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Moving Forward: DEI

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Join our learning community. Be a consumer and a producer of knowledge as we challenge ourselves to grow and improve how we handle our differences.

School Resources

If you’re going through something at USC, you are not alone – even if you are learning remotely. Being familiar with the resources offered by the Price School and the broader university may help you or someone you care about in the future. Take a look at some of these key resources below.

USC is a multicultural community of people from diverse racial, ethnic, gender, faith and class backgrounds, as well as national origins, political beliefs, abilities and sexual orientations. USC and the USC Price School do not tolerate acts of bias within our communities. All incidents of bias, hate crimes and hate incidents are considered a serious breach of our community expectations and need to be reported to allow for appropriate investigation and response.

USC Policies and Core Documents

The USC Code of Ethics is an integral part of our culture and its underlying principles are tightly woven into the fabric of the USC community. Learn more here.

USC Student Affairs:

You can report incidents of bias and discrimination and file a complaint at the university level by clicking here.

USC Office of Equity and Diversity

Student Equity and Inclusion Programs

Health and Wellness Resources

Student Counseling Services:
(213) 740-7711

Price-Specific Resources

Price Office of Student Affairs:
RGL 108
(213) 740-6842
[email protected]

Price Diversity Liaison:
[email protected]

Students, you may also contact your Department Chair or Program Administrator if you experience an incident of discrimination.

USC Emergency and Crisis Resources

ONE USC Safety

To report an on-campus emergency, please contact the USC Department of Public Safety at: (UPC) 213-740-4321 and (HSC) 323-442-1000.

For students who may be in need of counseling services, contact: (UPC) 213-740-7711 and (HSC) 323-4425631. For staff and faculty, contact the Center for Work & Family Life: 213-821-0800.

For faculty, students and staff in need of support, including crisis support, contact USC Support and Advocacy: 213-821-4710.

If you have been threatened or are concerned about a potential threat against any individual or campus community at USC, contact our Chief Threat Assessment Officer Patrick Prince at [email protected].

To request training for protocols in the event of an active-shooter or other emergencies, contact: Steven Goldfarb, senior coordinator of Emergency Planning at [email protected] and Michelle Velasco, training coordinator, at [email protected].

To sign up for TrojansAlert notifications, go to: https://member.everbridge.net/index/892807736725448#/signup

Workshops and Organizations

At USC Price we strive to incorporate lessons about equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice through intersectional and interdisciplinary coursework, discussions, and research. Explore some of the workshops currently available from Price and external sources to continue your own learning journey.

Academics for Black Survival and Wellness

Dignity & Power NOW

Facilitating Political Discussions from Tufts, Workshop Guide

Racial Equity Tools

The Government Alliance on Race and Equity

The Othering and Belonging Institute

Relevant Readings

Articles & Journals

A Grounded Theory for Building Ethnically Bridging Social Capital in Voluntary Organizations

Centering Anti-Racist Practices in Your Leadership, slide deck from Déja Imani Fitzgerald

Confronting the racial-colonial foundations of US higher education (2018), JSPTE, Sharon Stein

Constructing and Implementing Transgender Policy for Public Administration

Deem Journal

Diversity in the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector 

Facilitating Political Discussions

Fundraising as women’s work? Examining the profession with a gender lens

Is Active Representation an Organizational-Level Process? The Indirect Effect of Bureaucrats on Clients They Don’t Directly Serve

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Microintervention Toolkit (Part 1)

RECOGNIZING & OVERCOMING MICROAGGRESSIONS

SHAUN HARPER

Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action

Talking about antisemitism in MPA programs and beyond

The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Books

Decolonizing Academia by Clelia O Rodríguez

Dying of Whiteness by Jonathan M. Metzl

Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the 20th Century

So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo

 White Identity Politics by Ashley Jardina

Reading Lists

USC Libraries / Research Guides / Diversity & Inclusion

Latin History For Morons Syllabus (68 books)

Anti-Racist Reading List from Ibram X. Kendi – Chicago Public Library

Social Media

#BlackInTheIvory

Noname Book Club

OKHA, the queer + black book club

Our Shared Shelf

The Elders

Well Read Native

Videos, Films & Documentaries

All of these films and videos can be viewed via “kanopy.com” for free for library card holders. If you are accessing Kanopy through the USC library, your library has chosen to limit the film collection available on Kanopy at this time. Also, please check out the Ethnicity & Identity category for new additions.

Amend: The Fight for America Documentary Series 
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

America Divided 1 & 2
America Divided is a timely, eight-part series about inequality in education, housing, healthcare, labor, criminal justice and the political system. The show follows high-profile correspondents in different regions of the United States as they explore aspects of inequality related to their own biographies. Its second season investigates stories of inequality and injustice facing our society: sexual harassment, equality for Native Americans; the future of Coal Country; the hidden victims of US immigration policy and truth and reconciliation around the inheritance.

Arts as Policy: Autism, Education, Research & Music – Inclusion for Neurodiversity
Ifunanya Nweke is the founder and executive director of an innovative 501c3 nonprofit organization called Jazz Hands For Autism. Nweke is a USC alum who received a Masters in Nonprofit Leadership & Management from USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and is currently working on her doctorate in Educational Leadership at the USC Rossier School of Education.

bell hooks – Cultural Criticism & Transformation   
bell hooks is one of America’s most accessible public intellectuals. In this two-part video, extensively illustrated with many of the images under analysis, she makes a compelling argument for the transformative power of cultural criticism. In Part One, bell hooks discusses the theoretical foundations and positions that inform her work (such as the motives behind representations, as well as their power in social and cultural life).

Black Americans in the Workplace | The Daily Social Distancing Show

From code-switching to daily microaggressions, here’s a slice of what Black people go through in corporate America. #DailyShow #TrevorNoah

Blacks and Jews – The Psychology of Victimization and Media Exploration   
This film, made collaboratively by Jewish and Black filmmakers, goes behind the headlines and the rhetoric to try to heal the misunderstanding and mistrust. Scholars and critics probe the history and psychology of victimization shared between Blacks and Jews and their exploitation by the media.

Black in Latin America
Black in Latin America is the third of a broadcast of Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s first series for public television. Black In Latin America, examines how Africa and Europe came together to create the rich cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords   
This is the first film to chronicle the history of the Black press, including its central role in the construction of modern African American identity. It recounts the largely forgotten stories of generations of Black journalists who risked life and livelihood so African Americans could represent themselves in their own words and images.

Class Dismissed – How TV Frames the Working Class   
Class Dismissed breaks important new ground in exploring the ways in which race, gender, and sexuality intersect with class, offering a more complex reading of television’s often one-dimensional representations. Narrated by Ed Asner, and based on the book by Pepi Leistyna, Class Dismissed navigates the steady stream of narrow working class representations from American television’s beginnings to today’s sitcoms, reality shows, police dramas, and daytime talk shows.

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes a group of teens with disabilities to help build a movement, forging a new path toward greater equality.
https://cripcamp.com/

Defiant Lives
A triumphant film that traces the origins of the world-wide disability rights movement. It tells the stories of the individuals who bravely put their lives on the line to create a better world where everyone is valued and can participate.

Diversity in the Library
Every day we make assumptions about who we are, what we do, and who we interact with. Diversity in the Library will help you examine those assumptions and realize that they can create barriers to outstanding public service. The program uses scenarios taken directly from library worker’s experiences. By examining those scenarios and the solutions provided, viewers will be able to better serve all of their customers in this increasingly complex and diverse world. The program is based on the award-winning diversity program implemented by Baltimore County Public Library. “A good starting point for group discussion…this video instructs library staff to ‘treat people as people’ and move beyond stereotypes…”

Dred Scott, Wong Kim Ark & Vanessa Lopez
This film explores the question about who has the right to be an American citizen. It examines the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment through compelling personal stories. Told through the lives of three ordinary and extraordinary American families who changed history by their courageous challenges to the powerful status quo – Dred and Harriet Scott, Wong Kim Ark and Rosario and Vanessa Lopez.

Ethnic Notions – African American Stereotypes and Prejudice   
ETHNIC NOTIONS is Marlon Riggs’ Emmy-winning documentary that takes viewers on a disturbing voyage through American history, tracing for the first time the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-black prejudice. Through these images we can begin to understand the evolution of racial consciousness in America. Loyal Toms, carefree Sambos, faithful Mammies, grinning Coons, savage Brutes, and wide-eyed Pickaninnies roll across the screen in cartoons, feature films, popular songs, and minstrel shows.

Fannie Lou Hamer: Voting Rights Activist
Voting rights activist and Civil Rights Leader Fannie Lou Hamer, born in 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi, was the granddaughter of a slave and the youngest of 20 children. Raised by hardworking parents who were sharecroppers, she was no stranger to poverty or hardship. An inspirational speaker and writer, she used her powerful voice to raise the cause of equality and freedom for all blacks in America and became a defining force in the fight against social injustice during the early years of the civil rights movement.

Fenceline: A Company Town Divided
A fenceline community is a neighborhood that is immediately adjacent to a company and is directly affected by the noise, odors, chemical emissions, traffic, parking, and operations of the company. Fenceline communities in the United States are disproportionately inhabited by people of color and the working poor. Additionally, residents in fenceline communities are often unable to relocate because residents are unable to sell their homes for a value that would be high enough for them to purchase property elsewhere.

The Florida Project
The Florida Project” contrasts the expectations of the American dream with the realities that many poor people face in this country. This experience is through the eyes of a child and the realities of poverty.

From Here to Equality
LaVonna B. Lewis, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion speaks with William Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen, authors of the award-winning book, From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century.

Frontline, A Class Divided, 1985
The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, Jane Elliott, a teacher in a small, all-white Iowa town, divided her third-grade class into blue-eyed and brown-eyed groups and gave them a daring lesson in discrimination. This is the story of that lesson, its lasting impact on the children, and its enduring power 30 years later.

High fashion, The Garment Industry, & The Vietnam War
Artist Gallery Talk with Tran, T. Kim-Trang, presented by the USC Pacific Asia Museum and the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.

How Racism Harms White Americans – A lecture by John H. Bracey   
Distinguished historian John H. Bracey Jr. offers a provocative analysis of the devastating economic, political, and social effects of racism on white Americans. In a departure from analyses of racism that have focused primarily on white power and privilege, Bracey trains his focus on the high price that white people, especially working class whites, have paid for more than two centuries of divisive race-based policies and attitudes.

Howard Zinn: A People’s History of the United States   
A People’s History of the United States radically changed the way Americans see themselves. Zinn talks about those who have no voice in the official History : Slaves, Indians, deserters, textile workers, union men. Between 1900 and 1920, more than 14 million immigrants arrived in the United States.

Intersexion
One baby in 2,000 is born with genitalia that is so ambiguous that no-one can tell if the child is male or female.In this groundbreaking documentary, intersex individuals reveal the secrets of their unconventional lives – and how they have navigated their way through this strictly male/female world, when they fit somewhere in between.

In Whose Honor? – American Indian Mascots in Sports   
The Cleveland Indians. Washington Redskins. Atlanta Braves. What’s wrong with American Indian sports mascots? This moving, award-winning film is the first of its kind to address that subject. It follows the story of Native American mother Charlene Teters and looks at the issues of racism, stereotypes, minority representation and the powerful effects of mass-media imagery.

Jane: The Underground Abortion Service
This fascinating political look at a little-known chapter in women’s history tells the story of “Jane”, the Chicago-based women’s health group who performed nearly 12,000 safe illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973 with no formal medical training

Latinos Beyond Reel – Challenging a Media Stereotype   
Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, and among the most diverse — accounting for one-sixth of all Americans and tracing their origins to more than 20 countries. They are also a rising force in American politics. Yet across the American media landscape, from the broadcast airwaves to cable television and Hollywood film, the reality and richness of the Latino experience are virtually nowhere to be found.

Miss Virginia
Based on a true story, a struggling inner-city mother sacrifices everything to give her son a good education and launches a movement that could save his future – and that of thousands like him.

No Passport Required
Chef Marcus Samuelsson hosts a culinary and anthropological exploration of the people, rituals and food of multicultural America.

Price History is L.A. History is Black History
Dr. LaVonna Lewis speaks with Price alum Nicole Vick, public health advocate and author of Pushing Through: Finding the Light in Every Lesson.

Race Against Prime Time   
This film scrutinizes how television news represents African Americans. This hard-hitting documentary takes us behind the scenes at the newsrooms of the three network affiliates during the Liberty City uprising in Miami which left 18 dead. It provides a classic case study of how the news gets made: what we see — and what we don’t.

Race – The Power of an Illusion   
The division of the world’s peoples into distinct groups – “red,” “black,” “white” or “yellow” peoples – has become so deeply embedded in our psyches, so widely accepted, many would promptly dismiss as crazy any suggestion of its falsity. The Difference Between Us examines contemporary science – including genetics – that challenges our common sense assumptions that human beings can be bundled into three or four fundamentally different groups according to their physical traits.

Skin Deep   
For hundreds of years, human skin color has been used as a marker of race. Now, science is uncovering the intricate relationship between skin color and environment. When our ancient ancestors in Equatorial Africa lost their body hair and ventured out into the open savannah, their skin had to become dark to resist strong UV radiation. 

Year We Thought About Love; Behind the Scenes of Queer Youth Theater
What happens when LGBTQ youth decide to create a play about queer love to tour to area high schools? While the play takes shape, other challenges come hurtling at the cast. A transgender teen is kicked out of her house; a devout Christian wrestles with his church’s homophobia, and a girl experiments with boy’s clothing even as she models dresses on the runway on the weekends. When the Boston Marathon bombs explode outside their rehearsal room, these actors and activists grow even more determined to share their stories of love to help heal their city.

What Are You?   
In this revealing documentary, eleven people with a range of backgrounds discuss what it is like being of mixed racial heritage within the context of North America. Each of the participants presents their unique outlook on growing up mixed and the challenges they’ve faced in their lives. No two experiences are identical when speaking about their journey of how each person came to perceive themselves. 

White Like Me – Race, Racism & White Privilege in America   
White Like Me, based on the work of acclaimed anti-racist educator and author Tim Wise, explores race and racism in the US through the lens of whiteness and white privilege. Wise offers a fascinating look back at the race-based white entitlement programs that built the American middle class, and argues that our failure as a society to come to terms with this legacy of white privilege continues to perpetuate racial inequality and race-driven political resentments today.

Whiteness Project
Whiteness Project is a multi-platform media project that examines both the concept of whiteness itself and how those who identify as white, or partially white, process their racial identity. The project’s goal is to engender debate about the role of whiteness in American society and encourage white Americans to become fully vested participants in the ongoing debate about the role of race in American society.

White Wash – African-American Surfers
Narrated by Grammy-winner Ben Harper with Tariq “Blackthought” Trotter of the Roots, this is the story of African-American surfers. Told from the perspective of black surfers from Hawaii, Jamaica, Florida, and California, this controversial, probing film looks deep into America’s painful and pervasive legacy of slavery and exclusion. From surfing’s “discovery” by Captain James Cook in Hawaii in 1778 through the explosion of surf culture during the days of segregation.

13th
13th is a 2016 American documentary film by director Ava DuVernay. The film explores the “intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States;” it is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime.

Conversations with Interim Dean Dana Goldman: Beyond the Tower of Babel: A New Approach to Inclusive Policy
In recent years, the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion has moved to the forefront of national media and organizational priorities. Please join the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy for a discussion around a new approach to thinking about and addressing these priorities with regard to gender identity and expression. What does it mean for organizations to include people who embrace trans and non-binary gender identities? How do these inclusion challenges relate to other social policy goals?

Podcasts

Bedrosian Bookclub Podcast
An audio bookclub. Our geeks read and discuss new and classic works in the policy field – fictional and non. Social justice, tech, politics, policy … we cover it all and more. We want to get at the heart of what it means to be in community today.

Lusk Perspectives on Apple Podcasts
Hosted by Professor and Lusk Center Director Richard K. Green in the style of long form videos or podcasts, Lusk Perspectives offers timely analysis and shares accurate data vetted by leading experts.

Our American Discourse
The smartest minds from the University of Southern California and beyond, wrestling with the defining challenges of our time. In their research, we find wisdom. In their voice, hope. Hosted by Anthony W. Orlando, Our American Discourse reminds us that we’re never too different to learn from each other, nor too divided to find common ground.

The Policy Paycheck
Created and hosted by Serena Allen, a junior studying public policy, The Policy Paycheck is a nonpartisan podcast dedicated to simplifying the economic side of high profile policies. Often, we only get one side of the coin regarding policy matters. This podcast reaches beyond these boundaries to allow listeners to think critically on political matters that impact their daily lives.

Code Switch (NPR)
Remember when folks used to talk about being “post-racial”? Well, we’re definitely not that. We’re a multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how they play out in our lives and communities, and how all of this is shifting.

From the National Constitution Center
A weekly show of constitutional debate where listeners can hear the best arguments on all sides of the constitutional issues at the center of American life.

1619
When a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved African people arrived in the English colony of Virginia, it was the beginning of what America would become. This podcast tells the heartbreaking story that shaped our nation.

Pitchfork Economics
Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer and some of the world’s leading economic and political thinkers dive into the inequalities in America and how we can do something about rising inequality.

Everyday Conversations on Race for Everyday People
This is the podcast for you if you’ve ever wanted to have a conversation about race but were afraid of saying the wrong thing. Bringing people together for open, comfortable discussions about race, guests from different backgrounds come together to get the conversations going.

Pod Save the People
Organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson gets into news, culture, social justice, and politics with analysis from activists Brittany Packnett and Sam Sinyangwe and writer Dr. Clint Smith III.

Reparations: The Big Payback
Reparations: The Big Payback is an immersive, narrative podcast, hosted by social justice filmmakers Erika Alexander (Living Single, Get Out) and Whitney Dow (Two Towns of Jasper, Whiteness Project). Erika, a black woman, and Whitney, a white man use their unique storytelling skills and experiences to explore the argument for and against reparations for Black Americans.

Today, Explained
This podcast brings you a Monday-to-Friday news explainer of the biggest stories from the best reporters Vox has to offer.

In the Thick
Journalists fill you in on what you’re missing in the mainstream news cycle with discussions about race, identity, and politics. This podcast is co-hosted by award-winning journalists Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela.

Moving Forward (“always be moving forward!”) on Apple Podcasts
This podcast is about the contributions engaged citizens make to overcome the challenges that face us with host Kate Sanner. She’ll interview candidates, community leaders, activists, and elected officials.

The Nod
Listen to stories of Black life by celebrating the genius, innovation, and resilience of what it means to be a part of the community.

Militantly Mixed
This podcast is about race and identity from the mixed-race perspective. Host Sharmane will speak with mixed-race people from all over the world about coming to terms with ethnic identity.