Black lives matter

The Kellogg MCR anti-racism statement

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“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:
‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”

—Dr. Marthin Luther King

Kellogg was founded in 1990, with the mission to enable life-long learning. Since its foundation, it has grown to become the largest (by number of students) and the most international College within the University of Oxford. It provides flexible learning to full time and a large number of part time graduate students.

As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,’” and at Kellogg MCR, our dream is no different. We want to create an inclusive world, where our neighbourhoods, universities, and our offices make up a seamless and smooth fabric of society, where distrust and division do not exist to leave us at a loss as a community, and where laws and powers do not allow unjust behaviour and killings. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Rayshard Brooks, amongst others, are saddening examples that the world is in need of change, and particularly so that people are no longer killed at the hands of the very people whose job it is to protect them.

 

We believe that individuals should not take advantage of systems created to disempower or disfavour groups of individuals and that we should strive to avoid prejudices and biases when meeting new people. There is no place for racism at Kellogg College, and we stand fully with Kellogg College students and the Oxford African Caribbean Society against racism towards Black communities, fully supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and its mission to end the discrimination toward black communities. The peaceful activists in Oxford and statements from our college presidents are a step in the right direction. It’s a step towards recognising these issues and the causes that the Black Lives Matter movement stands for and eventually moving towards a society where people do not discriminate against each other based on skin colour and ethnicity.

 

Our comittments

Below are the resources available to us, which we will continue to update.

 

To ensure that we are keeping up to our own set standards of diversity, we are committing to evaluating our actions at the MCR level and in our official and personal capacities, and we are committing to taking the following actions in three key areas:

 

Platform
1) Accessibility Forum: We will launch a virtual forum for any student to discuss any issues around racism that they have experienced.
2) Encourage Speak Ups: We will offer our platforms to denounce and speak up about racism in a just manner to Kellogg Students.
3) Inclusion Representatives: We have created a new sub-committee position to create initiatives, monitoring and advising at the sub-committee level, with a view to creating a new role to ensure that no gaps exist within the Kellogg community.
4) Open Door and Availability: The MCR President will be available to discuss and address any concerns of racism in Kellogg MCR.

Events
5) Legacy Events: We will be holding a Stand-Up Against Racism Week yearly, with talks and events to bring this taboo topic to a conversable and actionable platform.

Communications
6) Story Sharing: We will publish blog posts about experiencing racism and discrimination in Oxford.
7) Messages of Solidarity: We will share messages of support from students to show solidarity.
8) Resource List: We will curate a list of welfare and academic resources including organisations, literature and scholarship with input from Kellogg students.

 

We end this letter with a quote for every reader to consider.

 “No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.”

–  Alice Malsenior Walker, Pulitzer Prize winner 

Sandeep Unwith, Kellogg College MCR President 2020-2021
Dominique Fortes, Kellogg College MCR President 2019-2020
On behalf of Kellogg College MCR