Systemic racism is defined as “policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization, and that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race (Cambridge Dictionary).” How does systemic racism bleed into education? The University of Cincinnati Libraries’ R.E.S.P.E.C.T. developed a 20-Day Self-Education Challenge to explore examples of systemic racism – both past and present – that exist in various areas of education, along with ways in which we can help dismantle those practices.

Scheduled to take place May 22-June 16, the challenge is divided into four weeks, each with a different theme.

• Week 1: Critical Race Theory – what is it?
• Week 2: Systemic Racism in Education – a history
• Week 3: Systemic Racism in Academia
• Week 4: Systemic Racism in Academic Libraries

Learn on your own and then gather online each Friday at 11am via Zoom for a moderated discussion of each week’s module. Register now to watch, read and listen to informative pieces. The challenge is free and open to all. Each week’s module will be sent to those who register along with the Zoom link for the weekly conversation

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. (Racial Equity Support & Programming to Educate the Community Team) is a UC Libraries committee charged with developing external programming that explicitly addresses the negative role that systemic racism plays in our society.