Students for Equity and Diversity

Today at 3 PM, the Anti-Defamation League is co-hosting a conversation about the history of inequality and long-standing legacies of racism in Austin. While this event may seem progressive at face-value, we are calling on the speakers, Pamela Benson Owens and kYmberly Keeton to rise to the national call by many advocacy organizations to .

Pamela Benson Owens, the Interim Director of Six Square and founder of Edge of Your Seat Consulting, and kYmberly Keeton, an African American Community Archivist and Librarian at the Austin History Center, are long-time community advocates and leaders, standing for oppressed people in our communities. However, we know the ADL has a history of silencing the voices of our communities and our movements.

“Today, the ADL is the single largest non-governmental police trainer in the country. The ADL 2016 annual report boasted that 100% of major US metropolitan police departments have sent participants to Israel and the ADL’s Advanced Training School in Extremist and Terrorist Threats. These trainings deepen the militarized, racialized policing of US neighborhoods, treating low-income neighborhoods and communities of color as counterinsurgent “human terrain,” just as Israeli forces view the Palestinian communities they occupy. Shared counterinsurgency tactics include the use of “less-lethal” munitions for crowd control — meaning weapons that “only” maim and can be used by police against local populations.” -https://droptheadl.org/the-adl-is-not-an-ally/

The harm they have enacted in our communities includes repressing community activism especially in Black and Muslim communities, encouraging the filming of protests such as in Charlottesville, NC, increasing surveillance of Muslim communities, and attempting to delegitimize any civil rights organization that shows any form of support for Palestinian rights- including the Movement for Black Lives - contradicting their mission to “secure justice and fair treatment for all”.

Many well-intentioned individuals and organizations partner with the ADL not knowing its ongoing legacy of supporting racist policing, surveillance, colonialism, and the silencing of social justice activism. Misinformation about the ADL’s work, and its infiltration of movements for justice, are what allow the ADL to continue harming social justice movements.

This event is a tactic used by the ADL as a means to cover up their right wing agenda and maintain a progressive image in the public eye. We join local organizations like allgo: a q***r people of color organization and national organizations with local chapters such as the National Lawyers Guild, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Movement 4 Black Lives, Mijente, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and over 100+ organizations across the country, to urge those who stand in solidarity with all communities fighting for justice not to attend this webinar and we encourage Pamela Benson Owens and kYmberly Keeton to reconsider their participation in this event and to stand on the right side of history.

For more information on the ADL visit droptheADL.org

Students for Equity and Diversity stands in firm solidarity with the Black community, and seek to support them in any way possible. We took the past week to fully reflect and flesh out our statement. Since we currently do not have access to our funding, we did not want to make a statement without at least making a plan for action.

We condemn the racist attacks by the police force and complicity of their department who have for centuries upheld white supremacy and anti-Blackness.
We seek:
1. abolition without condition(s) in order to help create a future without policing of Black people.
2. justice for all racial injustices, past and present.
3. non-Black people to educate themselves on the present situation and offer tangible support for the fight towards racial justice. We must all be actively anti-racist and work towards unlearning the anti-Blackness that white supremacy has indoctrinated within us. Passivity is not an option, it is not enough to offer just solidarity.

In order to obtain our goals we will:
1. support organizers and activists who have been on the ground for years. Without their advocacy and knowledge, this movement would not be possible.
2. commit to working with student & local organizations until ADP has been dismantled. Removal of police presence from UT campus will be essential to the fight.
3. offer any financial and material support we are able to provide

We encourage:
1. everyone to continue to donate and support those who are fighting against these injustices.
2. Black voices to be centered always. This is a movement for Black people, and we condemn any who try to center other struggles in this movement. Do not let non-Black people control the narrative or play the victim.
3. everyone to practice proper protective protocols especially since COVID-19 continues to pose a real threat to BIPOC communities that are denied equal access to medical care.

We are committed to raising money and donating to Austin organizations that support the cause including but not limited to 400+1, mutual aid collective atx, and the Mike Ramos Brigade.

We understand that some of us are unable to provide the support that we hope to provide due to COVID-19 and regional displacement, but we hope that you will keep supporting the movement in any way possible. We will update on any resources we can provide as soon as possible.

In Solidarity,
Students for Equity and Diversity

Still seeking applicants for SED's leadership institute! Don't miss out!

TODAY is the Global Day of Protest against War in Iran! Join us and other community organizers at the TX Capitol Building at 4:30-6:30 pm to show YOUR support!

Hey folx, welcome backkkk! SED has planned a FULL spring schedule and we cannot WAIT to see y'all again :)

And what's a better way of celebrating the new semester than learning more about social justice?

Well, here's your chance! SED is recruiting applicants for the Multicultural Leadership Institute (MLI), a 5 week leadership program with seminars discussing identity, activism and community organizing, allyship, and SO MUCH MORE. Light food and drinks will be provided during the weekly seminars. MLI will occur Tuesdays from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m, beginning February 11th, 2020.

You don't want to miss out! Applications are due Feb 10th (https://forms.gle/oSkeh2T9uBYm3UfY7).

Hey folx! We are recruiting for the Multicultural Leadership Institute (MLI), a 5 week long series of leadership seminars.

This year, we'll be covering white supremacy and the prison industrial complex, patriarchy and colonization, and capitalism and environmental justice, while developing leadership opportunities and discussing topics such as identity, activism/organizing, intersectionality, solidarity, etc.

Make sure to fill out this application if you're interested in participating!

Multicultural Leadership Institute Application 2020 MLI 2020 Everyday Social Justice: From the Individual to the Community The Multicultural Leadership Institute offers UT undergraduate students a unique opportunity to engage in hands-on activities to develop personal leadership, organization and planning skills. The Institute consists of 5 weeks of....