Upcoming Events
Rev. Lennox Yearwood
Join the Office of Sustainability, Racial Justice Task Force and the Valente Center for Arts and Sciences, for an enlightening conversation with Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr, the President & Founder of Hip Hop Caucus, a minister, community activist, U.S. Air Force veteran, and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life. He is a leader in campaigns calling for increasing diversity in the climate movement, ensuring everyone has clean water and air, and international efforts to address climate change.
Register here.
Big Question 2: How Does Racism Show Up on Bentley’s Campus?
The Racial Justice Task Force will be hosting the “Big Questions for Bentley” community dialogue series. These programs will bring together students, alumni, faculty and staff to openly and bravely examine and uncover the ways in which race is discussed and enacted in our community. These workshops will combine self-reflection, facilitated dialogues, and targeted activities to provide participants multiple ways to understand and engage with race on campus.
Register here.
Big Question #1 Recap
On October 21st, the Racial Justice Task Force hosted the first “Big Questions for Bentley” community dialogue. Bringing together over seventy individuals, this session asked our community to reflect on the question “How does race show up on Bentley’s campus?” The conversation included reflections on physical space around campus, the names of buildings, pictures hung in offices and the visual pieces on our website.
Beyond the Task Force
Several members of the Bentley community have initiated their own efforts across campus to combat issues of systemic racism. We are proud to see this activity and will continue to highlight their work on our website.
GLS Events
The Department of Global Studies recently hosted Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean from Quinnipiac University, who engaged in a conversation with faculty and invited students on “Race and the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.”
Office of Sustainability
The Office of Sustainability has committed to learning about environmental racism and educating our campus community on the topic. The office’s new student Social Justice Coordinator will be giving a “Crash Course in Environmental Racism” on November 18 at 2:00 p.m. and has curated an Environmental Racism Reading List (contact Sophie Rodgers to obtain a copy).
Core Team Member Profile
With each update we will showcase an individual volunteering to serve on the RJTF Core Team.
This week, meet Kiana Pierre-Louis:
Kiana Pierre-Louis is a Senior Lecturer in Law and Taxation, one of the advisors to Black United Body and the Caribbean Ancestry Student Association and an alumna of the class of 1999.
When asked why she joined the RJTF, she said, “I chose to join the taskforce because racial justice is the essence of who I am. Bentley is not just a place that I work but a place that I call home and my alma mater. I want Bentley to be a place where students, alumni, faculty, staff and parents are proud of and that starts with becoming an antiracist institution.”