Call to Action

In alignment with our Jesuit values, Loyola University Chicago condemns all acts of racism and racial injustice.  We stand in solidarity to achieve justice and commit ourselves to be actively anti-racist, meaning that we will not be silent when we recognize racism, will work to regularly reflect on the ways racism shows up in society, and identify ways we can improve based on our reflections.

We recognize society’s history of systemic racism and racialized hierarchies. We recognize that dismantling racialized systems and hierarchies takes intentionality and wholly commit to building a diverse and anti-racist academic community.  We are committed to strategic and collaborative change moving forward because to remain silent as the realities of systemic oppression are laid bare is to be complicit in their perpetuation, which is in direct opposition to our Jesuit value of being a person for others and with those in the margins.

The Anti-Racism Initiative Advisory Committee believes in the role and responsibility of institutions of higher education to address the most pressing challenges facing our world. Our world, our community, and our campus are riddled with racial inequities that for too long have been passively accepted as intractable realities. We affirm that a more racially equitable world is possible. We commit ourselves to be agents for racial and social justice and call you to join us.  Our shared commitment to being anti-racist includes the following work:

Personal

• Acknowledge that white supremacy is real and enacts itself through institutional racism.  Notice the ways that institutional racism is present in your environment.
• Ask yourself questions about your own opinions. Understand which of your instincts are fact-based and which are implicit bias.
• Learn more about yourself. It is up to you to figure out how racism impacts those in your environment.
• Be prepared to learn about other people, even when it requires you to hear it taught in a different way than you are accustomed to.

Interpersonal

• Respect that every person has their own understanding of their identity, lived experiences and preferences.
• Find ways to have meaningful shared experiences with people who have typically been marginalized from the environments in which you spend time.
• Have courage as you support people of color and their allies, especially as it relates to Loyola. In a group setting, be prepared to say “I agree” and “I have a similar understanding.”

Institutional

• Learn more and voice your opinions publicly about race equity, especially as it pertains to Loyola.
• Examine data by considering race and other types of intersectionality.
• Find tangible way to hold yourself and leadership accountable for delivering on their commitments to racial equity.
• Invite students, staff, faculty, leaders, and communities of color to contribute their ideas to inform governance, decision making, and strategic planning in every decision that impacts them.

Structural

• Measure the ways that you have impact on improvements in personal, interpersonal, institutional, and structural levels racial equity.
• Step away from situations in which you may become complicit in protecting the status quo by subjugating others or making excuses for the marginalization of the safety and belonging for people of color.
• Be a public ally for race equity, including being vocal real-time, about microaggressions in interpersonal and institutional contexts.
• Intervene when you see an individual or groups going out of their way to refuse leadership opportunities for candidates of color.