Holy Cross Announces 40-Point Anti-Racism Action Plan

On June 19, College President Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., announced a 40-point Anti-Racism Action Plan, designed to create a culture of anti-racism, accountability and structure, and fund training, support and resources.

"It is not enough to be nonracist, as an institution we must adopt individual, departmental and institutional strategies that promote and encourage efforts to dismantle racism," Fr. Boroughs said.

Fr. Boroughs emphasized that the plan was a starting point for continuing work in this important area. Elements of the plan include: • Devoting funds for faculty to develop new courses, or to significantly revise existing courses, around topics of race, racism and anti-racism.

• Continuing to enhance the College's efforts to recruit diverse communities of students, faculty and staff, with strategies including expanding the use of "Mission and Diversity Search Ambassadors" for student-facing and high-impact hires at the College.

• Providing new opportunities for training, education and anti-racist action planning for students, faculty and staff.

In addition to the plan announced by the College, and to further affirm this commitment to being an actively anti-racist organization, the Board of Trustees is establishing a permanent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, chaired by trustee Francine Rosado-Cruz '94. Committee members will receive ongoing updates on DEI work at the College and will engage with students, faculty and staff directly on priorities.

"We heard a clear call that the burden of education and anti-racism work cannot fall on Black, Indigenous and people of color communities and, therefore, this plan will be broad-reaching across the College," Fr. Boroughs said. "The commitment to social justice is at the heart of our institutional mission. We agree that in order to overcome the sin of racism, whether it be interpersonal or structural, we need to have a plan."

June's announcement follows the April 2019 creation of an ongoing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan, which has resulted in new staff, resources and improved practices for support DEI efforts on campus. An update on this work was issued in February 2020.

Read more about the Anti-Racism Action Plan.

Read Fr. Boroughs' message to the campus community on June 19.