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Summary of Past Actions

We believe that education and training in anti-racism work is an ongoing process. Given this, we are committed to continuing to be engaged in learning and taking action to live out this commitment. We also know that our education is a starting place and should never be the end point; our actions are important as well. In the interest of transparency and learning in public, we have decided to share the steps that our group takes in this area. The items listed below are based on our group level commitments and engagements. 

 

2020: 

  • Trans-ilience team members completed an online implicit bias training as a step in continuing our own personal education. 

  • Trans-ilience made a donation to the National Bail Out. More about this organization: “National Bail Out is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration.” 

  • We created a mechanism within our team for sharing calls to action so that we can each engage in actions like contacting local representatives, advocating for legislation that relates to police reform, and other initiatives. 

  • Multiple members of the research group participated in the program Academics for Black Survival and Wellness. This included a week of action from June 19-25. More information: “Academics for Black Survival and Wellness was organized by a group of Black counseling psychologists and their colleagues who practice Black allyship. Guided by a Black feminist frame, we hope to foster accountability and growth for non-Black people and enhance healing and wellness for Black people.” https://www.academics4blacklives.com/

  • We committed to taking more steps to center the expertise and contributions of Black academics and other people of color in publications by reviewing our new publications to make sure we are citing these authors. Related, we made plans to center BIPOC individuals in social media posts that promote other researchers (e.g., Pride month posts). 

  • In our research, we have further committed to taking an intersectional approach that always recognizes how systems of power and privilege may impact the various parts of our participants’ lives – not just related to their gender. As a group, we recognize the ways in which various systems of power and privilege are interconnected and will make sure that our work also reflects this understanding. This includes attending to how intersectionality may influence our recruitment, measures, interpretation, etc. in research studies. 

  • Our director, Jae Puckett, committed to providing pro-bono evaluations for LGBTQ+ people of color in the Lansing area who are seeking asylum.

Image by Keith Helfrich
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