Closing Statement The Racial Justice Task Force is extremely proud of the work it has done to put Bentley on a path toward healing and restoration in the wake of a racial crisis in our nation’s history. Our efforts to unearth and highlight many ways in which Bentley is not currently designed or empowered to support BIPOC individuals or anti-racist action and policies has been done from a place of wanting to make Bentley a stronger community. We have been inspired by this desire for change and believe that we are on the path to sustained efforts to achieve a more actively anti-racist climate and culture. Like most investments we recognize we will not see the returns right away. It is these quiet, seemingly dormant periods, when it is easy to believe nothing is happening or that progress has stalled. We are confident however that our careful consideration and engaged inquiry has placed us in a good position to realize meaningful and sustainable benefits for everyone in the community. Unlike a financial investment we have a lot of control over the conditions that will ultimately determine the success of these investments in our culture. However, it cannot happen without a real and continuing commitment from members of our community. The Racial Justice Task Force has brought these aspirations, areas for investment and proposed actions steps forward. It now falls to all of us, faculty, staff, students and alumni alike, to ensure these and other changes are made to ensure we are able to address our current shortcomings while finding and preventing future inequities from arising. We cannot continue to rely on “Band-Aid” solutions that simply gloss over or temporarily hide inequities existing on our campus. We must commit to the long-term, institutional change that will embed anti-racism into everything our University does and is. The Task Force’s work is complete but Bentley University’s work to achieve racial equity and justice must continue on.
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