A three-lecture series on Juneteenth will examine the past, present and future state of racial and social justice. Crystal Bradley, vice president of the , coordinated the series. UofL News caught up with Bradley to discuss Juneteenth and its continuing impact.

UofL News: How do you feel like our collective understanding of Juneteenth has evolved the past few years?

Bradley: There has been more awareness for everyone about the significance of Juneteenth, not just an awareness but a kind of freedom to celebrate the event as part of history. Juneteenth is not just Black history but it’s American history. It should be a positive thing and something that unifies us, not divides us. We can celebrate the idea of such an oppressive system of slavery being dismantled. You can imagine the enslaved getting this message that you don’t have to live this way anymore. That’s what we celebrate with Juneteenth, this message that you’re finally free from this oppressive system.

UofL News: What do you think is the most important thing that needs to be communicated about Juneteenth?

Bradley: Accuracy. Having a correct insight on history and the significance of it. It is not a divisive or taboo subject, and while it’s not pretty, it is American history and it’s our history to be embraced and shared by all. Information should be shared with everyone, so I think that’s the most critical part.

UofL News: How did the thematic concept of past, present and future – the idea of where we’ve been, where we are, where we’re going – how does that play into the struggle for racial equality?

Bradley: The Juneteenth event planning committee was deciding how to frame it, and we thought with everything going on this year, there are some people who want to rewrite history, and some just want to bury it altogether. With this theme of past, present, future, it’s kind of hitting the pause button on all of the noise to say, hey, let’s have an open, intelligent discussion with scholars and people who know about this subject matter. Let’s look back where we were as a community and talk about how the decisions made back then affected us, and how what we do now is going to affect us 20, 30, 40 years from now. We don’t want to stay stuck, so we need to have a vision to look forward. Our goal with this theme was to reflect, to pause and look at where we are and then to envision where we want to be in the future.

UofL News: Can you tell us a little bit about each speaker of the series?

Bradley: Monday, June 17th, Metro District 4 Councilman Jecorey Arthur is going to speak to our present component. One reason we chose him is because it is the 60^th anniversary of “freedom summer,” where in 1964, there was a big push to increase Black voter registration. That was in alignment with looking at how decisions we made back then plays into where we are now and the importance of voting, and how that plays into where and how we move forward as a society. 

On Tuesday, June 18, John Mays, former director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for Yum Brands, also known as the “I believe I can – man,” is going to address the future aspect. He’s a dynamic coach, author, entrepreneur and DEI motivational speaker. He brings a lot of energy, and he’s going to speak to that vision that we can have for ourselves as African Americans and as Americans collectively.

June 19^th is the official holiday, so on Thursday, June 20, the Coalition on the History of the Enslaved, which is a partnership and a collective of four diverse groups here in Louisville, will close out our speaker series. These are scholars who have deep knowledge of all the historical facts and points and sites within Louisville and surrounding areas such as the Oxmoor farm. They will speak about the impacts of the past, and tie back to how it affects us now and going forward. There’s been a lot of talk of slavery and what it is and what it isn’t, but I guarantee after listening to this group  we’ll all walk away knowing more than we did before.

UofL News: Where do you see positive/ negative movement in addressing racial justice issues?

Bradley: Positive movement is that people are feeling more empowered to take up that fight, because it is a fight when you are going against forces and groups that feel like a zero-sum game. If you have, that means I can’t have, when we can actually all have. It’s a long, tiring fight, but I am encouraged that people – Black, white, Latinx – are all willing to say no, we’re going to push back on this agenda. No, we are not going to accept that.

We’re going to continue to fight, and when they change the rules of the game, which they do, then we’ll adjust and adapt but we’ll continue to push equity and inclusion forward because it’s important.

What is negative is that for every step made to increase equitable solutions, the powers-that-be are there to knock you ten steps back. Now they’re passing legislation and controlling what goes on in the classroom and changing the narrative. They’re in powerful positions that can affect that kind of change. So that’s really discouraging, but we wouldn’t have come this far as a society, as a community, as a collective, had we just accepted other people’s agendas years ago.

Learn more about the .

Hu-DeHart served as director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Brown from 2002-2014, and director of the Consortium on Advanced Studies in Cuba during the 2014-2015 academic year, and again in Spring 2019. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University and a doctorate in Latin American/Caribbean history from the University of Texas at Austin. She also has received two Fulbright fellowships to Brazil and Peru, and lectures extensively in the United States, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, and Europe. Hu-DeHart has written, edited and published 11 books in four languages and five continents.

AAPI Faculty Staff Association(FSA) President Jianhua “Andrew” Zhao, associate professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts & Sciences, says although AAPI heritage is recognized nationally in the month of May, UofL, along with many other higher education institutions in the United States often celebrate in April before the spring semester ends.  

“This is a time when we recognize the contributions and influence of Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture and achievements of the United States,” Zhao said. “UofL’s AAPI FSA supports its members by fostering community and a sense of belonging, increasing visibility for the AAPI community, empowering AAPI individuals by providing mentorships and other opportunities, promoting awareness of the challenges and unique experiences of the AAPI community, and building alliances across the university and in the Louisville community that advance the university’s mission for diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

AAPI Heritage Week is sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Equity, the Office of Community Engagement, the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity (CODRE), Center for Asian Democracy, Asian Studies Program, Office of Community Engagement and Diversity Inclusion in the School of Nursing, Student Government Association and Asia Institute-Crane House. Find more information about the week’s celebrations on the . Events are free and open to the public.

“Every faculty member has their time allocated across teaching, research and service, but there is no guidebook on how to structure your time to get all these things accomplished,” he said.

The program is facilitated through the , an organization that provides on-demand access to mentoring, professional development and support. UofL has paid for an institutional membership to NCFDD, and anyone employed by the university may .

This year, several faculty of color are being supported by their school’s dean and the to participate in NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program aimed at helping them increase research and writing productivity, while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. This opportunity provides needed resources as the faculty pursue tenure and other academic goals.

Amirah Jackson, assistant professor, School of Dentistry, is new to academia. After working a few years for a private dental practice, Jackson returned to her dental school alma mater in January 2021 to teach.

“This program is helping me understand the many aspects of being a faculty member, and it is fruitful to learn about how others navigate their professional careers,” she said.

Each participant is divided in groups, with four faculty and one coach from throughout the United States. They are each given homework assignments and meet weekly to discuss progress.

Barr-Pulliam says the program is helping him get a better handle on how to manage his time to accomplish both present and future tasks.

“Last week we talked about putting together an individual strategic plan and this week we are placing goal objectives onto our calendars. This creates accountability. During our weekly meetings, we are encouraged and give a report on what we’ve committed to do,” he said.

He says the program is about a mindset shift, helping faculty think about roadblocks that could keep them from research and writing and how to move past those hurdles.

“One of the things I’ve learned is the importance of writing research-related content 30 minutes every day,” he said. “I’ll get more done if I do a little each day.”

For Jackson, social media can sometimes be a distraction. She’s learned one way to manage that is to take the app off her phone on days when it could interfere with a particular task. Participants also are encouraged to calendar a set time for social media, making it part of their weekly activities.

Barr-Pulliam has worked at UofL since 2019, and says it’s great to be part of an organization committed to NCFDD membership.

“I wanted to work at an institution trying to improve access for multiple populations,” he said. 

Jackson agrees, and gives heartfelt thanks to those who supported her in this program.

“I am so grateful to Faye Jones, Diane Whitlock and the Office of Diversity and Equity, and to Dean Bradley for making this possible for me,” she said.

Barr-Pulliam encourages other faculty and staff to and take advantage of the basic NCFDD offerings.

“This is a good program and no matter where you are in your journey, there are nuggets you can take away. It provides skills that are hard to acquire otherwise,” he said.

Other UofL participants of the NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program include:

• Claudia Angeli, assistant professor, J.B. Speed School of Engineering
• Aishia Brown, assistant professor, School of Public Health and Information
• Kimmerly Harrell, assistant professor, School of Medicine
• Kalasia Ojeh, assistant professor, College of Arts and Sciences
• Shaun Owens, assistant professor, College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development

The 12-week program ends in November.

In the summer of 2020, President Neeli Bendapudi charged the to lead a taskforce in bringing forth recommendations to guide UofL in becoming a premier anti-racist metropolitan research university.

“To be an anti-racist institution, UofL cannot rest on the racial advancements of the 20^th century,” Bendapudi said. “We are facing long-held racist beliefs, action and inaction, and we aren’t shying away from the fight.”

The agenda, now in the final stages of development, underscores the strategic vision of the university as a great place to learn, work and invest through celebration of the unique attributes every individual brings to the university community.

“The approach of this work focuses on evaluating policies and institutional behaviors as a means of shifting cultural values and perspectives toward greater racial equity,” said V. Faye Jones, interim senior associate vice president for diversity and equity.

CARA progress

Representatives from throughout UofL’s campuses — faculty, staff, students, trainees (residents and post docs) and administration — helped develop the agenda. These five subgroups of the taskforce have carefully and thoughtfully drafted a report of six priority areas, and action steps, which are now being refined. Completion of a final plan, along with implementation is expected this year.

The six broad priority areas are:

• Culture, Policies, Practices and Procedures
• Equity in Work, Compensation, Professional Development and Reward
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Images and Communication
• Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Talent
• University and Community Relationships

This year the taskforce anticipates a report with action plans for every strategy, a data dashboard making diversity data transparent and accessible and a CARA cultural impact to improve the lived experiences of the entire Cardinal family.

Campus movement

As details of CARA are being finalized, movement to support the agenda is already in motion. Every unit throughout campus is laying groundwork to break down barriers and make changes that reflect our anti-racism goal.

For example, leadership from each of the four Health Sciences Center schools participated in a 10-week immersive executive leadership program with the Aspen Institute focused on leading institutional diversity, equity and inclusion. Not only this, but leaders at many schools and units throughout the university have set aside funding to support dedicated diversity, equity and inclusion positions at the director, assistant dean and associate dean levels.

Faculty, staff and student support is one area of growth. Through the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), faculty, staff and students can receive on-demand access to mentoring, professional development and support leading to success in the academy. Several faculty of color are being supported by their school’s dean and the to participate in NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program designed to help faculty increase research and writing productivity while maintaining a healthy work/life balance. This opportunity will provide needed resources as the faculty pursue tenure. Meanwhile, Human Resources has developed an affirmative action review process for faculty tenure and promotions, seeking to understand whether decisions made regarding tenure and/or promotion adversely impact members of certain groups.

Launched through the Office of Research and Innovation, the new  provides mentorship, funding and other support to high-performing associate professors. The goal is to boost the national impact of the fellows’ scholarship, with a focus on work in diversity, inclusion and community empowerment.

Other actions, too, are helping the CARA progress, as staff and faculty have opportunities to participate in book studies and Continuing ����ֱ�� sessions on the topics of implicit bias, microagressions, power and privilege, health disparities and racial justice. A new Lunch and Learn series also helps welcome, mentor and retain Black faculty, with plans to extend to Hispanic and Latino faculty. Development of a faculty search document, Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Increase Diversity and Excellence (STRIDE) will lead to workforce change, and a new Employee Resource Group is focused on faculty and staff who identify as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The Office of Diversity and Equity, in collaboration with the Employee Success Center, also is working to better incorporate diversity and equity in university onboarding, leadership and retention programs, policies and practices. Programs and services to support employees and students experiencing racial trauma also give credence to one of UofL’s guiding principles as a Community of Care.

A new Undergraduate Student Success Taskforce, coordinated through the Office of Diversity and Equity, aims to make it easier for underrepresented, underfunded and first generation students to have an equal opportunity for achievement. The group will work to improve information sharing, communication and collaboration across units; identify gaps in services, student performance and experience; and develop creative ways to eliminate barriers and build student success. The taskforce will have a plan in place this fall.

A course for first-year students taught by student success center staff also is being revised in time for the new academic year to more intentionally thread themes of diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the curriculum. All GEN 100 instructors will be trained on what it means to be an anti-racist institution and tie the work of CARA to first year students’ experience as they join the university community.

And advancement is working to raise funds for student financial support aimed at racial equity. The School of Nursing’s Breonna Taylor Memorial Scholarship and the J.B. Speed School of Engineering’s diversity education scholarship through are two examples.

New committees and groups

The Student Government Association recently created a diversity and inclusion committee, the Staff Senate created a and new recognized student organizations have launched this year, including the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA).

Jason Deakings helped lead the effort in bringing together the BGSA. As a CODRE student representative, he’s also helping shape CARA. Deakings worked on a committee to explore anti-racism initiatives at other universities, and had the opportunity to listen to both graduate and undergraduate student ideas and concerns related to the agenda.

“Inclusiveness is of paramount importance for students,” Deakings said. “Even as new RSOs have been created, we are working toward unification and progressing inclusivity.”

Inclusiveness and belonging are key, says Jones.

“We must ensure equity in all of our practices and policies that are inclusive of our multiple identities,” she said.

As the world begins to recover from the devastating effects of the recent global COVID-19 pandemic, we maintain our commitment to providing education that is fair, just and true, and leads toward an end of the devastating effects of the long-term racial pandemic.