FEATURE AR TICLE
ALPHA SIGMA ALPHA Grappling with Our Past, Looking Towards a Better Future Future Justine “Tini” Wan (NN), Lisa Argento Boyer (EN), Anjelica “Jeli” Fiol (Zɸ), Hanan Stiff (BN)
Over a year ago, our country experienced an emotional surge in a battle for racial justice when a series of senseless Black murders occurred. From learning about the shooting of Breonna Taylor in her sleep to witnessing the murder of George Floyd, both at the hands of their local police officers, “inspiring” is not quite the word for these moments in our country’s history. However, these events played an influential part in bringing attention to a wound that has desperately needed to be addressed. It is easy to fall hopeless during a time when racial injustice continues to blatantly take place in what is supposed to be a well-developed society. But these murders are an extreme consequence of what is a wide spectrum of systemic imbalance — there is much work to be done in both our society and in ourselves. This is not limited to just issues of racial injustice in our society, although much of our research has centered around racial issues, but on all social matters that may or have already affected past and present members of Alpha Sigma Alpha. A recommendation in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Audit, performed in 2019, was to acknowledge Alpha Sigma Alpha’s history. National council appointed a workgroup to research and write this article. While this article could not possibly include all communication relating to the topic at-hand, we attempted to encapsulate the correspondence we could find. In some instances, specific names have been removed for the protection of our members. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” ~ Maya Angelou It is our hope that this article sheds some light on our history so that we better know our past and, in turn, can do better and continue to encourage diversity, equity, inclusion and a sense of belonging within our sisterhood.
16 Phoenix of Alpha Sigma Alpha
