Black Lives Matter & Global Racial Justice

The Center for International Studies (CIS) announced its “Black Lives Matter and Global Racial Justice” initiative, an integrative and evolving commitment to addressing racism and its many manifestations in the United States and abroad, in 2020.

Our position paper (opens in a new window), Black Lives Matter: Center for International Studies’ Position on Social Justice and Equity, which inaugurated the initiative, is both a statement of principles and an action plan. It prompts us to consider and respond to fundamental structures, practices, and sensibilities that inform racism, racial discrimination, and other forms of racial inequity, which range from the subtle to the stark.

This position paper is a collaboration of the faculty and staff of the Center for International Studies of OHIO University. This paper was conceived during the summer and fall of 2020 as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper critically evaluates the past, present and future positioning of the Center for International Studies within OHIO University and develops recommendations in the struggle against systemic racism that move us toward equity and social justice.

We also join OHIO’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion in condemning the ongoing Anti-Asian Violence and calling or Solidarity with Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities and we stand with Ohio University (opens in a new window) in supporting students, faculty, and staff affected by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.