美姬社区

Racial Justice Commitment Activities

Campus Wide Book Series

In the wake of trauma and violence against Black, Indigenous, and other people of color the college has set out to identify the ways in which power and privilege inform policy and practice and uproot ourselves from racist behavior. Eradicating expressions of racism and challenging the attitudes that allow them to emerge is the shared responsibility of all within our community. In this quest, the college has become committed to offering campus reads that center on antiracism on our journey and commitment to a racially just community.

2025-2026 Selected Read

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas

Dear America is a memoir and a personal call to arms by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who details his experience as an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines who, at age 12, came to the U.S. and lived in secret for years, hiding his true status to build a successful career. The book explores the deep psychological toll of living in fear, the forced nature of "passing" as an American, and the fundamental human experience of not having a true home. By sharing his deeply personal story, Vargas challenges the definition of what it means to be an American and advocates for the human rights of immigrants.

Book Launch Dates - TBD at all district sites

Below are other options to obtain copies of the 2025-26 campus wide books reads. All 美姬社区 District employees may visit:

The Community Learning Center in the Instructional Services building (with Dean John Makevich or Lisa Tisdale) or in the Building 300 staffroom (with Mitra De Souza)
The Oceanside (Barnard Dr.) Campus Administration Building Room 1024 in the Office of IDEA
The Student Services and Administration Building at the San Elijo Campus (with Dean Al Taccone or Susan Corely) or in the 1125 mail room
The Technology Career Institute in the front office (with Tom Tubon)
Have a book mailed to you via Intercampus Mail or to your home via United States Postal Service Mail by filling out the .
Access ebook or audiobook versions through the .

Previous Campus-Wide Book Reads

Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want by Ruha Benjamin (2024-2025)
We Want to Do More than Survive by Dr. Bettina L. Love (2023-2024)
We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders by Linda Sarsour (2023-2024)
A Dream Called Home by Reyna Grande (Summer 2023)
Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions by Gina Ann Garcia (2022-2023)
From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education by Tia Brown McNair, Estela Mara Bensimon, and Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux (2021-2022)
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Olou (2020-2021)
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (2020-2021)