Equity & Inclusion

What is the Black Lives Matter Movement?

The U.S. is witnessing a civil rights movement on a scale not seen since the 1960's, if ever. There have been peaceful protests in all 50 states and many cities, including Bloomington.

To assist our international students and scholars in understanding the context of current events in the U.S., we've compiled a set of resources provided by Indiana University and the local Bloomington community. These resources provide more information on what IU Bloomington is doing to create a safe and welcoming environment for all people.

Diversity within our institution remains one of our cardinal virtues. For our collaborative academic environment to truly be enriched, we must listen to and learn from the voices of our students of color. We firmly believe that equity and inclusion are critical foundations of our institution. 

We provide this context not to scare you away, but instead to be open and honest about where we are as a nation. We cannot tell you that Bloomington is free from racism or bigotry. We cannot tell you that you will never experience a bias incident. But we can promise that our office and IU fully supports you, and we will do whatever we can to make sure you are welcomed into our community. 

In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others, protests have erupted across the globe, calling attention to the systemic injustices the Black community and people of color face each and every day.

At OIS, we strongly assert that Black lives do matter, and that any injustice to one person of color is an injustice to all of humanity. We stand with our Black communities to decry racism.

We also stand with our international students and scholars to condemn any bias incidents. We welcome people from all countries, races, ethnicities, creeds, and religions at IU.

Your voices, your experiences, and your ideas are crucial to making IU’s community stronger. We promise to listen, to learn, and to enact change, starting with the initiatives listed below.

We hear you, we value you, and we stand with you.

Initiatives

  • We are utlilizing a University-provided resource to staff, LinkedIn Learning, to educate ourselves on recognizing our own implicit bias and actively addressing it.
  • We are working on providing free access to anyone within our community to our Intercultural Training Program videos and resources.
  • Leaders within our office are providing staff with additional training and educational resources, such as reading materials and workbooks, then guiding discussions on said resources.
  • We are continuing to listen and learn from student and scholar voices through collaborations with organizations such as Student Leadership Council and International Student Ambassadors.
  • We are open to feedback and concerns. You may contact our office at any time via email at ois@iu.edu.

Resources

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center provides programming, student resources, and a comprehensive list of local Black-owned businesses and churches to support on their website. Additionally, you can explore many student groups to get involved with on campus.