To get involved in working toward racial justice, check out the many on-campus and off-campus community groups listed below.
On-Campus Organizations
African American Society
The African American Society is an organization open to all students and faculty of any race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age who want to celebrate and learn more about African American culture. The Afro Am Society holds community through our weekly club meetings, cultural events and workshops, collaborations, and community service. Follow us on our Instagram page @AfroAm_BSU to stay up to date on our latest club meetings, events, and announcements.
Kyle Chaney, President (kchaney@student.bridgew.edu)
Bridgewater Stands United
Bridgewater Stands United is a movement with the purpose of empowering the BSU community to unite and take a stand for peace while embracing our differences within each other. We are made up of students, faculty and anyone else on campus who recognizes the inequality present both in society and on our own campus and believes a change needs to be made. We will be upholding our values by hosting open difficult conversations to challenge the racism present in campus life while educating others of the gaps that exist and how to fix these. President Fred Clark has officially announced the University's dedication to racial justice 2020-21 academic year, and we intend to expand upon the work of his task force and make sure any student on campus who wishes to be involved has a space to speak openly and feel listened to.
Kolby Peixoto (k1peixoto@student.bridgew.edu)
Kaitlyn Dyleski (KDYLESKI@bridgew.edu)
Gen. One
“Gen. One” is a student group devoted to exploring issues of social class and the first-generation college student identity in higher education, through activities on the BSU campus and beyond. This organization offers the unique opportunity for students and prospective students to collaborate with faculty, staff and peers on ways to ease their transition and promote their success in a college setting. The organization is a resource that offers opportunities for students to engage in learning beyond the university setting, to enrich the educational experience and open post-graduate opportunities.
Dr. Sean McPherson (s1mcpherson@bridgew.edu)
Leading for Change Diversity Consortium
(For Faculty and Staff only)
The Leading for Change Diversity Consortium is a voluntary collaboration of institutions committed to racial educational equity. Member campuses work to identify data-informed strategies intended to close racial educational equity gaps on our campuses and across higher education. REJI member institutions meet monthly on their campuses to complete the REJI facilitator-created curriculum intended to increase our abilities to deepen our work for racial educational equity. The entire consortium meets together virtually monthly in educational equity workshops, racial affinity caucuses and twice-yearly day-long summits in order to build our skills in achieving educational equity and justice.
BSU has its own Leading for Change Racial Equity and Justice team with 18 members from Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Operations, Outreach and Engagement, Student Success, Equity and Diversity; we welcome additional members as well.
Please contact Vice President for Student Success, Equity and Diversity Sabrina Gentlewarrior at SGentlewarrior@bridgew.edu to join the BSU team and/or for more information about the Leading for Change Consortium.
Multicultural Clubs and Organizations for Students
Bridgewater State University students should check out the Engage BSU for more information on multicultural student clubs and organizations, including (but not limited to):
- African American Society
- African Student Association
- Asian Student Union
- Cape Verdean Student Association
- Haitian American Student Association
- International Culture Club
- Korean Student Association
- La Sociedad Latinx
- Men Integrated in Brotherhood
QPOC Peer Support Group
The Pride Center’s student-led QPOC meetings create an intentionally inclusive space for LGBTQ+ students of color to share their experiences and support one another. Learn more about the Pride Center’s anti-racism work .
Engage Through the Arts at BSU
The Wallace L. Anderson Gallery is committed to supporting the educational and cultural mission of Bridgewater State University. Its mission is to serve as an active laboratory for the production, exhibition, and critical discussion of contemporary art. The curatorial focus is dedicated to establishing an environment of learning, enrichment and inspiration with exhibitions that illuminate the direct relationship between the Arts and Ideas.
The Anderson Gallery is featuring several virtual and onsite exhibits related to racial justice in 2020.
Anderson Engaged
In recent weeks, the images flooding traditional and social media of current protests against racial injustice and the killing of black people encourage reflection on similarities and areas of progress between the present and the time of the civil rights movement. Across the over-saturated span of highly polarized contemporary media, some rhetoric has shifted, while other aspects of the dialogue about race and racism echo the past uncannily. To an extent, and through the efforts of the civil rights movement, the multiplicity of violent means at the core of racism have begun to be de-legitimized; and yet, an undeniable and urgent need remains to address racial inequities entrenched across the facets of society and to end, among other forms of violence, the murder of black people in America, too often perpetrated by law enforcement.
This artwork offers an opportunity for the viewer to position themself in relation to the intrinsic, tangible, and emotional truths of racial violence and resilience. For each of us, the experience of viewership can call us into connection with the realities of racism and provide a space for us to witness, reflect, and prepare ourselves to act in the service of justice and peace.
Jack Wolfe’s Native American Paintings
Jack Wolfe's interest in and affinity toward Native American communities and cultures began in childhood, when he and his sister spent summers in the Lake Tahoe area, often visiting a Washo community where they played with other children and listened to stories. Jack’s concern with the historical and contemporary oppression of Native Americans by the United States, including acts of genocide and cultural genocide (e.g., forced assimilation; proscriptions on use of languages and cultural practices; adoption of abducted or removed Native American children into white families — a practice that persisted through much of the 20th century), the breaking of federal treaties, and exploitation of Native American land, among other acts of overt and structural violence, persisted throughout his life.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, he painted a series of large portraits of Native Americans. Each of them, measuring approximately 72” x 72,” presents a contemporary Native American making direct eye contact with the viewer. As with other political works, one of Jack’s primary goals was to create an emotional and aesthetic experience that would move viewers toward recognition of the oppression inflicted by their dominant culture. His hope was to promote greater compassion, connection, and respect among dominant group members for Native American individuals and communities in their defense of their human rights.
Jack Wolfe’s Civil Rights Paintings: A Viewing in 2020
Jack Wolfe painted these works in the 1960s, in response to the racial injustice of the time and the remarkable efforts of the civil rights movement to bring about social change across America. They make plain the devastating violence suffered by black people and communities; they also challenge white Americans to engage with this reality in the service of anti-racist action. Jack would be sorry to see their continued relevance over 50 years later.
Don Rimx, Tunnel Mural Project: September 2020 - July 2021
David “Don Rimx” Sepulveda was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His family lived in the public housing development, Nemesio R Canales, where in the early '90s had a very high crime rate. Drugs and gun violence were part of his everyday life. Through his parents’ watchful eyes Don Rimx was kept on the straight and narrow. They noticed his interest in drawing at a young age and nurtured it by enrolling him in weekend art classes at the local art school. He later received his diploma from the Central High School of Visual Arts and went on to continue his education at the Escuela de Artes Plasticas. Upon finishing his studies, he dedicated himself to incorporating the various techniques of classic art into urban art, with a specialization in murals. Lorenzo Homar, Jose Alicea, Rafael Tufino, Antonio Martorell, Rembrandt, and Joaquin Sorolla, are just a few of the influences one see’s in the line work, color treatment and poetic imagery of his pieces.
Paul Stopforth
Exiled from South Africa for his support of the Anti-Apartheid movement, Paul Stopforth has championed Human Rights through performances, sculpture, paintings, and prints. The university is fortunate to have significant works within the collection. Examples of his work are installed in the Welcome Center and Moakley Center. For further reading on the work of Paul Stopforth; the Anderson Gallery has published a catalogue that is a great overview of this artist life-time work. Titled Bethesda, Breakwater, Bridgewater; written by Jonathan Shirland, Associate Professor of Art History.
Off-Campus Organizations and Groups
Bridgewater Communities for Civil Rights (B.C.C.R.)
Founded in 2016, B.C.C.R. stands against social injustice, intolerance and hate. B.C.C.R. promotes civility and respect through Active Bystander Training, Community Forums and Stand Outs.
https://www.bccrcivilrights.org/about.html
https://www.facebook.com/BridgewaterCommForCivilRights
BridgewaterCommForCivilRights@gmail.com
Coalition for Social Justice
The Coalition for Social Justice (CSJ) is a grassroots organization founded in 1994 to bring together people affected by and concerned about poverty to advocate for economic opportunity.
CSJ has a dual focus: to recruit and develop leadership, especially from low-income communities, and to build effective campaigns that address the economic survival issues that our constituency faces.
CSJ builds grassroots power through empowering low-income voters, building a large network of volunteers, holding elected officials accountable and building broad coalitions.
View a list of offices and contact people here.
Diversity & Inclusion for Community Empowerment (D.I.C.E.)
D.I.C.E. aims to identify a network of community members interested in ensuring that Bridgewater-Raynham, Massachusetts demonstrates respect, appreciation, and value for diversity and inclusion. Through this network, we exchange ideas and challenge each other to think in new ways about how our evolving communities can foster an inclusive environment where people from all backgrounds can live, thrive, and succeed.
Stand Up For Justice Bridgewater
Started by a small group of moms, gaining momentum as a movement to stand with, protect and celebrate the diverse members of our town. Our mission is to listen to and actively demonstrate support for our marginalized and diverse populations by responding to issues that affect their safety and well-being. We recognize and use our privilege as our opportunity to stand with and amplify marginalized and diverse voices in our community. We commit to educating ourselves and participating in town affairs as a presence in Bridgewater. We commit to doing better as we know better.
Stand Up For Justice Bridgewater
T.R.U.E. Diversity
T.R.U.E. Diversity (T.R.U.E.=Trust Reform Understanding Equity) is a grassroots organization based in Taunton designed to further advance diversity, inclusion, cultural competency, anti-racism, empathy and respect to our communities. T.R.U.E. intends to facilitate integrated visions and shared responsibility by advancing community partnerships. T.R.U.E. is a network of individuals and community groups taking action for our evolving communities addressing systemic issues and fostering an inclusive environment where people from all backgrounds — particularly our youth — can thrive and succeed.
contactus@truediversityma.org
Educational Organizations
Old Bridgewater Historical Society
Started in 1894, the Society is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and publication of history relating to the original Bridgewater area and its early families. Bridgewater, purchased from Massasoit and the Wampanoag Tribe of native Americans in 1649, contained the areas now known as East Bridgewater, Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, and Brockton.
oldbridgewater.org
admin@oldbridgewater.org
508.559.1510