#BeTheChange Challenge
Be Part of the Solution
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Galvanized by the events of 2020, a group of Leeds MBA students decided to help others develop a mindset of antiracism. Known as the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee, they created the #BeTheChange Challenge, an experiential program where individuals or teams could do one thing a day to learn about issues of racial inequity. In essence, participants were building a habit of antiracism, one activity at a time.
For each day of Black History Month, the student team outlined specific articles, podcasts, music, movies and books on topics such as mass incarceration, Reconstruction, lethal force in policing, climate justice and the disproportionate impact of COVID on Black businesses. Participants could also join a book club, reading How to Be an Antiracist听by Ibram X. Kendi.
JEDI organizers were thrilled when 525 people signed up for the challenge.
鈥淚 am humbled that this small kernel of an idea blossomed into a call to action for racial equity in our CU community and beyond,鈥� said Thaala Loper (MBA鈥�21), vice president of Leeds鈥� JEDI Committee.
鈥淚 learned more about Black history in the last month than I have in my entire life,鈥� said one participant. In fact, 96% of those surveyed said they would do the challenge again, which is why JEDI plans to bring it back in 2022.
#BeTheChange Challenge raised awareness for the Barney Ford Fellowship Fund for Diversity, a scholarship promoting diversity at Leeds in honor of Barney L. Ford, a former slave who became a leading Denver businessman. The annual Barney Ford fundraiser and gala is a way Leeds MBAs maintain a tradition that carries on his legacy.
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