"A small white building that sits tucked away on the William & Mary campus once held an 18th-century school dedicated to the religious education of enslaved and free Black children, researchers have determined.
Now, the university and its neighbor, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, are working together to ensure future generations learn about the history of the building and the stories of those who were part of it..." Read more
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"Racial-justice, COVID-19 and higher-education concerns dominated conversations as William & Mary students lobbied Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and other elected state officials during the 2021 Road to Richmond event on Feb. 10, conducted “virtually” for the first time this year. Underpinning cautious optimism on addressing specific issues, however, was the reality of the toll exacted on the economy by the COVID-19 pandemic..." Read more
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Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Chon Glover, receives VCIC 2021 Humanitarian Award
"Since 1963, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) has presented Humanitarian Awards annually to honor individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of respect and understanding among people of diverse racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds." Glover was honored at the February 25, 2021 virtual Peninsula Humanitarian Awards Dinner. Congratulations, Chon, for this incredible achievement! - Bobbi Jo Stevens & Milka Mered, Office of Diversity & Inclusion
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EVENTS | Office of Diversity & Inclusion | March 2021 |
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Tuesday, March 2nd 5PM
The Office of Diversity & Inclusion, in collaboration with Student Assembly and the Center for Student Diversity, will host its annual Student Diversity & Inclusion Symposium. This year's symposium will be a virtual, two-part event: a keynote speech from intersectionality expert, author, & award-winning blogger Feminista Jones, and a facilitated student discussion led by Dr. A'tasha Christian.
The student discussion will focus on working towards a more unified William & Mary. The Student Diversity & Inclusion Symposium is made possible by a generous gift from Ernst & Young.
The registration deadline has been extended to Monday March 1st, 5PM!
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The Office of Diversity & Inclusion will focus on the values of Curiosity & Excellence this semester. In honor of Black History Month, Womxn's History Month, and Asian American & Pacific Islander History Month, we will be hosting virtual panel discussions and posting trivia that highlight alumni voices.
Note: We have modified our events to only hold events panel discussions this semester. Trivia will be posted on our newsletters going forward. You can find more trivia for Black History Month at W&M here.
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The Office of Diversity & Inclusion welcomes campus community members to nominate a colleague to be recognized for a diversity-related program or project that furthers our commitment to inclusive excellence. To nominate a member of faculty/staff, please complete this form:
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Office of Diversity & Inclusion | March 2021 |
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Womxn's History Month | March 1-31st |
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Womxn’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Woman’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Woman’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Woman’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Woman’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Woman’s History Month. Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Woman’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions womxn have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements womxn have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.
Please note the more inclusive way of stating "womxn", a definition of women that explicitly includes not only cis-gender women, but also trans women and femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer and non-binary people.
Information taken from: Women's History Month, and Layla F. Saad's Me and White Supremacy Workbook (2020)
Womxn's History Month at William & Mary
Did You Know?
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The Martha Barksdale Athletic Fields was dedicated to Martha Barksdale in 1975, one of the first white womxn to attend W&M in 1918. As an undergraduate, Barksdale established an intercollegiate sport program for womxn, and was a longtime faculty member in the Department of Women's Physical Education.
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In 2017, the Womxn & Philanthropy Leadership Circle (W&P) renamed itself the Society of 1918 and serves as an alumni inclusion circle focused on encouraging engagement, philanthropy, and leadership of womxn at W&M.
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In 1933, Hatsuye Yamasaki became the first known Asian-American woman and woman of color to attend William & Mary. During her time, she served as president of Brown Hall.
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Miriam Carter was the first Black woman to attend William & Mary, where she fought to be admitted to the Law School in 1955 after applying to other schools at the university prior.
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The Women's Studies Program, founded in 1991, was later changed to Gender, Sexuality, and Women's (GSWS) Studies in 2013, to build on the intersectionality and interdisciplinary study of gender and race, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, and other ways in which identities can be experienced by people.
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Caroll Hardy, served as Associate Dean of Multicultural Affairs and Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, and founded the Hulon Willis Association for Black students and alumni in 1992, among other initiatives towards diversity, equity, and inclusion for black students at W&M; Caroll Hardy, in honor of her numerous contributions to the university, has a campus building, award, and endowment named after her.
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International Transgender Day of Visibility |
March 31st
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International Transgender Day of Visibility celebrates the resilience and success of transgender and gender nonconforming people and raises awareness of transgender rights. TDoV was founded by activist Rachel Crandall in 2009. Crandall was inspired by the fact that there was no holiday in existence dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of transgender people. At the time, the only major transgender-centered commemoration was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which mourns the victims of hate crimes and violence.
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Office of Diversity & Inclusion | March 2021
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A Monthly List of Terms that Educate on Identity, Inclusion, and More:
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Equality - the condition under which every individual is treated in the same way, and is granted same rights and responsibilities, regardless of their individual differences.
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Equity - ensures that individuals are provided the resources they need to have access to the same opportunities, as the general population. While equity represents impartiality, i.e. the distribution is made in such a way to even opportunities for all the people.
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Intersectionality: A term coined by law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1980s to describe the way that multiple systems of oppression interact in the lives of those with multiple marginalized identities. Intersectionality looks at the relationships between multiple marginalized identities and allows people to analyze social problems more fully, shape more effective interventions, and promote more inclusive advocacy amongst communities.
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Intersectional Feminism: Rooted in professor Kimberlé Crenshaw's intersectionality theory, intersectional feminism recognizes that gender equity is only achieved by dismantling all systems of oppression.
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March
Religious Holidays
Womxn's History Month
Int. Womxn's Day (March 8)
Int. Transgender Day of Visibility
(Mar 31)
March
11 Lailat al Miraj
15 Clean Monday
17 St. Patrick's Day
20 Ostara/Spring Equinox
21 Nawruz
28 Palm Sunday
28 Holika Dahan
29 Holi
29-31 Hola Mohalla
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Center for Student Diversity
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The Lemon Project
The Lemon Project Symposium will be March 22-27, 2021 and will be virtual this year. The theme is: Four Centuries of Black Women in America: Freedom, Activism, and Justice for All. We will be hosting our symposium panels Monday through Friday twice a day: one will be at noon and another will be at 4 p.m. We will also have a keynote from Christy Coleman on the evening of March 22; another by Catherine Meeks on the evening of March 26; and one by Kaye Whitehead on the morning of Saturday, March 27, followed by a workshop with Catherine Meeks on Saturday afternoon. The complete schedule and registration information will be posted on our website by early March.
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William & Mary Community News | March 2021 |
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Pregnant Girl Coming May 2021: New book by alumna recounts her time as a young mother at William & Mary |
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In her new book, activist and author Nicole Lynn Lewis ('03) calls for better support of young families so they can thrive and reflects on her experiences as a Black mother and college student at William & Mary fighting for opportunities for herself and her child.
Pregnant Girl presents the possibility of a different future for young mothers--one of success and stability--in the midst of the dismal statistics that dominate the national conversation. Along with her own story as a young Black mother, Lewis weaves in those of the men and women she's worked with to share a new perspective on how poverty, classism, and systemic racism impact teen pregnancy and on how effective programs and equitable policies can help teen parents earn college degrees, have increased opportunity, and create a legacy of educational and career achievements in their families.
After Lewis became pregnant during her senior year in high school, she was told that college was no longer a reality--a negative outlook often unfairly presented to teen mothers. Lewis left home and experienced periods of homelessness, hunger, and poverty. Despite these obstacles, she enrolled at William & Mary and brought her three-month-old daughter along. Through her experiences fighting for resources to put herself through college, she discovered her true calling and founded her organization, Generation Hope, to provide support for teen parents and their children so they can thrive in college and kindergarten--driving a two-generation solution to poverty.
“Nicole Lynn Lewis has had it rough. Her journey through college as a teen mom is authentic and moving. Reading this book, you will learn something important about race, poverty, and gender and how they play a role in teen pregnancy. And you will learn something about how hope can win over adversity.”—Soledad O’Brien
Pregnant Girl will be released by Beacon Press on May 4, 2021. Pre-order your copy here.
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In 2020, we witnessed the mobilization of corporate America in response to highly publicized acts of racial injustice. Companies throughout America demonstrated moral leadership by taking a stand against racism while renewing their commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. On March 30, at 12 noon, a panel of leaders from MassMutual and PricewaterhouseCoopers will share their company's commitment to diversity and inclusion and their actions to address social injustice and racial inequity in the communities they serve. This event complements the January panel discussion of "Race in American - The Black Experience." Register here
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Join us as experts in maternal health explore together why U.S. maternal deaths have been increasing for two decades, the fact that women of color are overrepresented among these women and the interventions that can reverse these trend lines. After an introduction by President Katherine Rowe and a keynote address by Virginia first lady Pamela Northam, hear from experts in the field in a panel moderated by Rachel Becker ’19, policy advisor to the secretary of health and human resources. Panelists include W&M Professor Claire McKinney; Dr. Camille Hammond, CEO of the Cade Foundation; Kelly Cannon ’05, senior director for Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association; and Dr. Vanessa Walker Harris, deputy secretary of health and human resources for Virginia. Event is on Tuesday March 9th, 2021, 4-5:30PM. Register here
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Please join the Office of Compliance & Equity, The Haven, and the Office of Health Promotion for a faculty education session regarding how to discuss topics that include sexual trauma in the classroom. A variety of higher education courses include subject matter related to sexual violence whether it relates to world and U.S. history, political science, health science, social science, and many other areas of study. In this educational session, faculty will learn how to plan for these discussions in the classroom using trauma-informed practices. These practices include suggestions on how to draft the syllabus, provide advance notice to students regarding the subject to be discussed, and finally ideas for facilitating class discussion. We hope that you join us for this interactive discussion. Event is on Thursday March 4th, 2021. Register here
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Join us for an evening of celebration that highlights some of the amazing talent from William & Mary's LGBTQ+ community on the Sadler Terrace, March 11th, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm!
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Have an upcoming program or event that you would like us to share? Send your information to
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