February 7, 2018
Page 5
Our Quest for Social Justice Will not Wane
Cascade
Connections
by Dr. Karin Edwards
Just recently, here at the Cas-
cade Campus of Portland Com-
munity College, a group of people
saw fit over the winter holiday to
come onto our campus and leave
behind an assortment of anti-Se-
mitic and white-supremacist
posters, fliers, and stickers. The
current political climate, it seems,
has emboldened some racists and
bigots to come out of the shadows
and impose their views on others.
It is safe to say, I think, that we
are experiencing a period of pro-
found transition in American life.
At no time since the Civil Rights
Era have we witnessed such a sus-
tained and insistent questioning
of the existing power structure in
our nation. Movements like Black
Lives Matter have repeatedly
shown – sometimes in excruciating
detail – the yawning gulf between
how communities of color and the
white community experience the
criminal justice system. The Occu-
py Wall Street movement laid bare
the corrosive effect that extreme
concentration of wealth has on our
social fabric. And more recently,
a procession of women has come
forward to declare “Time’s up!”,
and hold powerful men account-
able for their misdeeds.
Yet even as all these move-
ments have unfolded, we are see-
ing a pushback, an uptick in the
sort of public racism and sexism
we have worked so long to put be-
hind us. Nonetheless, our quest for
social justice will not wane.
This is why I am proud to say
that at the Cascade Campus, we
take this responsibility very se-
riously. We are consciously, de-
liberately, and unapologetically
committed to making our campus
a warm and welcoming place for
everyone who chooses to study or
work here, and to make ourselves
a beacon of free thought and dis-
course for our community. And
this is why there is no room at our
campus, or in our community, for
the kind of racist and bigoted pro-
paganda that was distributed here
over the holidays.
Over the past couple of years,
we have endeavored to develop
a road map – the Cascade Inclu-
sion Plan – to take our campus
to where we want it to be. Using
critical race theory as our guide-
post, we are intentionally working
to reshape our campus culture into
something better, more enlight-
ened, and more compassionate. A
key component of this effort lies
in examining, challenging, and
deconstructing privilege.
I’ll be the first to tell you –
this effort has made some people
pretty uncomfortable. When your
life has been shaped by the priv-
ilege you enjoy, even an attempt
to simply question that privilege
– let alone dismantle it – can feel
like a personal attack. But to this I
say – you’ve got to lean into that
discomfort, because what’s on the
other side is worth it.
We’re not perfect at the Cas-
cade Campus. We haven’t found
the silver bullet that will trans-
form us into a model of enlight-
enment for the world. But I can
promise you this: if you choose
to enroll here and begin shaping
your future, you will find a place
that welcomes you no matter your
background; that affirms your
worth as a human being; that is
actively working to remove the
barriers that divide us; that is part
of the greater effort to move hu-
manity forward.
And if all the haters have to
push back with is some tired old
posters and stickers – I’d say
we’re already winning.
Dr. Karin Edwards is president
of Portland Community College’s
Cascade Campus.