Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression: CODARAI

The COD Anti-Racism Action Initiative brings together members of the COD Community seeking to improve conversations about race, racism, and oppression in the classroom and across campus.

CODARAI began as an offshoot of the 2019 Summer Reading Seminar, Teaching Race. In that 8-week class, we read Stephen Brookfield’s Teaching Race: How to Help Unmask and Challenge Racism as the central text for examining race, racism, and racial justice in our classrooms. We participated in action research, contributed to the facilitation of discussions; and collaborated in the development of a resource bibliography which became the Anti-racism Resource Guide.

At the end of the 8-weeks, we all agreed that we wanted to continue and expand the conversation, so we co-formed CODARAI. During our first year, we held once-a-month meet-ups where we shared our experiences and updated each other on our action research and the antiracism work that we do in our classes and departments. CODARAI meet-ups - whether virtual or face-to-face - are a space for reflection and connection.

CODARAI Conversations celebrate the actions that members of our campus community are taking to create a culture around antiracism - first steps and giant leaps; blueprints and final products; small successes and major achievements.

Each CODARAI Conversation will feature an update from folks who are doing anti-racist work and provide attendees the opportunity to exchange ideas, share experiences, and make connections across departments and employee groups. My hope is that CODARAI Conversations will generate discussions around:

• What antiracist things are we doing around campus?
• What steps are we taking?
• What projects have we undertaken?
• What progress are we making?
• What challenges have we overcome?
• What’s on the horizon?
• What resources can we share?
• What experiences can we learn from?

Would you like to share your or your team’s anti-racist work? Whether you’re just getting started and are looking for input from the community, have reached a significant milestone, or are unveiling an achievement, CODARAI wants to hear from you!

Upcoming

Anti-Racism in the Arts
Thursday, November 11, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Online
Join Jenn Kelley and Mara Baker for the third CODARAI Conversation event of the semester. Jenn will be sitting down with Associate Professor of Art Mara Baker to discuss the antiracist work that faculty in the Arts have undertaken and their plans going forward – from getting buy-in from full-time and adjunct faculty in the discipline to creating opportunities for change within the department and the College as a whole.

Past

Race, Power, and Privilege: Engaging Students in Conversations around Antiracism
Friday, October 29, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: BIC 1425
Talking openly and knowledgeably about race is a critical competency that students are expected to develop to be career-ready. That is why College of DuPage is offering the SpeakOut and SHIFT-created "Race, Power, & Privilege" E-Course. Join Stephanie Quirk and David Swope to learn more about how Student Affairs is using this program to spark conversations across campus.

Writing, Reading, Speech Assistance’s Philosophy and Commitment to Antiracism
Thursday, October 21, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
WRSA coaches have been on a two-year journey to interrogate their own biases, explore antiracist writing center pedagogy, and ensure that all students feel welcome, respected, safe, and accepted. In this inaugural CODARAI Conversation, Margaret Hernandez and Elyse Pelzer will share the steps that their team took to reach their goals and publish a public commitment to antiracism

 

CODARAI brings together members of the COD Community seeking to improve conversations about race, racism, and oppression in the classroom and across campus. We are nearly 300 members strong and growing all the time. 

We have a virtual space in Blackboard that is open to any COD employee. To find and join the CODARAI Blackboard Organization space:

1. Go to https://bb.cod.edu and log in with your COD credentials

2. Click on Organizations in the upper-right hand corner of the page

3. In the Organizations Search Box enter "COD Antiracism Action Initiative"

4. Click on the arrow next to “COD Antiracism Action Initiative” and click Enroll

5. When prompted, enter the password CODARAI

For more information about the COD Anti-Racism Action Initiative or this resource guide, please contact Jennifer Kelley at kelleyj@cod.edu