African American Network

About the AAN

ANN logo

“If you say our name, let us lead the way.”

-Melonie Green, Bay Area artist, curator and Co Executive Director (with sister Melorra) of the African American Art & Culture Complex in SF.

The African American Network functions in an advocacy and support role for Foothill-De Anza Community College District employees of African Descent, as well as Foothill College students of African Descent.

Our Mission

Our mission is to foster a sustained presence of advocacy and belonging for students, faculty, and administrators of African descent at Foothill College. By amplifying the collective Black perspective, we will build bridges for the educational success and self-actualization of Black students, while asserting an impactful voice of advisement for the Foothill-De Anza College Community.

Values

Mentoring and Leadership

Community and Love

Advocacy and Support

Equity and Allyship

More About Our Values

Mentoring and Leadership

Effectively build pathways to educational, professional, and personal growth.
Act boldly in the service of inclusion and justice.
Inspire and enable honesty, trust, and confidence through open communication and collective action.
Act as a catalyst for success and achievement.
Build community alliances based on respect, trust, and transparency.

Community and Love

Engage students, staff and faculty using an Ubuntu (I am because we are) philosophy which is rooted in the interconnectedness of love, belonging, and compassion.
Acknowledge that we are a relational people rooted in spirituality, creating an environment that cultivates and fosters wellness and appreciation of the whole being – mind, body, and spirit.
Create community building events that inspire and educates the campus on Pan-African cultures, philosophy, history, and art, such as Harambee and Black Heritage month.

Advocacy and Support

Our collective presence on campus is to advocate for and advise in decision making as it pertains to black students and employees at Foothill College.
We will advocate for programming and institutional commitments that affirm black student empowerment and sustained Legacy of black influence in innovation on campus.
We will participate in support of activities that align with the mission of the AAN.

Equity and Allyship

Our perspectives are rooted in the Black experience which is inclusive of the specificity of its historical presence and diasporic nature.
Our advocacy is inclusive of black intersectionality including but not limited to LGBTQIA, gender expression, ability and disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration and economic status.
Our efforts are local and specific to Black students at Foothill College with an understanding of the interconnectedness to Global efforts for social justice.
We embrace allyship with those whose identity, perspective and humanity has been decentered, marginalized, and oppressed.
We recognize and support the efforts and commitment of the Foothill College campus community toward equity.
We support and celebrate tangible institutional changes that address the interrelated systemic elements and bias that create advantage and disadvantage that result in uneven outcomes for students given equal opportunity.

Updated September 10, 2020

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