Rainbow Fords anti-racist commitments letter

Dear Rainbow Fords,
Black Lives Matter. We unequivocally condemn all forms of systemic racism and stand in
solidarity with the BIPOC community and the fight for justice. We apologize that this letter is so
late in coming, and acknowledge that our inaction is harmful. This letter was written partially in
response to the ongoing international protests around police brutality and other failures of the
criminal “justice” system that were galvanized by the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor,
and others, but we recognize that none of these problems are new or caused simply by a “few
bad cops.” Racism is built into every system in our society, and plagues our communities at all
levels: nationally, locally, within the LGBTQ+ community, within Haverford, and within Rainbow
Fords.
As leaders of a group dedicated to fostering community among LGBTQ+ students at Haverford,
we must recognize the racism that is present within the LGBTQ+ community overall and work to
combat it within our own spaces. In the process, we must consider the intersection of
homophobia/transphobia and racism. People of color, and more specifically Black people, have
long been discriminated against within the LGBTQ+ community itself, despite our communities’
shared struggle for justice and the incredible contributions of Black LGBTQ+ people within that
struggle. This discrimination has taken the form of making queer spaces unwelcoming to
BIPOC, incorporating AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) terms such as “sis,” “wig,”
“lit,” or “slay” into the vernacular of white gays, as well as the argument that “as a queer person I
am also marginalized so I can say that/I can’t be racist.”
It is important to remember that the Stonewall Riot of 1969 (the reason we celebrate Pride) was
a reaction to police brutality, the same issue that is igniting protests in 2020. One of the activists
who has long been credited with “throwing the first brick” to start the riots was Marsha P.
Johnson, a self-identified Black drag queen (although many today refer to her as a trans
woman). There is no denying that she played a major role in the gay rights movement, helping
to found the Gay Liberation Front and Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. Marsha was
not the only person of color to be a leader in that movement, and queer BIPOC have been at
the forefront of struggles for justice in both the gay community and the Black community while
facing marginalization from both identities. To give another example, Bayard Rustin was a
leader in the Civil Rights Movement who advised Martin Luther King Jr. on nonviolent activism
and helped to organize the March on Washington, but he is not as well known as other leaders
from that time in part because he was gay.
Haverford is not immune to the oppressions of society, as much as we like to tout our honor
code as accomplishing just that goal. The clearness committee report of 2018-2019 found that
trans* or nonbinary students, and students of color, particularly Black students, were the most
likely to feel marginalized on campus. As white community leaders, we have been complicit in
the exclusion of POC from Rainbow Fords meetings by not taking action to facilitate an
accessible and welcoming environment for all of our members.

We need to be doing more to support other marginalized communities on campus. While
Rainbow Fords does not apply for student council funding, being present at budgeting meetings
could make it possible for us to help support other affinity groups in getting the funding that they
need. Our mailing list is extensive, allowing us to communicate with a significant portion of the
student body. We want to use this platform to amplify awareness for events that educate about
and/or celebrate minority communities (e.g. WeSpeak, Rethink Incarceration Panels, BSL
fashion show).
We recognize that our meetings have been dominated by white perspectives. As a discussion
based group, we commit to more actively facilitating conversations to deliberately create a
space that welcomes a diversity of voices.
We have included an anonymous feedback form in this email, where group members can
communicate any thoughts, concerns, or ideas to the co-heads. A similar form will be included
in all emails going forward, and we commit to regularly checking and responding to the
feedback given there. We want to address the ongoing needs of all members of our community,
and hope that this form will be a helpful tool in the pursuit of that goal.

You can share any responses to this letter anonymously here:
https://forms.gle/oYpMSXp3pUkswFNw8

Links to resource lists for further education and action:
https://www.theradicaldatabase.com/
https://emerald-studies.tumblr.com/post/622737276406005760/please-keep-signing-new-petitio
ns-in-bold

BI-CO Specific:
- Read and the open letter to the Bi-co community
(https://docs.google.com/document/d/15ZIi4QtlyU5C9mVP1heyBD7rrI44k_F1nUbjHYhv
R_o/edit) if you haven’t done so already, also read Wendy Raymond’s response
- Follow on instagram: @bsrfi_haverford, @blackathaverford, @haverfordaocc,
@blackatbrynmawr
- Enter the @hcartcollective raffle www.hcartcollective.com
In solidarity,
Alissa Vandenbark
Helena Frisbie-Firsching
Lizzie Spano
Sarah Gold
Your Rainbow Fords co-heads