The Office for Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (OEDI) at the University of Pittsburgh affirms its commitment to recognizing, addressing, and eradicating all forms of racism and ethnic oppression. We commit to engaging stakeholders both within and outside of the University in an effort to advance collaborative service and scholarship that combats oppression and bias. The OEDI seeks to empower students, colleagues, and our community members toward the goal of ending racial and ethnic discrimination with focused attention on confronting anti-Black racism.
We recognize that statements can be meaningful but committed, consistent, and on-going action are the only tools that lead to positive change. Collectively, we recognize that regardless of one’s own race or ethnicity, each of us as individuals is at a different point in the journey to become anti-racist. We understand that racism is the combination of both social and systemic forces that converge and yield disparate outcomes for BIPOC communities. As a learning community, we will purposefully strive to identify, discuss, and challenge issues that prevent us from becoming an anti-racist and ethnically unbiased community. We call specific attention to race, color, ethnicity, and the impact(s) they have on students, faculty, and staff members.
WE STAND COMMITTED TO:
- Acknowledging that racism is a societal and global problem that requires continuous education.
- Acknowledging that racism is embedded into our organizational structures, policies, and systems and we must audit these structures utilizing an anti-racist lens.
- Seek out and listen to our Black, Brown, and POC students, faculty, and staff to understand their experiences on our campus.
- Invest resources to develop, organize, and support campus community initiatives that foster anti-racism.
We recognize that confronting and combating racism is life-long work. As a university community, we must be vigilant in our learning, listening, and action to advance change. We pledge to measure our progress as we fight racism, discrimination, and other forms of prejudice and injustice with the goal of making our campus more inclusive, welcoming, safer and an environment where every member of our community, regardless of race, religion, gender, or socio-economic status, can thrive.