion groups, envisioning sessions, and teach-ins, bringing together a multitude of voices and perspectives to grapple with the topics that impact us within and beyond the University. The theme for this year's DE&I 365 Symposium is Black Lives Matter. This summer, CED will offer a preview of the sessions planned for the academic year, so please viair the CED webpage for updates.

Session Description: This panel builds off of and honors the statement made by Dr. Alycia Mosley Austin and Dr. Jacqui Tisdale of the Women of Color Network in September, in which they call for collective action and organizing for and by BIWoC to change the conditions in which we exist. BIWoC (Black, Indigenous, (and) Women of Color) face unique challenges on the University of Rhode Island’s campus because of our intersecting social identities, including but not limited to age, color, gender, race, religion, socioeconomic class, sexuality, ableism, etc. The complexities within and across our social identities shape and are shaped by our experiences as staff and faculty. We acknowledge that these experiences can be both lifegiving and life draining. 

The purpose of this panel discussion is to present and discuss BIWoC’s perceptions of our lived work experiences at the University of Rhode Island, the ways BIWoC respond to these experiences, and the importance of individual and collective action to address these particularized experiences within the employment pipeline and employee life cycle. This session is designed to be a round-table conversation that will include shared experiences amongst the panelists, a discussion centering around who we are, what we care about, what we want to speak to as a coalition of BIWoC at URI, and opportunities for panelists and attendees to offer advice on sustaining ourselves and our community.