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Community Action

Getting Involved

Here's a growing list of steps we can all take to make a difference.

  1. Stay informed.  
    1. The Black Lives Matter movement continues to combat violence inflicted on Black communities.
    2. Tisch Library maintains a list of Antiracist Readings
    3. Review the list of Anti-Racist Resources for Academia maintained by the office of the Chief Diversity Officer.
    4. The Institute for Global Leadership web site includes Resources on Racism, Racial Justice, and Equity.
       
  2. Make informed decisions when spending Fletcher funds and your own dollars
    1. Give diverse businesses an opportunity to provide service to our community.
    2. There are over 60 Black-owned restaurants in the Greater Boston Area, and several are in the Medford and Somerville area. Keep these restaurants in mind the next time you're planning a night out or a campus event that requires catering. 
    3. New England Today maintains a Google Doc of over 300 Black-owned businesses and local/national organizations in New England
    4. Buy ethically produced goods.
      1. Fairtrade International and Fair Trade Certified are two of many websites with helpful information
      2. Cocoa - One of the many problematic products. Currently, 60% of the world's cocoa is produced in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and the latest estimates found two million children in these countries are engaged in hazardous work.  
        1. U.S. Department of Labor information
        2. 2019 Washington Post article "Cocoa’s child laborers: Mars, Nestlé, and Hershey pledged nearly two decades ago to stop using cocoa harvested by children. Yet much of the chocolate you buy still starts with child labor."
           
  3. Apply for a Tufts University Bridging Differences grant. Students, faculty, or staff members may apply for up to $2,000 in funding for projects that will improve understanding and engagement on campus. The program is sponsored by the university's Office of the Chief Diversity Officer.
     
  4. Take a test. Harvard's "Project Implicit" will measure your implicit associations about many types of diversity, including race, gender, and sexual orientation.
     
  5. Sign up for a course or workshop 
    1. LinkedIn Learning offers several courses on diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
    2. Review the courses available as part of Tufts master's program in Diversity and Inclusion Leadership
       
  6. For Fletcher Faculty
    1. Work with the university's Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching to create an inclusive learning environment in the classroom.
    2. Continue work on Diversifying Course Material
       
  7. Alumni: Join the Fletcher Alumni of Color Association, the Fletcher Women's Network, and one or more of the university's Shared Interest Groups

Community Meetings

The Fletcher community has held a series of town halls and online gatherings in the past months to discuss diversity, inclusion, and belonging at Fletcher. As part of our commitment to creating a more inclusive environment where everyone feels that they can belong, Fletcher is being transparent with our community about the discussions we are together having, the actions we are taking, and those that we need to take to further our goal.

Reading List

  1. Harvard Business Review
    1. Five-part series: Advancing Black Leaders
    2. How U.S. Companies Can Support Employees of Color through the Pandemic
    3. Working from Home while Black
       
  2. The Department Chair as Transformative Diversity Leader: Building Inclusive Learning Environments in Higher Education.  Edna Chun and Alvin Evans
     
  3. An Inclusive Academy - Achieving Diversity and Excellence. Abigail J. Stewart and Virginia Valian