Office of Institutional Diversity
Thank you for contacting the Office of Institutional Diversity (OID). In order to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID - 19) and protect our greater community, the OID staff is working remotely. If there is a need to communicate with any of the staff individually please contact him/her by email. On behalf of the Office of Institutional Diversity we encourage each of you to stay healthy, exercise social distancing, and stay engaged.
The Counseling Center
Gender and Sexuality Equity Center
Arts Management Program
Southern Studies Program (Click here to view the offical statement)
C of C’s Program in Southern Studies shares the outrage and sorrow that our community, nation, and world are now expressing in response to the murder of George Floyd and the systemic racism tragically highlighted by his death. We grieve with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and a host of other victims of racist violence. We stand with all who protest these murders and who demand change in policing and law enforcement practices.
Black citizens and Southern studies scholars know that these recent crimes, along with the militarized repression of some protests, are nothing new. Systemic racism was a defining principle in the creation of South Carolina. Thousands of captive Africans who survived the Middle Passage were sold in the city of Charleston. After the Confederacy failed in its goal of maintaining slavery, its leaders designed a postbellum South that required and revered white supremacy. Against this backdrop of trauma and violence, African-descended people created communities, families, social structures, and cultural traditions that now define the region.
None of the things we cherish about the South–our landscapes, our literature, our built environments, our music, our foodways, our religious traditions, our proud history of civil disobedience–would exist without Black labor, creativity, ingenuity—without Black lives.
Within our lifetimes, this city built by slave labor and this College founded to perpetuate a white male elite have made important progress, but we have far more work to do. We are not yet the just and equitable community and the inclusive College that our citizens deserve.
As scholars, teachers, and citizens, we commit ourselves to saying the names of those who have been lost in recent days. We also honor the lives and stories of the many thousands gone, the ancestors whose guidance we need to repair our region. We will seek out and tell the full stories of the South’s complex history. We will call out white supremacy in its many forms, visible and invisible, so that we may begin to dismantle structural racism. If we hope to create true community, we must listen to Black voices and fight for Black lives.
Julia Eichelberger
Director, Program in Southern Studies
Black Student Union
School of the Arts
The College of Charleston School of the Arts stands in solidarity with Black communities and joins the call for equity and justice. As we share the heartbreak and outrage over the unjust killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless other Black citizens and the racism and intolerance behind them, the current pause in many of our operations gives us an opportunity to observe, listen, learn and improve.
The School of the Arts is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion within the school and programming, and we stand with the College of Charleston overall in our efforts to learn more and do more.
As an educational and cultural organization, we believe that acknowledging and embracing differences in identity are essential to creating dynamic art, conversations, and experiences for our students and our audiences. Our student/faculty/alumni artists and arts administrators use their creative talents to express emotions and share important messaging, while also helping audiences examine subjects from different perspectives. We know the power of artistic expression and how the arts can educate, empower, heal and unify through conversations that reach beyond words. We encourage all artists and arts administrators to use their platforms to continue their expression and consciously advance underrepresented communities. We all have much work to do.
Residence Life (Click Here to view the Official Statement)
Residence Life staff,
It’s hard to know what to say after the events of the last couple weeks. But, as a starting point, we affirm the statement sent from our campus leadership earlier in the week - we denounce racism and acknowledge the harm that it does to individuals and our community. Residence Life is a diverse community and we celebrate the perspectives and backgrounds of our students, student staff, and professional staff. As a College, and as a country, we have a lot of work to do. Below is the full statement from President Hsu and campus leadership. We hope that each of you will do what you need to stay well. We look forward to seeing you this fall and working with you to make our community stronger.
We aren’t physically together right now but we are always here for you if you need anything.
Halsey Institute of Contemporary Arts
Department of English
Click here to read Prof. Gary Jackson's poem "Forward and Back"
Center for Study of Slavery in Charleston
Your giving enables the Office of Institutional Diversity to create programs, workshops and initiatives aimed at cultivating a greater sense of self-identity and improved cultural awareness among the College’s students faculty and staff. Specific areas of need include emergency scholarships for students in-need, diversity programming and workshops. Click the link above to make your contribution, today.