The summer of 2020 brought renewed attention to the violence continually perpetrated against the BIPOC communities in the United States. In response to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, and so many others, the California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley challenged every college in the system to take action against structural racism through his detailed Call to Action. And the Peralta Community College District has taken this call seriously.

For example, over the course of the summer, the College of Alameda campus community rolled up its sleeves and launched a variety of conversations around the topic, conversations which are being continued by the CoA President’s Office through a series of informal virtual meetings.

At the most recent campus dialogue on October 8, 2020, participants discussed the CCCO’s third Call to Action, which is to audit the classroom climate and create an action plan to ensure all classrooms are inclusive and offer anti-racism curriculum.

CoA faculty, staff, and administrators have also participated in a wide variety of anti-racism trainings, most recently through the Equity Institute. This training focused on creating transformational courses to serve students of color and build anti-racist curriculum, as well as training on how to provide effective counseling in the era of equity. CoA faculty and senate leadership have been active participants, and continue to address these issues directly in the classroom. CoA’s Call to Action dialogues will continue this month.