Situated in one of the most racially diverse regions in the U.S.[1], Solano Community College commits to becoming a champion of racial justice in our local communities and in the broader system of California higher education. To do this, we commit to continual growth towards comprehensive anti-racist practice that goes beyond simple proclamations that “we are not racist.” We will: 

• acknowledge our complicity in perpetuating racism both in the past and present;
• ask difficult questions that often do not have simple answers about how racism manifests in interpersonal as well as complex structural forms; 
• devote ourselves to ongoing analysis, reflection, and critique on matters of racism and inequality as a matter of institutional culture;
• identify and dismantle policies and practices that reproduce racist outcomes, such as lower rates of course completion and degree attainment among African American, Latina/o, and Native American student populations;
• develop and sustain innovative programs that are robustly resourced and thus capable of “moving the needle” on systemic inequities;
• sustain bold moves towards creating an authentic culture grounded in social justice.

Given the institutionalized racism on which U.S. education systems were built [2], providing true service, care and advocacy for the diverse communities we serve requires that we become anti-racist in all we do. This is the path to which we are committed. 

Endnotes and Works Cited:

Endnotes:

[1] Solano County consistently ranks within the top 10 most racially diverse counties in the U.S. (Hubbard 2021; Narula 2014), while the city of Vallejo—the largest city in this county—ranks within the top three most diverse cities in the nation (Tanner 2022). 

[2] Racial injustice has plagued the American system of higher education from the beginning. The first U.S. public universities were built on stolen Native American land: The Morrill Act of 1862 granted nearly 11 million acres of expropriated indigenous land to each U.S. state to build public universities. These universities remained overwhelmingly white and male for generations. The twentieth century saw expanded educational opportunities for women and nonwhite Americans with civil-rights-era reforms and the establishment of additional state and community colleges, but educational inequalities persist. Black, Latinx, and Native American students are underrepresented at most top-ranked universities and degree-completion rates are disproportionately low for these student populations across all forms of postsecondary education, including community colleges. 

Works Cited:  

• Hubbard, Kaia, “The 15 Most Diverse Counties in America” U.S. News and World Report, August 24, 2021.  
• Narula, Svati Kirsten, “The 5 U.S. Counties Where Racial Diversity Is Highest—and Lowest” The Atlantic, April 29, 2014.  
• Tanner, Jeremy, “Study: This Bay Area city is most diverse in US,” KRON4.com, June 16, 2022. 

Voted and Approved by the SESC on 2025-Feb-11