Classroom discussions surrounding Elon’s history can be just as charged as any conversation about white supremacy, and faculty proposing to use this material should review guidance from the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning on “Inclusive Teaching,” including strategies to make all “students feel supported to learn and explore ideas, safe to express their views in a civil manner, and respected as individuals and members of groups.”

Moreover, we endorse to you a June 2020 Faculty and Staff panel on how to facilitate difficult conversations about white supremacy, systemic racism and pedagogical strategies that deepen diversity, equity and inclusion education on our campus. This was a part of the university administration’s initiative over the summer 2020 have a campus-wide dialogue on racism and injustice which focused on the importance of educating the campus community about issues related to systemic racism. Four of Elon’s Faculty and Staff participated in the summer series, entitled “Authentic Dialogue for Real Change.”

In addition to on-campus resources offered by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education, a number of off-campus institutions have also offered guidance on how to discuss systemic racism in a manner productive of real change. Consider, for instance:

Finally, the Elon University Archives has a rich reservoir of materials and resources that can serve Faculty, Staff and Students researching Elon’s history or seeking diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) educational support and development. Students have used the materials to document student demands in the 1960s for the inclusion of Black Studies in the curriculum, and the Committee on Elon History and Memory relied on archival materials for its report. For questions, write belkarchives@elon.edu.