Anti- Racism
As scholars committed to academic excellence and pursuing truth, we must first acknowledge that the history of the United States is complex. The foundations of this country stem from both the forced displacement of indigenous peoples for land and the forced trafficking of enslaved people for labor. Throughout the centuries that have followed, race-based segregation, exclusion, and discrimination have shaped the landscape of the United States, creating unearned advantages for white communities while harming communities of color. We acknowledge that the effects of these racist systems actively harm our communities in the present moment. We acknowledge that many areas of daily life such as access to quality education, access to adequate healthcare, access to economic security, and access to safety without the threat of police violence are not equally distributed across the United States. We affirm that racist practices have no place in our society as whole or in the Kosove Society, and we commit as a collective to identify and address issues of equity in our scholar selection criteria. We uplift the scholars among us whose work is shaped by Critical Race Theory, and we reject any policies or actions that seek to silence this scholarship.
As a group of leaders, we do not represent only one field or profession. From leadership within state and federal government, to community and grassroots organizing, to health and medicine, to technology and the law, our career paths are varied. We affirm that diverse and broad coalitions of leaders are necessary for the strength of the United States and our professions. Individually, we seek to deconstruct limiting paradigms of leadership that privilege the few. As a collective, we commit to identifying and addressing our internal leadership to provide leadership opportunities to every member of the Kosove Society. As a unique organization with both an on-campus group and a continuing membership in an alumni group, we uplift the leadership of every Kosove both in their work with the Kosove Society, and in their home community.
Finally, as civic-minded and engaged community members, we acknowledge that we must know and learn the unique circumstances of each of the cities and places we call home. While on-campus, we each dedicated time to creating new opportunities for people across Tampa Bay. As alumni of the Kosove Society, we serve in elected and appointed leadership roles in our home communities across the globe. As alumni of USF, we help to positively shape the future of our communities through our service and giving to local organizations, and by acting in staff, professor, and alumni leadership roles within USF. We acknowledge and lift up the work of organizations such as the Black Faculty and Staff and other organizations listed below in calling for increased diversity within USF’s senior leadership, as well as changes affecting student experience on campus. We affirm that our organization’s civic engagement is inextricably linked to seeking a better future, as reflected in the mission of the Kosove Society, and we commit to transforming our civic engagement activities to reflect the change we wish to see.
Calls For Action and Accountability at USF That We Support
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USF Black Faculty & Staff Letter and Call to Action
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USF College of Education Statement Condemning Systemic Racism in All Institutions and Call to Action
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USF Department of English Anti-Racism Commitment
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ASiA AT USF Instagram post: @asia_at_usf on May 30, 2020
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Black Student Union Instagram post: @usfbsu on June 8, 2020
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USF LASA and other Latinx organizations at USF Instagram post: @USF_LASA on June 7, 2020