Racial Injustice and the Black Community
June 4, 2020 — The mission of the Texas Exes is to unite alumni and friends around the world, create a passionate voice that strengthens the university, promote alumni accomplishments, and celebrate Longhorn spirit and traditions. As an organization that represents 530,000 alumni of The University of Texas at Austin, we recognize the anguish that many of our members are feeling this week. We stand in solidarity with the Black community against all racial injustice.
In doing so, we must continue to acknowledge our painful history and recommit to learning from it. As we consider inequity and racism in 2020, it is our moral duty to hear the voices of our Black alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends and commit to positive change. We will support our alma mater and work with university leadership and the Texas Exes Black Alumni Network to help all Longhorns feel safe, heard, and represented on the campus and beyond. We have taken this week to look for ways we can do better for Longhorn Nation through our own practices as an alumni organization. The worldwide network of Texas Exes can and will be a powerful force for good.
Words Into Action
Here is a list of Longhorn resources on the subject that we hope you find helpful. This page will continue to be updated.
Listen/Watch
The History and Meaning of Juneteenth
June 19, 2020 | The Daily
After 155 years, Juneteenth, a celebration of the emancipation of enslaved Americans, is being acknowledged as a holiday by corporations and state governments across the country. UT professor of history Daina Ramey Berry talks to the New York Times about why, throughout its history, Juneteenth has gained prominence at moments of pain in the struggle for black liberation in America.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
June 10, 2020
Matthew McConaughey, BS ’93, Life Member, Distinguished Alumnus, talks with former Texas football player Emmanuel Acho, BS ’11, MED ’17, about racial oppression and social injustice.
Peniel Joseph on Black Power and the Struggle for America’s Soul
June 10, 2020 | The National Podcast of Texas, Texas Monthly
LBJ School professor Peniel Joseph on how protest, empathy, and action can dismantle racial oppression.
Justice and Equity in a Time of National Racial Crisis: A Community Conversation
June 3, 2020 | Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, LBJ School
A conversation with Austin major Steve Adler, JD ’82, Council Member Alison Alter, and Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, moderated by UT’s Peniel Joseph and Jeremi Suri.
The Evolution of Protests
June 1, 2020 | Think
Peniel Joseph, founding director of UT's Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, talks with Krys Boyd about how these protests resemble demonstrations of the Civil Rights era—and how social media and video footage have changed how people protest.
Brené Brown with Austin Channing Brown on I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
June 10, 2020 | Unlocking Us
Brené Brown, BA ’95, Life Member, talks with Austin Channing, author of I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, about engaging in the work of becoming a better human to other humans.
Police Brutality and BLM Protests
June 2, 2020 | Newswise Live Expert Panel
Experts, including UT Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and Director of the Institute for Urban Policy and Research Analysis Kevin Cokley, discuss how to prevent more unarmed black men and women from being killed by police, and what can be done by individuals outside of law enforcement.
Brené Brown with Ibram X. Kendi On How to Be an Antiracist
June 3, 2020 | Unlocking Us
Brene Brown, BA ’95, Life Member, talks with professor Ibram X. Kendi, New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and the Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University about Kendi’s groundbreaking approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves.
Read
Black Alumni Joint Statement
June 15, 2020
A joint statement by the UT Black alumni organizations, The Precursors, Inc, The Texas Exes Black Alumni Network, and The Black Ex-Students of Texas, Inc. in support of the “Call for Change” by Black student athletes at The University of Texas at Austin.
The Precursors
November 1, 2016 | Alcalde
UT’s first black undergraduates tell their stories.
Seeing Race by Leonard Moore
August 28, 2015 | Alcalde
In his class on the history of the Black Power movement, Leonard Moore ditches political correctness in favor of open, honest, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about the realities of race in America.
Full Circle: Virginia Cumberbatch On Reshaping the City That Shaped Her
July 2, 2018 | Alcalde
Virginia Cumberbatch, MPAff ’16, and director of UT’s DDCE’s East Austin-based Community Engagement Center, on the first African-American undergraduates at UT, working toward education and equity in East Austin, and how UT can better engage with the Austin community.
Publishing and Racial Justice
June 10, 2020 | UT Press
The staff of UT press recommend over 100 of their favorite books by Black authors who have made an impact on them.
Creator of UT’s Famous ‘Beyoncé Class’ Combines Memoir and Study in New Book
September 1, 2018 | Alcalde
UT African and African Diaspora Studies Professor Omise’eke Tinsley on how Beyonce’s album Lemonade provides a space to imagine a world where black women and queers are celebrated, and what it’s like to teach about these issues in Austin, where there is a diminishing black population.
Get Involved
Texas Exes Black Alumni Network
The Black Alumni Network connects the universe of Black alumni, Black students, and UT faculty with individuals and corporations whose passion for higher education and diversity on the UT campus compels them to action, through Black Alumni networking and scholarship initiatives.
UT’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement
The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement is a national model for integrating diversity and community engagement into the core mission of a university.
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African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) Department
The African and African Diaspora Studies Department (AADS), the first Black Studies Program to grant PhD degrees in the southern U.S., is committed to interdisciplinary scholarship and creative production that explores questions of social justice for black people around the globe.
UT Black Student Alliance
The Black Student Alliance at UT is committed to uplifting and empowering Black students, with the ultimate goal of developing extraordinary leaders and uniting the Black community.
John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies
The John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies is an interdisciplinary research center committed to politically engaged intellectual and artistic programming in the examination of Black people and Black communities.
UT Diversity Counseling and Outreach Specialists
UT’s Diversity Counseling and Outreach Specialists provide counseling, support, and outreach for student populations with marginalized and underrepresented identities.
Fearless Leadership Institute at UT
The Fearless Leadership Institute (FLI) is an academic, professional, and personal development initiative for African-American women and Latinas.
The Art Galleries at Black Studies
From exhibitions celebrating contemporary creative expression, to displays of archives and material culture, AGBS is the sole on-campus entity dedicated to showcasing narratives of Africa and the African Diaspora.
HealthyHorns Black Voices Zoom Meets
Black Voices weekly discussion group is open to all Black-identified students, regardless of specific nationality or racial/ethnic background. The group engages in safe, inviting, and authentic discussion around students' experiences as Black and African-American students on the UT campus.
Center for Innovation in Race, Teaching, and Curriculum
UT’s Center for Innovation in Race, Teaching, and Curriculum conducts research and professional learning around topics of knowledge and race in a variety of educational spaces including educational policy, teacher practice, and school curriculum.
Black Faculty Staff Association
UT’s Black Faculty Staff Association serves as a unified voice to university administration about the concerns and needs of African-American faculty, staff, and students on campus.
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Study
UT’s Black Diaspora Archives
Est. 2015 | Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection.
The BDA collects documentary, audiovisual, digital, and artistic works related to the Black Diaspora of the Americas and Caribbean. This encompasses historical publications, contemporary records, personal papers, and rare material produced by and/or about people of African descent—including scholars, professionals, community groups, activists, and artists.
The Black Experience in America
January 1970 | UT Press
A collection of essays from a 1968 lecture series about Black issues.
The Briscoe Center’s Civil Rights & Social Justice Collection
A robust archive that includes renowned photojournalist Flip Schulke’s photographs of Martin Luther King; The Famer Papers, which document James Farmer’s role in the civil rights movement, featuring correspondence, financial records, and sound recordings, and revealing the methods and strategies used during the struggle for civil rights; and The Field Foundation Archives, which can help scholars understand how civil rights groups financed their work.
The University of Texas Racial Geography Tour
An interactive, guided exploration of the historic origins of The University of Texas at Austin’s buildings, landmarks, and spaces, narrated by Dr. Edmund T. Gordon, vice provost for diversity and founding chairman emeritus of the African & African Diaspora Department.