QCRED Mission Statement
Queen’s Coalition Against Racial and Ethnic Discrimination is a coalition of students, staff, and faculty that work to create an anti-racist climate on the Queens University campus in order to foster a healthy and rich learning and working environment for all. QCRED works towards community wellness for People of Colour and Aboriginal People. Through education, community organizing, and commitment to struggle across differences, we seek to responsibly reflect, represent, and serve our various communities.
QCRED achieves this mission by:
• Fostering an anti-racist perspective and motivation in an environment where subtle and covert everyday racism rather than overt malicious racism contributes to a broader climate of exclusion
• Addressing concerns about racism and diversity issues in the Queen’s environment
• Providing leadership to oversee and implement programs of action to address racism at Queen’s
• Acknowledging the importance of inclusivity and engaging the entire Queen’s community
• Encouraging representation from students, faculty, staff, and administration
• Assisting the administrative bodies at Queen’s to build on their mission of excellence and recommended initiatives towards equity and diversity
QCRED Guiding Principles:
The principles guiding the work and development of QCRED as a progressive coalition are as follows:
Recognize the full diversity of lived experience and intersecting oppressions of People of Colours, Aboriginal Peoples, and International Students as peoples from African / Black/ Caribbean, Arab, South Asian, Asian & Pacific Islander, Latina/o, and Native/Indigenous descent.
Appreciate the collective histories of struggle against racial and ethnic discrimination and other forms of oppression that can be used to organize, support, and advocate for our diverse communities.
Work with people of color organizations and communities across differences of race/ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, and life experiences (e.g. class, immigration status, HIV serostatus, etc.) in order to develop and implement culturally specific and effective programs and services reflecting the needs of our communities.
Understanding that services and organizing efforts are most successful when they involve the communities served, QCRED is committed to creating and supporting decision-making/ organizational structures that are representative of our communities (ie: QCRED Council).
Believing that competent skills and expertise in people of color communities exist and are often underutilized, QCRED seeks to support and promote the work of existing and emerging people of color organizations, as well as the efforts of people of color cultural workers and activists within our employment opportunities, event organizing and volunteer opportunities.
Understanding the historic role of white privilege and white supremacy, and recognizing that People of Colours and Aboriginal Peoples leadership continues to be marginalized even within the anti-racist movement, QCRED strives to serve POC and Aboriginal communities first by addressing the lived experience of Aboriginal Peoples and POC’s rather than focusing on white guilt and privilege.
QCRED is committed to promoting multi-racial coalition-building, advocacy and community organizing activities amongst people of color, and with allies in struggles for equality and liberation.
