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Share your six words as part of Race Card Project

Posted on August 28th, 2019

How would you describe your thoughts or experiences about race in only six words?

The EIU community will be invited to share their “six words” as part of The Race Card ProjectTM at Booth Library. The program is sponsored by Making Excellence Inclusive, the Office of Inclusion and Academic Engagement, and the Pine Honors College.

The nationally acclaimed Race Card Project, which began in 2010, encourages people to condense their observations and experiences about race into one sentence with just six words.

“Though most social scientists would argue that race is a social construct and therefore not real, many individuals who are a member of particular ‘races’ experience life differently because of their race,” said Catherine Polydore, associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education and the chair of the MEI team at EIU.

“Often this difference is experienced as oppressive. Therefore, for those individuals, race is very real,” she said. “Yet, race is an issue that many tiptoe around because of the emotions that discussions of race may evoke.”

Patrons are encouraged to share their “six words” on provided comment cards and post them on the wall in the library’s Marvin Foyer from Sept. 3 through Oct. 11. The official kickoff will be at 4 p.m. Sept. 3, in conjunction with EIU’s commemoration of the 400th, a series of events evaluating the impact of slavery in America.

“Booth Library is proud to serve as the site for such an important conversation here at EIU,” said Zach Newell, dean of Library Services. “It’s vital as a diverse and inclusive campus to encourage all voices to be heard.”

Polydore agreed. “As an institution of higher learning, it is important that we create spaces for conversations or expressions that may not be addressed in other spaces because of those fears. This project is a way to create that space in a passive yet visually powerful way, because of its visibility and anonymity.

“By addressing the elephant in the room, we can begin to make small steps toward a world where race ceases to be,” Polydore said.

For more information about The Race Card Project at EIU, contact Polydore at 217-581-7237 or cpolydore@eiu.edu; Richard England, dean of the Pine Honors College, at 217-581-2017 or rengland@eiu.edu; or Zach Newell, dean of Library Services, at 217-581-6061 or znewell@eiu.edu.

For more information about the national Race Card Project, visit https://theracecardproject.com/.

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