June 19, 2020

UM family,

Juneteenth on June 19 is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Let us not only recognize Juneteenth as a significant milestone in our history but also as a reminder that more work remains to dismantle racism and oppressive practices.

I invite you to join me in supporting BIPOC members of the UM family. Please consider a donation to UM's African American Studies Program; to the Diana Riley Fund, which supports the Black Student Union's organizing of the Black Solidarity Summit each February; or to the Diversity Advisory Council, which leads many initiatives in support of our BIPOC community.

Contributions to African American Studies may be made online through the African American Studies giving page. Contributions to the Diana Riley Fund or the Diversity Advisory Council may be made online at SupportUM.org/Give by selecting "other" in the designation drop-down menu and inserting "Diana Riley Fund" or "Diversity Advisory Council" in the comment field. In addition, contributions may be mailed to the UM Foundation at P.O. Box 7159, Missoula, MT 59807.

Please also consider committing to self-education as a form of vital action. UM is offering three online African American History and African American Studies courses this summer, as well as an array of professional development opportunities such as trainings on implicit bias, through LinkedIn Learning.

• AAST 291: The New Jim Crow to Black Lives Matter (3cr) Professor: Alhaji Conteh, July 27-Aug. 14
• AAST 491: Dismantling Racism: From Theory to Practice (1cr) Professor: Tobin Miller Shearer, July 27-Aug. 14
• HSTA 342: African American History to 1865 (3cr) Professor: Patrick O'Connor, July 6-Aug. 14 
• LinkedIn Learning, available to all UM employees

Seth