SUNY Plattsburgh commemorates National Day of Racial Healing Jan. 16

Jan. 13—PLATTSBURGH — The SUNY Plattsburgh Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Center will host a campus celebration of the 2024 National Day of Racial Healing on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

The event is free and open to the public.

ORIGINS

The National Day of Racial Healing was launched in 2017 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as part of its Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) effort, a national and community-based process to plan for, and bring about, transformational and sustainable change.

Held on the Tuesday following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the annual observance is an opportunity to engage in collective action to create a more just and equitable world, according to a press release.

"This will be the third year that SUNY Plattsburgh has participated in the National Day of Racial Healing," Allison Heard, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, said.

"Last year, the National Day of Racial Healing was somber in some ways because of the news of Tyre Nichols (early January 2023), a 29-year old, Black male, who was pulled over by officers in Memphis, Tennessee and beaten.

"At the time, he was taken to the hospital in critical condition and he died three days later. Our country does a great job of being reactive, and we can often gather together during the worst of times.

"However, SUNY Plattsburgh wants to stress how important it is to be proactive and to develop strategies and action plans for working collaboratively with one another during times of hope and promise."

EIGHTH ANNUAL

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) called on higher education institutions across the country to mark the eighth annual National Day of Racial Healing by promoting racial healing and fostering engagement around issues of racism, bias, inequity, and injustice in our society.

"The commitment to redress the historical and contemporary effects of racism is central to AAC&U's mission of advancing the democratic purposes of higher education and integral to the aims of a contemporary liberal education," AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella said in a press release.

"The National Day of Racial Healing is an opportunity for campuses and communities to come together and reflect on shared values, recognize our common humanity, and focus on healing the effects of racism."

As part of the broader TRHT effort, AAC&U partners with higher education institutions to establish TRHT Campus Centers that focus on preparing the next generation of leaders to build more just and equitable communities by dismantling the false belief in a hierarchy of human value.

"Building and sustaining a positive narrative about race and difference at higher education institutions and within communities involves truth-telling, deep listening, and most importantly, a commitment to creating environments where healing and growth can occur," Tia McNair, AAC&U's Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Student Success and Executive Director for the TRHT Campus Centers, said.

"The National Day of Racial Healing acknowledges the harm and trauma caused by a false belief in a hierarchy of human value, while encouraging us to focus on a process of healing that will lead to transformation."

TUESDAY SLATE

Held the Tuesday after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, SUNY Plattsburgh's commemoration of the National Day of Racial Healing will include refreshments from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the Warren Ballrooms, Angell College Center, followed by the keynote address.

Concurrent morning sessions run from 11 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Topics include "Deconstructing Racial Narratives through Storytelling" and "Literature of Witness," with healing circles being held during the afternoon session.

From noon to 1 p.m., there will be lunch, networking and round-table discussions on topics such as "Finding Common Ground," "Eliminating Implicit Bias and Strengthening Principled Policing," and "Breath work, Centering Practices and Guided Meditation."

A closing presentation, "Healing Soul Wounds," will be held at 2 p.m. with final remarks beginning at 3 p.m.

"The events of the day are designed to encourage people to think about what they can do to advance racial equity and healing and to think about what they can do on an organizational level," Heard said.

"The theme for the day coincides with the national theme, but we also added our own special twist to align with a famous quote by Maya Angelou. Some of what I will be sharing below will also be in my remarks on Tuesday. The theme is: 'The Heart of Racial Equity Starts with Courage.'"

Dr. Maya Angelou famously said: "I am convinced that courage is the most important of all the virtues. Because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently. You can be kind for a while, you can be generous for a while; you can be just for a while, or merciful for a while, even loving for a while. But it is only with courage that you can be persistently and insistently kind and generous and fair."

Angelou also said: "Having courage does not mean that we are unafraid. Having courage and showing courage means that we face our fears."

"Doing DEI work can often be hard because people often have the heart and good intentions but they do not always know where to start," Heard said.

"We are hoping that Tuesday is a day for people who have consistently been doing this work to gather and get information on new ideas and things they can do. We also want to create a safe space for anyone who has not been doing this work to participate and learn how they can start. It just takes courage and a personal desire to do more to make our world a better place."

For more information, email diversity@plattsburgh.edu.

Email: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

Twitter@RobinCaudell