Democracy's Unfinished Work

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 10:33:00 -0400

July 6, 2022

Dear Community Members,

We are living through a troubling era of profound social divisions and existential threats. The past few weeks have brought fresh reminders of the precariousness of our civil rights and of democracy itself. Some of our challenges relate to systemic injustices with which we have never fully reckoned as a nation, with roots so deep they predate the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. Democracy requires that each of us entrusts our life and well-being to each other, in the hope that our collective will and wisdom can keep us safe, prosperous, and free. How do we move forward when we are confronted daily with reasons not to trust each other or believe in our social and civic institutions?

Members of our campus community have wrestled with similar questions from UMBC’s earliest days. As the first public university established in Maryland after the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown vs. Board of Education, UMBC’s existence represented the promise of a future in which students of all races, genders, and backgrounds would learn and thrive together. Over time, we have grappled with how to make good on that promise, and under President Hrabowski’s leadership we have made inclusive excellence a core value that we strive to enact in our relationships and practices.

UMBC has become a nationally recognized meeting ground for students, faculty, and staff interested in experimenting with approaches to dialogue, political engagement, and collaboration that foreground the humanity of everyone involved. Staff in Residential Life and Student Conduct and Community Standards have taken the lead in infusing restorative practices into campus programs and services. Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion & Belonging (i3b) and the Women’s Center have pioneered programming and created spaces to elevate voices and prioritize belonging for communities that have been marginalized. The Shriver Center has been a leader in the human, affective, relational work needed to foster race equity by incorporating anti-racist practices into community programs. The Center for Democracy and Civic Life has developed innovative courses and programs that promote civic agency and critical solidarity, empowering participants to work together to make meaningful progress on local and societal challenges. These initiatives and others like them are creating a cultural reservoir of practices and insights that can inspire hope, foster genuine relationships among people with different identities and perspectives, and guide collective action.

Our community’s active and creative engagement with this kind of teaching, learning, and problem-solving can help to illuminate a future in which all of us can participate fully and with confidence, having earned each other’s trust – a future in which democracy feels less like a twilight struggle and more like a dance. Our actions and interactions within our campus community matter a great deal, in part because so many leaders across Maryland and the U.S. are paying attention to what happens here, looking for ideas and techniques they can adapt to their own settings. By engaging in the daily work of building an inclusive, collaborative community on campus and in all of our everyday activities, we can contribute directly to the longer-term project, reflected in UMBC’s vision statement, of advancing knowledge, prosperity, and justice for all.

That work is ongoing and unfinished, and requires all of us. We encourage you to take a look at these Inclusion Council recommendations for promoting social justice at UMBC, and follow these myUMBC groups to learn about opportunities for involvement: Center for Democracy and Civic Life, Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion & Belonging (i3b), Residential Life, Restorative Retrievers, The Shriver Center, and the Women’s Center.

We also encourage all students, faculty and staff to take good care of yourselves and each other, and reach out to family, friends, and communities for support. Students can access peer-to-peer digital support any time by registering with Togetherall, or by making an appointment with Retriever Integrated Health by calling 410-455-2472. Faculty and staff counseling resources are available through the Employee Assistance Program.

David Hoffman, Director, Center for Democracy and Civic Life
Romy Hübler, Associate Director, Center for Democracy and Civic Life
Tess McRae, Coordinator, Center for Democracy and Civic Life
Markya Reed, Graduate Assistant, Center for Democracy and Civic Life
Jeff Cullen, Director, Student Conduct and Community Standards
Eric Ford, Director, The Choice Program at UMBC
Bri Gumbs, Program Coordinator, Women’s Center
Jasmine Lee, Director, Inclusive Excellence & Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging