Council for Racial & Social Justice

The Council for Racial & Social Justice is dedicated to promoting and supporting anti-racism & social justice in the CSU and at CFA. The Council is committed to protecting faculty from discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability, or veteran status. The Council’s responsibilities include being vigilant, assuming leadership, organizing, and taking action to ensure CSU and CFA goals’ toward the promotion of racially and socially just practices.

2020 Equity Conference Chairs Sharon Elise and John Beynon welcome the group. — Equity Conference 2020.

About the Council

Learn more about the Council and check out important resources for your information!

Structure Chart

Mission Statement

Representative Job Description

Resources

History and Progress Presentation by Cecil Canton

Council Information Handout

Stay Informed

Visit Council Caucus Pages

Learn more about CFA caucuses.

African American Caucus

Asian Pacific Islander Desi Americans Caucus

Chicanx/Latinx Caucus

Disability Caucus

LGBTQIA+ Caucus

Native American and Indigenous Peoples Caucus

Teacher Education Caucus

Women’s Caucus

“Nothing about us without us is for us.”
South African Slogan

Join Our Work!

Looking for ways to learn more or get involved? Start here!

Workshops

An Anti-Racism Workshop

Why does racism persist? Have you ever wondered what to do in those triggering moments when racism occurs? Let’s work on it together. We invite you to participate in this dynamic three part workshop series that is timely and relevant. To inquire about scheduling this workshop series on your campus, contact Audrena Redmond and Kiarra Lee. Pre-work: Watch this video or submit a request.

Equity Conference

A project of the Council for Racial and Social Justice, the Equity Conference is a chance for CFA members to connect for co-liberation. The now-annual event reflects the concerted efforts undertaken in the last several years to center Anti-Racism & Social Justice in all things CFA, beginning with the recognition that racism and white supremacy is institutionalized in our organization and a commitment to what we began calling our Anti-Racism & Social Justice Transformation.

View past Equity Conference themes, resources, and videos.

READ and LISTEN IN

“E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G — is connected. The soil needs rain, organic matter, air, worms and life in order to do what it needs to do to give and receive life. Each element is an essential component. “Organizing takes humility and selflessness and patience and rhythm while our ultimate goal of liberation will take many expert components. Some of us build and fight for land, healthy bodies, healthy relationships, clean air, water, homes, safety, dignity, and humanizing education. Others of us fight for food and political prisoners and abolition and environmental justice. Our work is intersectional and multifaceted. Nature teaches us that our work has to be nuanced and steadfast. And more than anything, that we need each other—at our highest natural glory—in order to get free.”
Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds

Meet the Team

Sharon Elise

CFA Associate Vice President, Racial & Social Justice, South

Chris Cox

CFA Associate Vice President, Racial & Social Justice, North

Audrena Redmond

Director of Programs for Anti-Racism & Social Justice

“Every society needs educated people, but the primary responsibility of educated people is to bring wisdom back into the community and make it available to others so that the lives they are leading make sense.”
Vine Deloria Jr.

Useful Resources

The “Cultural Taxation” of Faculty of Color in the Academy

By Cecil Canton, CFA Associate VP – Affirmative Action
From California Faculty magazine, Fall 2013

Article 20, the Workload Article of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Board of Trustees of the CSU and the California Faculty Association speaks to the professional responsibility of instructional faculty:

“The primary professional responsibilities of instructional faculty members are: teaching, research, creative activity and service to the University and to the community.” (Workload, Article 20, Section 20.1)

This definition of faculty responsibility is generally accepted in almost any higher education venue across the United States. One must admit to a certain simple elegance with this definition.

The phrase “and service to the University and to the community” is so muted and subtle, that it is accepted without question or much discussion. It lulls us into a kind of intellectual somnambulence as we toil to make manifest its meaning in our professional lives.