Remembering George Floyd
Jabbar Bennett, Michigan State University vice president and chief diversity officer, was interviewed as part of a special section published May 22 in the Lansing State Journal on what’s changed in the year following George Floyd’s murder. The article is written by LSJ’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion reporter Krystal Nurse. Below is Bennett’s section from the article.
MSU is listening to the community and taking action
The nationwide movement for equity is being felt in nearly every community across the United States, including here in East Lansing. But make no mistake, this movement has existed for decades, centuries even. Last summer, students, faculty and staff brought that movement to campus and challenged the university to do even more to create an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere and tear down barriers.
We listened first, and then began exploring more opportunities to engage in meaningful change. Michigan State University implemented for the first time a university-wide requirement that all students, faculty and staff participate in an online diversity, equity and inclusion educational module. Less than a month after the nationwide movement began, the MSU Police Department implemented changes within its policies and practices.
Our work continued with the president’s creation of the DEI Steering Committee, charged with collecting feedback from across campus, inventorying DEI efforts throughout the university and establishing a framework for making MSU a national leader in this area.
All of this work — here at MSU and at forward-thinking institutions and companies across Greater Lansing and the nation — will never be enough to bring back the countless Black lives that have been lost and continue to be taken at the hands of police. But our actions align with the hope of our nation to do and be better.
To read the complete article, visit https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/opinion/contributors/viewpoints/2021/05/22/one-year-later-whats-changed-following-murder-george-floyd/5127905001/.
Banner Image: A mural of George Floyd is on display under I-496 along the Lansing, Mich., River Trail. The mural was created by Fiint, Mich., artist Isiah Lattimore. Lattimore asked fellow artist Erik Phelps to create the lettering on the mural. Photo credit: Nick King/Lansing State Journal
