Race does not biologically exist, yet how we identify with race is so powerful, it influences our experiences and shapes our lives. In a society that privileges white people and whiteness, racist ideas are considered normal throughout our media, culture, social systems, and institutions. Historically, racist views justified the unfair treatment and oppression of people of color (including enslavement, segregation, internment, etc.). We can be led to believe that racism is only about individual mindsets and actions, yet racist policies also contribute to our polarization. While individual choices are damaging, racist ideas in policy have a wide-spread impact by threatening the equity of our systems and the fairness of our institutions. To create an equal society, we must commit to making unbiased choices and being anti-racist in all aspects of our lives. – nmaahc.si.ed
The I Am campaign is a schoolwide campaign designated to promote anti-racism on campus. We are providing our community with information on antiracism such as definitions, links to other antiracism accounts, an antiracism book fair, and action steps. We created a video of our students discussing their cultural identities on campus while sharing the importance of having a more inclusive campus.
At the beginning of the semester, President (Emeritus) Davies announced that CMU will be committed to becoming an antiracist institution. To commit to becoming an antiracist institution, everyone needs to be on board and actively working on antiracism. We want to provide our community with the tools to understand and further explore what antiracism is. Please join us in making CMU an antiracist institution.
During the campaign, we will provide free merchandise (T-shirts, water bottles, and laptop stickers) with our campaign slogan. We will also be providing books from well-known authors about antiracism. Students are invited into the CSID to learn about these authors and encouraged to read their book and understand the importance of this campaign.