Posts Tagged: Juneteenth

Diversity, equity and inclusion resources; Juneteenth

UC ANR and the entire UC community are dedicated to helping create the open and equitable society to which we are all entitled. As we stand with the global outcry against the senseless, tragic murders of Black Americans, we are exploring new paths we can take to support our communities during this time and into the future.

To help us discover those new paths, resources have been created and compiled by colleagues throughout UC to promote dialogue, understanding, connection and healing. You can find UC ANR resources on our Diversity • Equity • Inclusion webpage. There, you can also find resources for confronting gender and sexuality bias, and we are working to add resources that address the breadth of diversity, equity and inclusion challenges in our organization. We welcome suggestions for additional resources to include. Please email suggestions to DEI@ucanr.edu. 

Today is Juneteenth, widely celebrated in African American communities as “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day,” to mark the date of June 19, 1865, when the federal orders were read by Union Colonel Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, informing more than 250,000 still-enslaved Blacks that they had their freedom. The notice came to slaves in the state of Texas more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which became official on January 1, 1863.

On this important day, we are reflecting on our country, its treatment of Black, brown and Native American peoples, and how UC values can help guide us into the future. We must continue to reflect on how our institutions and our culture treat people of color as well as religious minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and all those who don't fit into dominant cultural norms. Our mission can never fully come to fruition if historically victimized groups continue to suffer hatred and bias. All of us at UC ANR are deeply committed to our mission and will work to build a healthy, peaceful and prosperous California for all.

In recognition of Juneteenth, please feel free to cease work today at 3 p.m. and encourage your staff to do so, work permitting. Take some time for reflection. Get a head start on time with your friends and loved ones. Or, just take a nap. We all need to take care of ourselves in these trying times.

Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend! 

Glenda Humiston 
Vice President

Sharing your input on diversity, equity and inclusion; Juneteenth; Pride Film Fest

Sharing your input on diversity, equity and inclusion

The world is focused on fighting anti-Black racism, which has shone a spotlight on the necessity of our critically reviewing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) challenges at UC ANR and developing actionable plans to address them. Everyone's ideas and input are critical to improving DEI in our organization, just as everyone's actions will be part of the solution. I know each of us as individuals has been engaged in deep reflection about how we can create change, both personally and professionally, and I ask you to share your thoughts.

Here are some ways to share your input:

• DEI is an aspect of nearly all the goals in the updated version of the UC ANR strategic plan that is launching this summer and is identified specifically in Goal 6, “Improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” The July 16 town hall meeting will be focused on opportunities to engage with leadership and your colleagues on improving the future of UC ANR and input sessions will follow in July and August. Individual Zoom input sessions will be held in REC conference rooms in order to ensure that staff without internet access can participate in providing input on the strategic plan.
• The August 20 town hall will address the results of the ANR@Work survey, both overall and in relation to improving diversity, equity and inclusion.
• We will implement a “Coffee Hour with Senior Leadership” recurring event beginning in July to provide a regular opportunity for staff to have conversations with me and other senior leaders concerning DEI or any other topics you wish to discuss.
• If you have other ideas about how to get more voices involved in shaping UC ANR, please send an email to dei@ucanr.edu. 

Additionally, Strategic Communications is developing an anti-racism resources page similar to this page from UC Berkeley and other UC pages. There are also some resources on the Learning and Development site. Please send your ideas and suggestions for additional resources to include to contentpipeline@ucanr.edu. We also welcome your suggestions for resources related to other marginalized groups to help build content that addresses the breadth of DEI. We recognize ANR can do more as an organization to make learning resources available and to create space for self-reflection and critical conversations.

Juneteenth

Juneteenth, widely celebrated in African American communities as “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day,” marks the date of June 19, 1865, when the federal orders were read by Union Colonel Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, informing more than 250,000 still-enslaved Blacks that they had their freedom. The notice came to slaves in the state of Texas more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which became official on January 1, 1863.

Although Juneteenth is not a federal holiday, most states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation recognizing it as a holiday or observance. California recognizes the third Saturday of June in each year as Juneteenth National Freedom Day: A Day of Observance.

Like many across the UC system, I encourage all colleagues to observe Friday, June 19, as a moment to reflect on our country, its treatment of Black, brown and Native American peoples, and to consider how UC values can help guide us into the future. 

I agree with Executive Vice President and COO Rachael Nava that “Acknowledging the significance of Juneteenth is a good place to start thinking about how we lift each other up rather than holding some among us down. Though many attempts have been made to make Juneteenth an official federal holiday, until that happens, I encourage all supervisors and managers to make a point of allowing employees to use vacation or accrued time off to celebrate Juneteenth freely and with the full pride of UC behind them.” 

Due to COVID-19, many Juneteenth celebrations have moved online and a selection of events are listed below:

• BSFO's Juneteenth Virtual Mixer Zoom – 6/19 from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. To join BSFO, email BSFO-UCOP@ucop.edu
• MOAD SF's Juneteenth Harlem of the West Presentation
• Juneteenth - Dia de Los Negros
• Riverside Juneteenth Celebration
• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture- The Coming of Freedom Celebrating Juneteenth

Pride Film Fest

Please be reminded that the ANR Pride Film Fest continues tomorrow night at 6 pm. Register for the Film Fest at http://ucanr.edu/pride2020 to get the Zoom link.

June 17: Kiki (2017) 1 hour, 34 min. – If anyone wondered where Madonna heard about "voguing," the documentary "Paris is Burning" was the answer. "Kiki" is another deep dive into the same scene. It's an intimate look at a marginalized community, many of whom rely on the various neighborhood clubs for support systems that don't exist anywhere else. The so-called "Kiki" scene is not just about the various competitive dance club contests. The scene provides a social structure, a "net" for kids who have nowhere else to go.

Glenda Humiston 
Vice President

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