A Proposal for Long-Term Anti-Racist Action in the Dartmouth Alumni Community

As the nation has descended into chaos, I’ve been ruminating on tangible action I can take that
would effect long-term change. The Dartmouth alumni network has the potential for widespread
leadership outreach, but as we know, it is difficult to vet empathy and commitment to justice
from all members of a College whose history is rooted in the same problems that currently
plague our nation.

That being said, I personally have found that an accurate commitment to the ethos of the Blue
Light is a pretty good litmus test for Dartmouth alumni and students who are committed to the
good fight. While I acknowledge there have been individual members who have demonstrated a
lack thereof, I believe that the overwhelming majority of Tabardites are, at least intrinsically,
committed to anti-racism and are supportive of movements such as Black Lives Matter. That is
why I turn to you all first to gauge your interest and thoughts on the establishment of an
explicitly ANTI-RACIST Dartmouth alumni organization.

While regional alumni networks, affinity groups (i.e. race), and shared interest groups (i.e.
professional industry) presently exist and are officially endorsed and supported by the College,
to my knowledge, though some have voiced support for the cause, none have committed to
unequivocally using their resources to take tangible action in support of being actively
anti-racist.

The idea would be to create a Dartmouth alumni organization with specific actionable tenets and
goals for its membership that reach from top to bottom such as:
● increasing racial and gender parity on official professional Boards and C-Suites
● actively assessing hiring practices and work cultures across industries
● encouraging wealthy and prominent alumni to divest from insular professional
organizations and instead donating to and supporting grassroots justice-focused
organizations and causes
● establishing support for current students who are affected by predatory Dartmouth
administrative practices (i.e. administrative withdrawal) in the form of financial support for
or pressure for the College to waive bureaucratic administrative fees and abolish
practices that prevent access and enrollment
● pointing potential allies and new activists to existing organizations and resources

This is admittedly a bit ambitious and would require long-term (potentially lifelong) commitment,
but if regional groups have persisted for decades, why not something that explicitly provides
benefits to the world at large? This could include:
● tapping into Dartmouth’s existing network across regions and industry and identifying
both prominent and emerging allies and alumni who are already doing this work or have
platforms that could amplify the work
● directing said potential allies to ways they can help those who are already actively doing
the work
 ● partner with other alumni organizations from other colleges and universities to ensure
that any results are not just insulated within the Dartmouth community

Existing cynicism with the College may prompt you to wonder why we would officially go through
the College. While I acknowledge that hesitance is, in fact, warranted, my involvement in
DAEMA and observation of DCLA has shown me that:
● the College has resources and support for web presences, event planning, and alumni
outreach
● events officially endorsed by the College have a higher turnout and visibility within the
alumni community
● the existing organizations have a replicable framework of organization and bylaws
● organizations are eligible for 501(c)3/non-profit status

If, for some reason, the College is not onboard, we could go rogue and mobilize unofficially,
while calling out the College for refusing to endorse an organization explicitly committed to
anti-racism.

If you’ve read this far, I thank you for your time and would welcome any thoughts, feedback,
concerns, or insight. This is just a starting point for a long-term idea and I would love to discuss
this a bit on this Wednesday’s Zoom meeting if there’s interest.