Race and Equity

Felix Mercado looks back on attending what was known as the “Spanish School,” a school that was built in 1936 specifically to segregate Mexican migrants from white people. Gonzalo Guzmán, a predoctoral instructor in American ethnic studies at the UW, is interviewed.

“Hybrid or all-remote schedules make powerful recruiting tools and look great on paper — carrying the promise of improved equity by giving employees the flexibility to better juggle work and life. But as the head of a women’s college and a cognitive scientist, I have some serious reservations,” writes Sian Beilock, president of Barnard College. A UW study is referenced.

"In early February, The Seattle Times published a report that provides a preliminary glimpse at who has had access to the first set of COVID-19 vaccines that were doled out. As much as I want to tell myself that this is an incomplete picture and that the first set of vaccines is reflective of a strategy to inoculate first responders and medical personnel, I still feel that the preliminary rollout failed to address a key consideration: namely, the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on people of color and economically marginalized folks," writes Oscar Rosales Castañeda, a lecturer in American ethnic studies at the UW.

Devin Naar, professor of Sephardic studies and history and faculty at the Stroum Center for Jewish studies, explains the history for Seattle's Sephardic community of the recently demolished Seattle Curtain factory.

A bust of York, the only Black member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, has appeared in Mount Tabor Park in Portland. In an interview from the program "Oregon Experience: Searching for York," UW history professor Quintard Taylor talks about York’s role in the expedition.

"Black History Month is a chance to recognize that Black history is American history. It’s an important time to reflect on the ways in which Black people, their stories and their impact have so often been elided and erased from our shared understanding of ourselves as a nation and a people," writes UW President Ana Mari Cauce.

The UW has launched a new initiave to promote faculty diversity, equity, and inclusion, including $5 million for faculty hiring.

UW is attempting to combat the severe underrepresentation of minorities in science and engineering faculty through a new postdoctoral program.

Any parent doing the hard work to teach their kids about the dangers of racism must also look inward. All of us have internal biases that manifest both implicitly and explicitly and, if we’re not careful, we may be subtly influencing our children to have those biases, too. A UW study is referenced.

Quintard Taylor, professor emeritus of history and the founder of Blackpast.org, discusses the life and legacy of Horace Clayton and his wife, Susie Revels.

Seven UW scientists were included on Cell Mentor's list of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists, including postdoctoral chemistry fellow Tam’ra-Kay Francis and Assistant Professor of mathematics Bobby Wilson.

“A couple of years ago racism almost killed the love of my life, my husband, the father of our two children. The attempted murder didn’t come about through police violence or Karens trying to regulate his use of public space. Instead it came through the hands of the very people who should be improving the quality of his life: his doctors,” writes Ralina Joseph, professor of communication at the UW.

Fundraising from within their community can help the campaigns of South Asian American candidates get off the ground. But community support doesn’t always guarantee success and can pose a unique set of challenges for newcomers. Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, is referenced.

Robert Crutchfield, an emeritus professor of sociology and co-author of a new study has found that Black youth who have police contact at a young age may be more likely to have more contacts with police later in life.

Artists usually create work on campus during their Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency. COVID changed that, but the spirit of the residency remains.