xavier
stained glass initiative
Racial repair and institutional reconciliation concerning slavery
sgi
The Stained Glass Initiative has been established to institutionalize racial repair and reconciliation at Xavier University. Xavier’s Historical connections to slavery and historical racism are the impetus for SGI and the initiative serves as the umbrella enterprise for projects, research, and institutional hires that further our efforts to dismantle anti-Black racism, establish racial truth and contribute to repair, healing, and reconciliation.
The symbolism of stained glass captures the essence of Xavier’s work concerning slavery and racism. Recognizing that our history is stained by slavery, Xavier is committed to institutionalizing racial repair and reconciliation. Just as stained glass admits and reflects light in different ways, the Stained Glass Initiative seeks to acknowledge and perpetuate the diversity of experience and reflection that is needed to envision a better common good.
As a creative art form, stained glass brings together different pieces to create a whole. It symbolizes transformation, spirituality and sacred history. At Xavier University we value the integration of knowledge and action that works toward the betterment of society. The SGI builds on our culture of encounter and compels our response to slavery and historical racism to be holistic and sensitive to our values and mission and the tensions inherent in such work.
Stained Glass Initiative Leadership
DR. KYRA SHAHID
DIRECTOR, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
announcements
Get the latest news and announcements on the Stained Glass Initiative.
Stopping the Clock
On Saturday, June 20, 2020 Diasporic Soul, in collaboration with Xavier University’s Stained Glass Initiative, the Bryant Educational Leadership Group (BELG) and Chez Alpha Books (Dakar), will host Stopping the Clock For Those Now Gone: A Remembrance Ritual for Black Loss, Black Love and Black Lives.
Stopping the Clock is a response to the fact that we have collectively been facing a pandemic that is disproportionately affecting us and "racism [that] is as pernicious as ever" (Roxane Gay, The New York Times).
Stopping the Clock will allow us to acknowledge our loss and honor our grief with SOUL, a transformative healing resource that reflects the cultural sensibilities of the African Diaspora.
Download Full Press ReleaseDownload Full-Size Flyer
Well-Being Wednesdays
Starting March 25, Diasporic Soul in partnership with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion will be hosting Well-Being Wednesdays. Our hostess in Senegal, Phyllis Jeffers-Coly will lead us in contemplative practices that will root, ground, and center us during this time that we may all be experiencing some difficulties and/or angst. It is our hope that you will consider joining us for these moments so that we may still be in community even in the face of social distancing. You will find an introduction video at the following link: diasporicsoul.com/well-being.
Day of READ 2020
The 2nd Annual Day of READ will provide the first space for dialogue following the USS Fall 2019 Symposium. The Stained Glass Initiative's Artist in Residence will lead the community in a dialogue and artistic project that honor the life and experiences of enslaved Africans and their descendants. Community members, students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to attend
» Day of READ FlyerXavier University welcomes 2019-2020 Stained Glass Initiative Artist in Residence: Angela Franklin!
Angela is a Xavier Alumna, having received a BA in Art from the university. As a part of the recommendations put forth by the Working Group on Xavier's Historical Connections to Slavery, Franklin has been commissioned by Xavier as the university's first Artist in Residence.
She will complete three multimedia textile quilts that illustrate Xavier University's historical connections to slavery. Once complete, her work will hang in Conaton Board Room located in Schmidt Hall.
Save the Date: USS Conference 2019: The Academy's Original Sin
Xavier and the University of Cincinnati to present the 2019 Fall Symposium for Universities Studying Slavery (USS). USS is a national educational consortium focused on addressing historical and contemporary issues dealing with race and inequity in higher education and university communities.
» Download Full Memo» Save the Date Invitation