How to Get Involved

Stay Informed:

Join the CCE Racial Equity listserv (Outlook)!

Join CAL's greater CC community on GroupMe

History of the Issue at CC

• 1874: Colorado College was founded to be an institution open to all races.
• 1906: The first known African-American man, Frederick Roberts, graduated from CC.
• 1910-1903: The first African-American woman, Edna Walker, attended CC.
• 1923: The first known African-American woman, Lillian B. Hardee, graduated from CC.
• 1965: Terry Foncille became the first African-American to serve on the Associated Students of Colorado College.
• 1965: Faculty met to adopt a statement that no organization on the campus would be permitted to operate under regulations which, in letter or spirit, discriminated against a racial or religious group.
• 1966 The minority student scholarship was established.
• 1969: The Black Student Union was founded.
• 1971: Students founded the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano Aztlan (or MEChA). Seeking to educate, establish pride and identity in Chicano heritage, MEChA’s mission of empowerment and cultural reclamation was taken under the umbrella of SOMOS in 1999.
• 1972: Clarence Sterne Jr. became the college’s first full-time faculty member serving as the college’s tennis coach.
• 1978: The Native American Student Association became a chartered student organization.
• 1980: First Annual Black Awareness week was sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU).
• 1990: The Office of Minority Student Life was founded. Rochelle Dickey ’83 was chosen to lead the office. Today it is transformed into the Butler Center.
• 1991: Students founded the Asian American Student Union.
• The Native American Student Association sponsored the first annual Native American Heritage Week and Pow-Wow.
• 1992: Former Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah was added to the Board of Trustees as the first Native American/Navajo trustee.
• 1994: The first Diversity Council was created.
• 1997: Glass House became a permanent multicultural residence at CC.
• 1999: The Summer Bridge Program created.
• 2014: The Diversity and Equity Advisory Board was established.
• 2018: A smudging and pipe ceremonies policy was adopted by CC.
• 2019: The CC Board of Trustees unanimously approved the naming of Tava Quad.
• 2020: Antiracism Implementation Plan was established
• 2021: Antiracism Commitment Committee Established

Current State of the Issue at CC

An external review of racism at CC was recently commissioned, and CC has hired two of three diversity, equity, and inclusion leaders to implement and evolve the antiracism implementation plan. CC is also forming an Antiracism Oversight Committee

Collective for Anti-Racism and Liberation (CAL)

• Started the Colorado College Mutual Aid Fund
• Wrote a proposal regarding CSPD and CC relations and hosted two town halls on the topic of policing
• Partnered with Citizen’s Project for a “Transparency Phone Zap”
• Conducted a review of the Colorado Springs budget and the city’s CARES Act funding allocation

Resources

CCE Lead Issue Panel

• Racial Equity Issue-Based Panel held on March 4th, 2021
  • Facilitated by Misbah Lakhani '24
  • Panelists: 
    • Goddess Tyescha, Inside Out Youth Services and Community Leader
    • Jon Christiansen, The Chinook Center
    • Dr. Heidi R. Lewis, CC Faculty
    • Rosalie Rodriguez, CC Staff - Director of the Butler Center
    • Martrice Ellis, CC Student
    • Devin Cata, CC Student

Documentary Films

1. I Am Not Your Negro - James Baldwin and Race in America is a critically-acclaimed documentary about institutional racism in the U.S., through author and activist James Baldwin’s writings
2. The documentary White Like Me - Race, Racism & White Privilege in America is also streaming on Kanopy; this one is narrated by a race educator and activist
3. Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools compares the crucial inequities between how Black girls and non-black, though especially white, girls are treated by the public schools meant to support their growth, learning, and development, and articulates the case for why Black girls, as opposed to Black youth in general, need to be prioritized, talked about, and supported intentionally in order to truly support gender equality and racial justice movements.

1. How to Build an Anti-Racist World talk with leading anti-racist author and Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University Ibram X. Kendi
2. The Path to Ending Systemic Racism in the US TED conversation with Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, Rashad Robinson, Dr. Bernice King, and Anthony D. Romero
3. The Urgency of Intersectionality: hear from the leading critical race theorist Kimberle Crenshaw who coined the term “intersectionality,” Kimberle Crenshaw, in her powerful TED talk highlighting the gruesome intersections between racial and gender prejudices from 2016.

1. 1619, a podcast series hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones from The New York Times, unravels the dark legacy of slavery in the U.S. from a historical and contemporary perspective
2. White Lies podcast series from NPR, focused on journalistic efforts to find justice for the murder of Rev. James Reed in Selma, Alabama (a case study with implications for our our country’s history and present)
3. Uncivil podcast series sharing the stories left out of history books from the time of the Civil War in the U.S.
4. “Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence” an individual podcast episode featuring therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem with the series “On Being” with Krista Tippett
5. Nice White Parents, a 5-part podcast series that covers the history of a Brooklyn-based public school over the course of 60+ years, offers an in-depth, well analyzed story about the racial inequities that remain central in our U.S. public school system, and the ways we may begin to address these issues, together. With insightful discussion on modern-day school segregation and failed political and organizing efforts, and special attention to the role that middle-aged white parents play in the way our public schools run in the U.S., this podcast is certain to captivate your interest and catapult your involvement in education-based racial equity pursuits.
6. This Land is a podcast series covering “two crimes nearly two centuries apart” that have “provided the backbone to a 2020 Supreme Court decision” made recently, in July, determining the fate of five tribes and a huge amount of land in Wyoming.
7. The land is still here': A Black farmer's fight for his legacy during Covid-19 focuses on one farmer profiled in Kamau Bell’s United Shades of America
8. Black in Appalachia podcast series: “Having long been in this region, Black Appalachians remain mostly invisible, while the dominant narratives of Appalachia depict an overwhelming, white cultural homogeneity...Through historical and contemporary stories of people, places and experiences, hosts Enkeshi El-Amin and Angela Dennis interrogate what it means to be Black in Appalachia, creating space where under-told stories can be heard and Black identity can be reclaimed.”
9. Code Switch: “Race, in your Face”
10. LOCAL - Colorado Latino Issues & Answers: “Historian Joe Barrera digs deep into all things Colorado, including current events and politics.”
11. LOCAL - From Colorado Matters (a series from Colorado Public Radio) comes a conversation with historian and author of The History of White People Nell Irvin Painter:  “Historian: Racism Is Real; Race Is An Ideology”

1. The Great Unlearn website featuring Rachel Cargle’s resources and work
2. Anti-Racism Daily newsletter from Nicole Cardoza
3. Article from the Associated Press: Native Americans Want to be Included in Race Talks
4. First Peoples Worldwide: helpful database covering the history of the Indigenous Movement and overview of big goals for the Movement
5. Native News Online website with up-to-date news articles covering Native American-related issues nationwide
6. Zine called Asian American Feminist Antibodies all about care in the time of the coronavirus