Appendix: Events and Research Subcommittee Report Prepared By: Dr. Hoda Mahmoudi and Dr. Dawn M. Dow In July 2020, in response to the tragic killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other African Americans, often at the hands of law enforcement, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) at the University of Maryland announced The Anti-Black Racism Initiative (ABRI) led by Dr. Rashawn Ray to coordinate, publicize and enhance its efforts to identify, disrupt and prevent anti-Black racism. The initiative aims to work with existing campus entities that share its mission to raise awareness and address structural racism directed at the Black community. Some of these entities include The Baha'i Chair for World Peace, The Critical Race Initiative (Sociology); the Department of African American Studies; The Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice, and Ethics, among other entities.
OUR MANDATE The research and events (R&E) committee co-chaired by Dr. Hoda Mahmoudi and Dr. Dawn M. Dow was among several committees created by Dr. Ray to investigate current resources related to the aims of ABRI, identify needs, and make suggestions for how to move forward. The research and events committee's initial mandate was to identify campus events and research produced by faculty and graduate students aligned with the aims of ABRI. The committee aimed to understand how information about events and research is currently disseminated in BSOS and how such dissemination could be improved to better facilitate engagement by campus stakeholders (students, faculty, staff, administrators) and collaboration with faculty, departments, and programs. In addition to collecting information about these issues, we also benefited from the insight of our committee members who represent various constituencies on campus (faculty, staff, administrators, students)
INITIAL FINDINGS During the first semester of ABRI, the R&E committee identified a consistent set of departments, programs, and centers that either independently or by co-sponsorship organize events focused on raising greater awareness of racial injustice. These entities include: The Critical Race Initiative (Sociology). The Baha'i Chair for World Peace. Department of African American Studies. The Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. Center for Education, Justice, and Ethics.
See Appendix: Events Report for a selection of events from the 2020-2021 academic year.
In addition, we noted that some departments who have not traditionally hosted events on these topics have begun to do so, seemingly in response to the increased awareness and attention to 14
