Dear Idea Center Community,
We know the recent national and local events may have shifted your focus and sense of urgency to engage in civic actions supporting our Black communities. The tragic and unjust deaths of George Floyd and the many others are deeply unconscionable reminders that there is more work to do in achieving the peaceful and just community we all deserve. At Miami Dade College, we have zero tolerance for hatred and bigotry, and stand ever-committed as a resource for our students, faculty, staff, and community members who want to begin or continue their journey as changemakers.
We know the most important place to begin with is at home, within ourselves – taking on the task of learning and examining while engaging and taking action as agents of change.
As we move forward, our Office of Changemaking Education and Social Innovation (which includes the Institute for Civic Education and Democracy, Earth Ethics Institute, and the new Jaffer Institute) asks you to remember and employ the critical attributes of an MDC changemaker:
- EMPATHY to quiet your own voice and listen deeply to the experience and emotions of others who look different than you,
- REFLECTION to go within and question how you came to hold the beliefs that you do, and examine how your actions impact others,
- RESILIENCE to stay the course, not lose hope, and continue pressing forward because even small change matters, and
- ACTION to move in concert with one another, to transform the will and love in your heart into concrete acts of positive change.
Subscribe to the iCED newsletter to learn about specific ways you can civically engage in this work to keep making change happen.
In solidarity,
The Idea Center
The Office of Changemaking Education and Social Innovation
