Recently, Elizabethtown College was named as a host institution for one of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)’s newest Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers, which prepare the next generation of leaders to break down systemic racism and dismantle belief in a hierarchy of human value.
Etown’s collaborative TRHT Center will be in partnership with the Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren and will serve both the campus and local communities.
“We look forward to creating an environment that believes in collective liberation and is not afraid to do the hard work of challenging systems and ways of being that are harmful to our Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students, colleagues, and community members,” Elizabethtown College Senior Advisor for College Diversity, Equity & Belonging, Kesha Morant Williams said.
Beginning in 2017 with an inaugural cohort of centers at 10 AAC&U member institutions, the TRHT Campus Centers effort has grown into a dynamic and diverse network of host institutions. Etown joined Antioch University, Bard College, and Cuyahoga Community College, as one of four new host institutions to bring the total number of TRHT partner institutions to 71 across the U.S.
“We’re thrilled to partner with these four new host institutions, and we look forward to supporting their efforts to promote racial equity and healing on their campuses and in their communities,” AAC&U President, Lynn Pasquerella said.
TRHT Campus Centers play a vital role in the national TRHT effort to address historical and contemporary effects of racial inequities by building sustainable capacity to promote deep, transformational change.
With the shared goal of preparing the next generation of leaders and thinkers to build equitable and just communities by dismantling the false belief in a hierarchy of human value, each campus center uses the TRHT framework to implement its own visionary action plan for creating new narratives about race, bias, and difference in their communities and promoting racial healing and relationship building through campus-community engagement.
“As we continue to expand our partnerships with higher education institutions and their local communities, it is imperative that we reclaim the narrative around why these efforts are crucial for promoting our interconnectedness, common humanity, and shared responsibility to achieve the transformation we all seek where there is no longer a false belief in a hierarchy of human value,” AAC&U Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the TRHT Campus Centers, Tia McNair said.
Learn more about Elizabethtown College’s efforts to embrace diversity, promote equity, and create spaces where every member can find a sense of belonging at etown.edu.