DEI Resources

    Resource Room

    Race

    Being Black in America

    Videos

    Documentaries

    Books

    LGBTQ+

    MVCC LGBTQ page:

    This MVCC site page is devoted to the services, events, and groups our campus has to offer including information about the GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) student club, the LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Workgroup, gender-inclusive housing, and restrooms on campus, the SafeSpace program, National Coming Out Day, Trans Day of Remembrance, and World AIDS Day.

    Support and Services

    • The Q Center (ACR Health):
      • The Q Center at ACR Health in Utica is a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth, their families, and allies to gather, share, and receive support. Q Center programming promotes equality, celebrates diversity, provides resources that cultivate pride and leadership skills, and strives to create a safe and inclusive community for all. Through our programs and services, we provide the guidance and support LGBTQ+ youth, young adults and their families need to thrive, and the foundation from which LGBTQ+ youth can succeed throughout their lives.
    • Campus Pride:
      • Campus Pride represents the leading national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBTQ students. The organization is a volunteer-driven network “for” and “by” student leaders. The primary objective of Campus Pride is to develop necessary resources, programs, and services to support LGBTQ and ally students on college campuses across the United States.
    • SAGE Upstate:
      • Promotes the well-being of older gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in Central New York through health programs, social/support groups, and education.
    • GLSEN:
      • GLSEN works to ensure that LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment. Together we can transform our nation's schools into the safe and affirming environment all youth deserve.
    • PFLAG:
      • The PFLAG Chapter Network--with over 400 chapters across the country--provides confidential peer support, education, and advocacy to LGBTQ+ people, their parents and families, and allies.
    • The Trevor Project:
      • Founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award®-winning short film TREVOR, The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.
    • Trans Lifeline:
      • Trans Lifeline is a peer support and crisis hotline 501 non-profit organization serving transgender people by offering phone support and microgrants. It is the first transgender crisis hotline to exist in the United States as well as Canada. It is also the only suicide hotline whose operators are all transgender.
    • National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:
      • The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives.
    • InterACT - Advocates of Intersex Youth:
      • InterACT uses innovative legal and other strategies to advocate for the human rights of children born with differences in their genitals, chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive anatomy.

    Education

    Videos

    Conferences

    Immigration

    The United States has long been considered a nation of immigrants. Thousands of years before Europeans began crossing the vast Atlantic by ship. Native American ancestors had already crossed a narrow spit of land in the Bering Strait connecting Asia to North America some 20,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age. Soon after European immigrants began to arrive on the East Coast of the US from England, Spain, Netherlands, and Sweden. Many came for political, religious reasons, and economic opportunities. Sadly, thousands of enslaved Africans arrived completely against their will. Mexicans, Irish, Chinese, and other Asian countries also came to the US throughout the last few centuries. Today, we see immigrants coming from the four corners of the world, but largely from Asia and the Middle East. Included in that number are also arrivals from many African countries, but this time, by choice. 

    Videos On Immigration:

    Poverty

    Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the US has a surprising number of citizens who live near, on, and below the poverty line. While the wealthy get wealthier, the middle class is shrinking and many from the middle class have been pushed into the lower classes of society, many of whom are poor. 

    Resources

    Veterans

    • The VA has lots of Support/volunteers to help with everything in the transition from Mil to Civilian life.
    • American Legion
      • Has many services including benefits, career, education, financial, and health. They also offer assistance with the military to civilian transition. transition info and support.
    • VFW
      • Has many services including benefits, career, education, financial, and health. They also offer assistance with the military to civilian transition.
    • Veterans Crisis Line
      • 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 or text to 838255
    • Employer Support of Guard and Reserve ESGR
      • ESGR, a Department of Defense program, was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment.
    • Hope for Warriors
      • Hope For The Warriors. Hope For The Warriors is a national nonprofit organization in the United States that provides assistance to combat wounded service members, their families, and families of those killed in action. They offer support for transition, health and wellness, and sports and recreation.

    Motivational Speakers:

    • Admiral McRaven
      • William Harry McRaven (born November 6, 1955) is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral who last served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011, to August 28, 2014.
    • Travis Mills
      • The Travis Mills Foundation supports recalibrated veterans and their families through long-term programs that help these heroic men and women overcome physical obstacles, strengthen their families, and provide well-deserved rest and relaxation.
    • Denzel Washington
      • Actor Denzel Washington is a defender of law enforcement and military service.

    Women & Science

    Books

    Religion

    American Religions

    • Religion in the US
      • Religion in the United States is diverse, with Christianity and specifically Protestantism being the majority religion, although declining at rapid pace.[2] Various religious faiths have flourished within the United States. Just over 40% of Americans report that religion plays a very important role in their lives,[1] a proportion unique among developed countries.[3] Freedom of religion in the United States is guaranteed in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    • Our Religious Landscape
      • The RLS surveys more than 35,000 Americans from all 50 states about their religious affiliations, beliefs and practices, and social and political views. User guide | Report about demographics | Report about beliefs and attitudes
    • American Culture: Religion
      • The United States is a secular nation, meaning there is a formal separation between state and religious entities. Society is underpinned by the strong principle of religious freedom that emphasises people's liberty to worship any religion and to not favour one religion over another. This is evident in the First Amendment which states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". Ultimately, there is a strong pluralist belief that various religious groups should be allowed to maintain and develop their faith and/or beliefs within the common society.
    • The Structure of Religion in the U.S.

    World Religions

    • World Religions Map
      • Explore religious beliefs around the world through an interactive map that displays the religions that are the most prevalent in each country around the world. You may click on one of eight religious groupings listed in the menu to examine its relative prevalence in each country. The map features brief descriptions of each religious grouping and bar graphs that reflect the percentage of a country's population associated with each grouping. The religious groupings are (in alphabetical order) Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, indigenous religions, Islam, Judaism, non-religious people, and other religions.
    • World Religions - An Introduction to Sociology
      • The major religions of the world (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism, and Judaism) differ in many respects, including how each religion is organized and the belief system each upholds. Other differences include the nature of belief in a higher power, the history of how the world and the religion began, and the use of sacred texts and objects.

    Videos

    Ted Talks

    • Let's Teach All Religions in School
      • Philosopher Dan Dennett calls for religion - all religion - to be taught in schools, so we can understand its nature as a natural phenomenon. Then he takes on The Purpose-Driven Life, disputing its claim that, to be moral, one must deny evolution.
    • The Beauty and Diversity of Muslim Life
      • Bassam Tariq is a blogger, a filmmaker, and a halal butcher - but one thread unites his work: His joy in the diversity, the humanness of our individual experiences. In this charming talk, he shares clips from his film "These Birds Walk" and images from his tour of 30 mosques in 30 days - and reminds us to consider the beautiful complexity within us all.
    • Misconceptions of Islam and Muslim Life
      • When you look at Muslim scholar Dalia Mogahed, what do you see: A woman of faith? A scholar, a mom, a sister? Or an oppressed, brainwashed, potential terrorist? In this personal, powerful talk, Mogahed asks us, in this polarizing time, to fight negative perceptions of her faith in the media - and to choose empathy over prejudice.
    • It's Time to Reclaim Religion
      • At a moment when the world seems to be spinning out of control, religion might feel irrelevant - or like part of the problem. But Rabbi Sharon Brous believes we can reinvent religion to meet the needs of modern life. In this impassioned talk, Brous shares four principles of a revitalized religious practice and offers faith of all kinds as a hopeful counter-narrative to the numbing realities of violence, extremism and pessimism.

    Student Lens

    For our PTK College Project this year,

    our goal was to help create a safe and welcoming campus for all students. To achieve this, we collaborated with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council to contribute to their online resource center. PTK members collected and reviewed resources with a focus on collecting resources (websites, videos, books, etc.) that are aimed at MVCC students who want to learn more.

    Books:

    AUTISM

    • TED Talk
    • "Autism is not a disease; it's just another way of thinking," says Ethan Lisi. Offering a glimpse into the way he experiences the world, Lisi breaks down misleading stereotypes about autism, shares insights into common behaviors like stimming and masking, and promotes a more inclusive understanding of the spectrum.

    Ethan Lisi - Neurodiversity Advocate

    Book

    Title: Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity

    Author: Steve Silberman

    Publisher & Release Date: Avery, 2016

    Articles:

    "Autistic people are not failed versions of 'normal.' They're different, not less"

    Author: Steve Silberman

    Publisher & Release Date: ideas.ted.com, 2016

    ‘People should be allowed to do what they like’: Autistic adults’ views and experiences of stimming

    Authors: Steven K Kapp, Robyn Steward, Laura Crane, Daisy Elliott, Chris Elphick, Elizabeth Pellicano, Ginny Russell

    First Published: February 28, 2019

    Study:

    Compensatory strategies below the behavioural surface in autism: a qualitative study

    Authors: Lucy Anne Livingston, MSc, Punit Shah, PhD, Prof Francesca Happe’, PhD

    Published: July 23, 2019

    CULTURAL DIVERSITY

    TED Talk #1

    Rebeca Hwang has spent a lifetime juggling identities -- Korean heritage, Argentinian upbringing, education in the United States -- and for a long time she had difficulty finding a place in the world to call home. Yet along with these challenges came a pivotal realization: that a diverse background is a distinct advantage in today's globalized world. In this personal talk, Hwang reveals the endless benefits of embracing our complex identities -- and shares her hopes for creating a world where identities aren't used to alienate but to bring people together instead.

    Rebeca Hwang - co-founder and managing director of Rivet Ventures, investing in solutions for women and empowering their choices.

    TED Talk #2

    Adopted from South Korea at birth, Hayley Yeates was raised in Sydney and identifies herself as a proud Australian. Dedicated to learning, she has degrees in Human Resources and a recently-earned Masters in Project Management. Yeates is an experienced change and communications professional, specializing in complex, enterprise-wide projects. She confidently brings her whole self to everything she puts her mind to, and she believes that diversity is an essential ingredient of any high-performing team.

    With tart humor, Hayley Yeates makes the case that investing in cultural diversity is just as important as fostering gender diversity.

    Hayley Yeates - Inclusion strategist

    TED Talk #3

    Michael Rain is on a mission to tell the stories of first-generation immigrants, who have strong ties both to the countries they grew up in and their countries of origin. In a personal talk, he breaks down the mischaracterizations and limited narratives of immigrants and shares the stories of the worlds they belong to. "We're walking melting pots of culture," Rain says. "If something in that pot smells new or different to you, don't turn up your nose. Ask us to share."

    Michael Rain - Digital Storyteller

    TED Talk #4

    Hollywood needs to stop resisting what the world actually looks like, says actor, director, and activist America Ferrera. Tracing the contours of her career, she calls for a more authentic representation of different cultures in media -- and a shift in how we tell our stories. "Presence creates possibility," she says. "Who we see thriving in the world teaches us how to see ourselves, how to think about our own value, how to dream about our futures."

    America Ferrera - actor, director, producer, activist

    America Ferrera believes stories have the power to make people better. She uses her voice to speak up for more humanity and justice in the world.

    BIASES

    TED Talk

    Our biases can be dangerous, even deadly — as we've seen in the cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, in Staten Island, New York. Diversity advocate Vernā Myers looks closely at some of the subconscious attitudes we hold toward out-groups. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable. In a funny, impassioned, important talk, she shows us how.

    Vernā Myers - Diversity Advocate

    Vernā Myers is dedicated to promoting meaningful, lasting diversity in the workplace



    DIVERSITY

    TED Talk

    The subject of race can be very touchy. As finance executive Mellody Hobson says, it's a "conversational third rail." But, she says, that's exactly why we need to start talking about it. In this engaging, persuasive talk, Hobson makes the case that speaking openly about race — and particularly about diversity in hiring -- makes for better businesses and a better society.

    Mellody Hobson - Investment Expert

    Mellody Hobson is president of Ariel Investments, a value-driven money management firm — and an advocate for financial literacy and investor education.

    INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

    TED Talk

    In this passionate talk, diversity trainer and activist Fahad Saeed addresses the persistent myth that inclusive language and acronyms create more barriers than they tear down. Sharing his own experiences as a gay Muslim man born to immigrant parents, he explains how redefining the constructs around personal identity can have positive repercussions in marginalized communities and beyond.

    Fahad Saeed - an activist and diversity trainer.

    MVCC LIBRARY DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION GUIDE

    Phi Theta Kappa has collaborated with Reference Librarian, Jodi Oaks, and created a guide that covers finding resources on diversity, equity, and inclusion, including books, articles, and reliable websites that are available in the library's collection: https://mvcc.libguides.com/dei

    Jodi will be adding more resources to this guide, including links to campus resources and websites.

    Resource Submission Form

    Role on Campus