Our Alumni Board Pledge

What We Already Do as an Alumni Board 

• Build and sustain a racially diverse board
• Maintain diversity, equity and inclusion as one of the three pillars of our strategic plan
• Act by our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement 
• Applaud the donation designation to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Whitman

What We Ask You to Join Us in Doing 

Donate

We know many of you support organizations that combat racial injustice. In addition to our ongoing volunteer efforts and financial support to Black communities, we have raised over $25,000 for the organizations below. We encourage you to join us in contributing your time and money. 

• • ACLU
  • Black Girls Code 
  • Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center
  • Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County
  • Black United Fund of Oregon
  • Blue Mountain Action Council 
  • The Carl Maxey Center (Spokane) 
  • Color of Change
  • Compton Jr Equestrians 
  • Equal Justice Initiative
  • Minnesota Freedom Fund
  • Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)
  • NAACP
  • National Bail Fund Network
  • Northwest Community Bail Fund
  • Solid Ground
  • Southern Poverty Law Center
  • The Loveland Foundation
  • Thurgood Marshall College Fund 
  • Transgender Law Center
  • Urban League of Portland
  • Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
  • Whitman College Black Student Union (under designation, select “other” and type in “Black Student Union”)
  • Whitman College Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts

Take Action At Work 

• Be an ally and accomplice to your Black colleagues at work
• Reflect on where your workplace sits on the antiracist continuum and share this graphic with your colleagues, your team and your organization 
• Reflect on the characteristics of white culture that show up in your organization, and challenge yourself to change them 
• Be an intentionally antiracist employer
• K-12 administrators, teachers and counselors: leverage free resources to educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy.

Take Action in Your Community 

• Engage with your local and state representatives 
• Protest (and read how to more safely protect yourself during a pandemic) 
• Vote 

Keep Your Education Going 

• Articles 
  • ‘There Is No Neutral': 'Nice White People' Can Still Be Complicit In A Racist Society
  • 7 Ways Non-Black People of Color Perpetuate Anti-Blackness
  • Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup
  • The Difference Between First-Degree Racism and Third-Degree Racism
• Books
  • "How to be an Antiracist" by Ibrahim Kendi
  • "White Fragility: Why it is So Hard for White People to Talk About Race" by Robin DeAngelo
  • "So You Want To Talk About Race" by Ijeoma Oluo
  • "Diversity Inc." by Pamela Newkirk
• Movies 
  • "When They See Us" (Netflix)
  • "13th" (Netflix)
  • "Dear White People" (Netflix) 
  • "The Hate U Give" (Hulu)
• Podcasts
  • Code Switch
  • Scene on Radio (Season 2: Seeing White) 
  • Higher Learning
  • 1619
  • It’s Been a Minute: Not Just Another Protest (June 5, 2020)
• Webinars and online communities 
  • Future is For Us
  • The Riveter

Mental Health Resources for Black Alums

• Toolkit for Black Lives Matter Healing Justice & Direct Action
• Black Virtual Wellness Directory
• Mental Health Resources