Resources for Anti-Racist Education

As a Catholic, Jesuit institution of higher education, we are committed to fostering a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable campus in which all members of our community feel a sense of belonging. But we know that no matter how well-intentioned we may be, both personal biases and structural race-based inequalities impede our ability to create the conditions in which all our racially and ethnically diverse stakeholders can thrive. We believe that this issue needs to be tackled from both the top down and the bottom up: we need systemic changes in the way we do business at Marquette, but we also need individuals - and particularly white faculty, staff and students - to do the hard work of looking internally, examining our own biases and behaviors, and taking steps to be better allies and advocates for change. It is not enough that we do not act in racist ways; we must become actively anti-racist in order for our vision of an inclusive campus environment to come to fruition.

Becoming anti-racist is a process. There is always more to reflect upon, discuss, incorporate into our curricula and instructional practices, and act upon in both our personal and professional lives. But these actions need to be grounded in historical context and social realities. To this end, this page serves as a repository of resources compiled and offered by various units on our campus to help guide our efforts to learn more about bias, race, and racism and plant the seeds for change from the ground up.

As Marquette's Department of Educational Policy and Leadership states, "on their own, [these resources] are not enough to dismantle the ideological, internal, interpersonal, and institutional ways of white supremacy. We know this, but still: we offer them as a starting point and as a commitment to action. Words are important but not enough. We must act every day to ensure that #BlackLivesMatter."

To contribute to this list, please contact Jacki Black, director for Hispanic initiatives and diversity & inclusion educational programming, at jacqueline.black@marquette.edu

Self-directed learning:

  • The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) has designed Eyes to See: An Anti-Racism Examen. This examen focuses on matters of race and racism that are specific to us and our institutions. Consisting of three parts (a video, a guided Examen, and resources for further discussion), it has been developed as a resource for boards, senior leadership teams, faculty, staff, and mixed groups of college/university colleagues. 
  • Mission Week 2021's keynote speech by Fr. Bryan Massingale, Redeeming the Soul of America: Hope or Delusion?, covers issues related to historical and current racism from a faith-based perspective (his speech starts at minute 8:00).
  • The Department of Educational Policy and Leadership's Statement of Solidarity includes a list of resources for learning, talking, and teaching about anti-racism; celebrating Blackness; racial self-care and healing; and both web-based and book suggestions for building racial literacy.
  • The Department of Social and Cultural Sciences website lists readings on structural racism, data sources for police brutality/use of force, links to policy solutions, local and national organizations, local Black-owned businesses, and more. 
  • Faculty and staff in the Diederich College of Communication have compiled this discipline-specific resource list to help journalists and other communication professionals examine their racial biases.
  • Academics for Black Survival and Wellnessa group of Black counseling psychologists and their colleagues who practice Black allyship, foster accountability and growth for non-Black people and enhance healing and wellness for Black people, has curated this list of anti-racist resources.
  • Understanding implicit bias is an important step toward fostering a truly inclusive working and learning environment. The Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion offers these resources for learning more about how unconscious biases work and what you can do to counteract their effects.
  • Marquette's Employee Resource Groups have created a guide that recommends skills and actions that all Marquette employees can practice in helping to promote an inclusive and healthy work environment. 
  • This video series curated by the Center for Teaching and Learning features Marquette faculty who discuss the ways in which they are responding to the call of becoming anti-racist in their own domains.
  • Marquette employees have free access to Academic Impressions, which provides professional development resources for higher ed personnel, including webinars and webcasts on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. One Academic Impressions webcast that can serve as a starting place is: Starting Courageous Conversations to Foster Diversity and Difference.

For on-campus learning opportunities, visit the Diversity and Inclusion Educational Resources page.