Anti-Racism Statement

The faculty of the Geography Department express our anger and sorrow over the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and far too many Black men and women throughout the United States.  The systemic racism in this country has to be defeated. Already we strive as researchers, teachers and members of a department at Dartmouth to frankly confront racism and the centuries of oppression and murder it perpetuates. We will continue to support research that examines race and systematic oppression, and redouble our commitment to anti-racist pedagogy. We can and will do more. 

In particular, we commit to:

• Training for all faculty and staff on anti-racist pedagogy and practices
• Re-designing our full spectrum of our courses to be more explicitly anti-racist in terms of topics and assignments
• Providing internal funding ($1000-$3000) for anti-racist research, learning, special projects and events for students and faculty
• Devoting the new Thelma Glass Award (senior awards) for student(s) contributing to anti-racism through academic or extracurricular activities
• Ensuring that our speaker series includes one or more scholars in geography or related disciplines explicitly focused on anti-racism
• Establishing a $2000 annual award for student(s) conducting anti-racist work through research, conferences, or special projects
• Safeguarding students the ability to vote by recording classes or moving classes to X-hour on Election Day in November
• Excusing absences and/or offering make-up assignments for students engaged in racial justice activities
• Re-doubling our efforts as a Department to mentoring marginalized students and encouraging Dartmouth's senior leadership to recognize the labor involved in mentoring and advising Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students
• Supporting and working with other anti-racist efforts on campus led by students, faculty, staff, and administration