Men for and with Others

Works Beyond the Office

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Our Land Acknowledgement

“Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth.”

The CSJ, CY Programs, and OEI land acknowledge video was created by Shonda Buchanan, an award-winning poet and author of African and the Coharie, Choctaw, and Cherokee descent. Buchanan is also a member of the Department of Cultural Affairs City of LA. Her writing educates, mainly about institutional racism. While you listen to Shonda Buchanan, feel free to Acknowledge the Land and its original inhabitants of your own community by clicking here.

Indigenous Lives Matter

Loyola OEI Resources

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin

Please feel free to use whatever resources we have listed below. We hope our lists inspire your DEI curiosities while enriching your commitment to bring about real change in yourself and/or the world. Much of what you see has been published in the Principal’s newsletter, but here it has been organized by topic category. It is a work in progress. Please send us an email if you have anything to add.

OEI Theme: Langston Hughes & The Harlem Renaissance

A Comprehensive MLK Examination

Celebrate LGBTQ+ Voices

  • A Quilt for David, by Steve Reigns: A book about healing, which former Inaugration Poet Richard Blanco calls, “a genre-bending book which powerfully blends poetry, non-fiction, and reportage to reexamine the maligned story of David Acer.” Reigns was West Hollywood’s first Poet Laureate, and he helped us a few years back at our Voices of Justice Week.
  • Affinity Literary Organizations

Celebrate Women’s Voices

  • Amber Spry: our Rice-Breaker guide and scholar. Click and discover her brillance.
  • Kateri Tekakwitha: This addition from Mr. Scott Johnson, who states, “she too lived a complicated history, of highs and lows, in terms of her relations with her own tribespersons, other tribes, and North American colonists.” Thank Mr. Johnson for this reminder!
  • Affinity Literary Organizations

Celebrate Our Veterans

Below is some information regarding our U.S. Veterans who should also be included in our gratitude.

Have a Listen (Audio, Music, Podcasts)

Transformational Reads (Articles, Essays, Books)

  • Nobody’s Magic, by Destiny O. Birdsong. Recently featured in the NY Times and NPR, the book examines Black women with albinism in Shreveport, LA. This book displays how the discussion of race is more than skin deep.
  • Vinyl Moon, the sophomore novel by the acclaimed writer Mahogany L. Browne, has been described by Publishers Weekly as a book that “Interweave[s] poetry and prose… portraying with nuance a group of Brooklyn teens unpacking their traumas and finding their joy.” Browne is the executive director of JustMedia, a media-literacy initiative designed to support the groundwork of criminal justice leaders and community members. Will join the OEI’s Words Matter in April.
  • New York Times bestselling author, Jamie Ford, states The Perishing, by Natasha Deon “isn’t a book. It’s a touchstone. It’s an oracle. It’s a mirror in which you will see your authentic self, reflected on the pages.”
  • Celebrate the poets Ashley M. Jones, Lynne Thompson, and Natalie Graham. Ms. Jones is the Poet Laureate of Alabama, and Ms. Thompson and Dr. Graham are the two of the current So-Cal Poet Laureates (Ms. Thompson represents Los Angeles, and Dr. Graham, Orange County). Ms. Jones will help the Center for Service and Justice plan a service trip, exploring the roots of the Civil Rights Movement, and all three will also join the OEI’s Words Matter in April.
  • Many, many more books by African American women to celebrate. Visit the Black Girl Booksta Tour for a few more titles and let us know what you like!
  • America’s Racial Karma: an invitation to heal, by Dr. Larry Ward
  • Joy Harjo, of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is the current US Poet Laureate. In her second term, Harjo is the first Native American to hold the title as the top representative of American Letters.
  • Natalie Diaz, a member of the Gila River Indian Community, is the 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry, for her book, Colonial Lovesongs.
  • Southern California resident Shonda Buchanan, is the author of, Black Indian, a memoir that explores Buchanan’s experience being mixed. Many liken the book to Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club or Alice Walker’s, The Color Purple. Buchanan will be a Words Matter presenter in November.
  • YA Indigenous Reads
  • Leer: Poesía! Click for a list of some of the current movers and shakers of poetry across the globe. Many of these poets are here in Los Angeles and thanks to YouTube and Zoom, their readings can be accessed so you can experience the full depth and range of Latinx voices.
  • The Harvard Gazette: “This is What a Scientist Looks Like” – Shout out to the Loyola Science Department for this department-wide reading and homework assignment for the freshmen! Diversity is one of the ways Dr. Qazi and the Science Department are making science come alive beyond the classroom!
  • Affinity Literary Organizations

Worth the Watch (Films, Videos):

  • Bayard & Me: a short film about Bayard Ruskin, the openly gay mentor of Dr. King and organizer of The March on Washington, as told by Ruskin’s partner, Walter Naegle. Directed by Matt Wolf.
  • Summer of Soul, directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

All the Eats (Food Cultural):

  • Filled Market: Imagine Smorgasburg LA…but ALL Filipinx!!!
  • Comer: Gusto Bread! The goodness of Gusto is in the line as you approach the window to peer to grab a glimpse of what’s to come. It’s in the service and the grace each baker offers to every customer. It’s in the dough, yes the toil of kneading the masa madre (natural leaven: sourdough starter) perfectly. Until you get here, it’s in this video that says it all!

Go Visit (virtual & in-person):

  • Filipino Bookstore Bel Canto Books: Starstudded cast of books, gifts, and local art in Long Beach.
  • Indigenous Owned Bookstores You Need To Visit
  • Burns Library – Shout out to Mrs. April Hannah for creating a Harlem Renaissance display for the students in Burns Library. Stop by to see some memorabilia, to get a reading list, and/or watch a video on the Harlem Renaissance!
  • Celebrate the work of Judy Baca at the Museum of Latin America Art (MOLAA): Baca is responsible for preserving and initiating so much of the public art in Southern California. This is one of the best ways to learn about the breadth of her work without driving all around the county. Also, free on Sundays!
  • If you are interested in driving to see some of LA’s Public Art, writer and educator Mike Sonksen offers a few in his article: 12 SoCal Public Art Projects That Explore Race and Marginalized Histories. Sonksen has written extensively on Baca as well.

LA Based Cultural Awareness

  • LA for All Campaign: This connection is thanks to Dr. Rodriguez. They recently did a community cleanup day in honor of the late Tom LaBonge whose son Charlie LaBonge (Class of 2016) lead. Stay tuned for more work connected to LHS
  • UCLA Story Map: The story maps have been such a valued resource in my class and beyond. You can even learn more about our Pico-Union community’s role and response.

DEI Resources within our Jesuits Network

AMDG

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