In Memoriam

Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613-1301 510.430.3312 quarterly@mills.edu www.mills.edu

Splashes of color honor Black lives at campus gate

Those few members of the Mills community who still come to campus are now being greeted by a colorful new art installation at the Richards Road entrance. Converging Flora is a collaboration between Cristine Blanco, MFA ’20, and Yétundé Olagbaju, MFA ’20, as a visual representation of the College’s efforts toward becoming an antiracist institution.

The front gate expands on a student-created memorial to Black lives with striking sketches of plants, both native and invasive, rendered in and surrounded by hues pulled from nearby localities—such as a shade of green from the community gardens at Peralta Hacienda. The installation will remain up for the 2020–21 school year, with potential additions from other artists throughout. Visit mills.edu/blacklivesmatter to learn more.

In addition, the Mills Board of Trustees voted at its meeting on October 15, 2020, to adopt a commitment to antiracism, developed by an Antiracism Working Group over the course of several months. Steps toward an expanded framework are continuing, with input from the Board of Trustees, Special Assistant for Equity and Inclusion Kamala Green, the Intersectional Racism Team, the National Equity Project, the Division of Student Life, and the larger Mills community.