Nearly 800 participants took part in NIRSA’s 21-Day Challenge

This fall, nearly 800 participants from over 250 institutions took part in NIRSA’s 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge © for Campus Recreation, supported by Mondo.

The concept of the 21-day Challenge was introduced several years ago by diversity expert Eddie Moore, Jr. to create greater understanding of the intersections of race, power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity. We are grateful to him for publicly sharing and encouraging others to use this concept as an educational tool.

“The resources are amazing and I am reusing them in our division DEI Advisory Board meetings and during small group discussions. I’m so proud to be part of this organization.”

NIRSA’s challenge asked participants to set aside approximately 45-60 minutes a day over 21 (working days) to engage with readings, podcasts, and videos that corresponded to the week’s theme. The four themes were Grounding in History and in Recreation; Microagressions, Whiteness, and Implicit Bias; Higher Education and Race; and Allyship and Action Steps. Each week also provided discussion questions for reflection.

While participants were encouraged to engage with their teams and/or personal networks, NIRSA Board members also helped to facilitate weekly small group discussions. These discussion sessions were recorded and can still be accessed in the 21-Day Challenge Connect Community.

“I found it extremely helpful to sit down and discuss the readings and videos with my colleges. I felt that the discussion piece was really where a lot of my learning started to sink in. I also think it was a time when others emphasized points that I may have glossed over and I really appreciated all of the perspectives.”

Continue the dialogue

To help participants ensure this challenge remains habit building, instead of being a one-and-done event, the NIRSA Board is hosting discussions open to all challenge participants at 30, 60, and 90 days after the event.

“I really liked this idea, it took something I wanted to do and forced me to carve out time each day or each week to engage with it, as well as providing me relevant materials. It was also a great chance to get our students involved in important conversations and introduce them to NIRSA, especially since it was free for them.”

There is no set agenda for these discussions or specific resources to read ahead of time. The conversation will focus on have you been keeping up the habit of reflecting on EDI issues in the days since the challenge concluded? How have you incorporated learnings from the challenge into your campus work? What continues to stick with you from the resources? What new questions have come to mind?

Supported by Mondo

Associate member of NIRSA since 2000 and current Platinum Partner of the Association, Mondo is proud to be a sponsor of the NIRSA 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge for Campus Recreation.