PREAMBLE
The Executive Council has established MELUS-ACEE, an action committee with the charge outlined below. This committee is formed to address specific multiethnic issues and concerns raised by participants at recent MELUS conferences (e.g., social justice, MELUS 2000, New Orleans; pedagogy and politics, MELUS 2002, Seattle). The new committee reflects the spirit of MELUS founder Katharine Newman, who, as many will acknowledge, was never content with the status quo and would not have shied away from putting ideas into action. As the designation "Action Committee" makes clear, this committee will move MELUS-related concerns beyond debate toward appropriate action. To accomplish this, it will form alliances with scholars and organizations in academic fields traditionally thought of as separate from the study of literature (e.g., history, sociology, political science, biology, education). Thus, the committee reaches out to all individuals and organizations whose interests intersect with the multiethnic nature and purpose of MELUS.

1. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The MELUS Action Committee for Equity in Education (MELUS-ACEE) is a nationwide group seeking the equal treatment and empowerment of marginalized faculty and students in higher education. "Marginalized" refers to being treated unfairly, especially due to one's race, ethnicity, or national origin. Faculty and students are also marginalized when the valid academic subjects and cultural traditions that they seek to teach and study are underrepresented or devalued in the curriculum. Attaining "equity in education" means fulfilling the goal of excellence in a liberal education, redefined and enlarged to recognize and embrace the full diversity of human populations and cultures. It means debunking the myth that we are now a colorblind society. "Action" refers to going beyond analysis to seek necessary changes in present-day institutions. It means calling attention to regressive and harmful modes of behavior, whether at the administrative, departmental, or classroom level. It means seeking greater participation in departmental governance, more open lines of communication, more equitable reward systems, and a genuine commitment to issues of diversity. While some are content to hold scholarly conferences that address such problems, MELUS-ACEE is determined to take the next step—to put good ideas into action. Ultimately, taking action means offering the college or university as a locus for social change.

2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. Promote the reading and distribution of ethnically identified texts and authors.


2. Support the hiring and retention of multiethnic literature faculty nationwide.


3. Counteract the isolation and tokenizing of multiethnic literature faculty.


4. Support the study of cultural diversity in the United States as a strong and valued academic discipline.


5. Assist faculty of multiethnic subject matter who are appealing tenure, promotion, and hiring decisions.


6. Recommend institutional guidelines to promote and enhance the teaching of multiethnic subject matter.


7. Investigate and challenge, when appropriate, the censorship of multiethnic subject matter (e.g., in primary and secondary education).


8. Promote change in existing systemic barriers to fair play and equity among all members of the academy.


9. Identify and challenge systemic and structural biases in institutional practices.


10. Connect the idea of social justice to current practices in academic institutions and society at large.


11. Commit to critical reflection and interrogation by periodically examining one’s own assumptions and practices.


12. Forge liaisons and alliances with other organizations to attain common goals and objectives.


13. Avoid re-instituting dichotomies by forging alliances that are cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary, and cross-generational (see Presidential Address, "The Significance of the 'Multi' in Multiethnic Literatures of the US," MELUS, 26.2, summer 2001).


14. Dismantle barriers based on social constructions of race, class, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation, as well as traditional disciplinary boundaries in the academy.

MELUS-ACEE TASK FORCES

Task Force on Teaching Evaluations
Team Leaders: Kevin Quashie or Maureen Reddy

· Issue: Teaching evaluations

· Strategy: Create a non-racist evaluation form appropriate for courses in multiethnic subjects, especially ethnic American literatures.

· Strategy: Write a MELUS-ACEE policy statement on the issue.

Task Force on Professional Issues
Team Leaders: Yemisi Jimoh or Reshmi Dutt

· Issue: Multiple professional issues affecting faculty of color and those teaching multiethnic subjects (such as criteria for tenure, publishing venues, etc.)

· Strategy: Develop alliances and network with other professional organizations on issues of concern to academics in multiethnic studies (such as the Committee on the Literature of People of Color of the MLA and recent resolutions at the CCCC).

· Strategy: Generate and disseminate MELUS position papers (e.g., through the online MELUS NewsNotes and MELUS Electronic Discussion List).

Task Force on Multiethnic Courses and Pedagogy
Team Leaders: Marcy Newman or Sarika Chandra

· Issue: The status of multiethnic courses at major institutions (e.g., tokenization, elective versus required courses, course assignments based on instructor’s race and ethnicity)

· Strategy: Create and distribute a questionnaire in order to compile data on courses.

· Issue: Multiethnic literary pedagogy

· Strategy: Develop pedagogical materials to assist and/or train teachers of multiethnic literatures (e.g., videotape of actual class sessions, develop a MELUS bibliography).

· Strategy: Make these teaching resources available on-line.

For more information, contact:
Gerald Bergevin or Bonnie TuSmith
English Department
406 Holmes Hall
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115
vox: (617) 373-4552
fax: (617) 825-0224

See MELUS ACEE Resources