Multicultural Programs and Services

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Multicultural Programs and Services

A Word to the Community

For our communities who are violently being oppressed daily:

We see you. We hear you. We are here for you. We understand that you may have pockets of support and communities of belonging apart from the Multicultural Programs and Services team, but we hope you include us as part of your holistic care. We are here as advocates for you.

The Multicultural Programs and Services (MCPS) team has received numerous requests concerning how to be more involved in confronting and dismantling racism, in condemning violent acts against marginalized populations, and specifically within our black communities, and how to be more intentional and more effective as an ally.

To be clear, MCPS condemns all acts of racism, bigotry, and violence against minoritized communities, whether implicit, explicit, institutional, or individual. We have condemned these mindsets and actions prior to the deaths that have made national headlines and will condemn these acts well into the future when members of our community, who names are not given a national voice, are suppressed, oppressed, and killed.

We wanted to take the time to speak to the OU community and beyond about what allyship looks like, how to place the emphasis and focus on oppressed identities, while also using those same societally and historically given privileges based upon the identities you have to both stand authentically in solidarity and work with diligence and humility to create lasting and effective change.

Effective Allyship

• Continue the educational process: o Educate yourself regarding prevalent issues impacting social justice o Please do not rely upon communities of color to serve as educators o Continue to have difficult conversations with family members, friends, community members, and with people in positions of societally-given authority o Take advantage of classes that are specifically created to expand your understanding of social justice issues and the histories of communities of color o Use these links for a wide variety of resource guides, to these topics and more: • Be introspective and self-aware: o Identify the biases and prejudices you hold in your own life; we all have them o Once identified, began to root out and dismantle those biases and prejudices o Help others identify those same biases and prejudices and work with them to remove them • Be open to other perspectives o Own your personal experiences as a foundation, but do not assume they represent all perspectives o Open yourself to the lived experiences of others, as they share them, and do not dismiss them outright

• Be humble: o Tackle these issues systematically and humbly; do not make statements highlighting the work that you’re doing to dismantle inequity or express how horrified you are with “current” events o These events have been occurring for hundreds of years for the black community within the United States; this is nothing new and should not be shocking • Listen to understand, not to respond • Lower your defenses: o Remember, this is not about you, so do not be defensive when someone says that you have power and privilege that they do not have o Do not dismiss or diminish their stories, struggles, or identities

• Be active, politically: o Hold your representatives accountable for the actions they take, or do not take. Your privilege and power can make a world of a difference in the political arena. o Research the views of your representatives and what they stand for o Use your privilege and your voting power to make systemic change real • Amplify and emphasize others: o You have the ability to help amplify the voices of the members within communities of color on center stage o Too often, allies have a tendency to take a lot of conversational “real estate” • Allies are not saviors: o As an individual with an identity that has power and privilege afforded to you by society, you are not a savior for communities of color, but you can use those privileges to make changes in your spheres of influence that may otherwise be inaccessible by those who are minoritized

Feel free to reach out and utilize these resources we provide. Contact a member of the MCPS team using information provided at the bottom of this page.

Community Overview

Multicultural Programs and Services (MCPS) is a department within the Office of Student Life at The University of Oklahoma.

MCPS offers several programs a year - cultural and intercultural celebrations, heritage and awareness events, dialogues, workshops, student leadership and cohort meetings, prejudice-reduction trainings, wellness initiatives and Social Justice Engagement opportunities - all focused on teaching students personal and interpersonal skills necessary to be most effective in a diverse world.

MCPS welcomes ALL students, faculty, staff and community members to our events while at the same time supporting and celebrating specific constituency groups (including African American, Asian American, American Indian/Indigenous, and Hispanic/Latino communities).