2021 Theme Statement

From Racial Injustice to Restoration

Claiming Williams Day was born from a student-run movement called Stand With Us, a group formed in response to hateful incidents involving racism and homophobia in 2008. Every year the Claiming Williams committee, composed of students, staff, and faculty, dialogues with campus constituents to create a day of programming that confronts and critiques systems and practices of exclusion at Williams and beyond. This year has been particularly unsettling. It has seen the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and many others, the uneven impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, and the intensification of racial inequity over the last four years. Claiming Williams acknowledges the impact of these events and recognizes that Williams College is far from immune to the racial injustices that occur outside of our campus. Therefore, the CW committee has chosen the theme From Racial Injustice to Restoration. We aim to explore the ways in which structural racial inequities, racism, and bigotry on campus and in the wider world have shaped the Williams College experience for students, faculty, and staff.