Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
New York State enacted legislation in 2018 requiring all employers, including Buffalo State University, to ensure that their employees complete sexual harassment prevention training annually. The Equity and Campus Diversity Office has developed a 20-minute online program that meets all New York State requirements for sexual harassment prevention training. The training must be completed online using BizLibrary before, October 31st.
SPARK: A List of Films to Ignite Curiosity
Equity & Campus Diversity Office will post a list of documentary films we recommend that align with monthly themes. The purpose of posting this list is so viewers can go at their own pace and engage with diverse content which they might not have otherwise sought out. Your comments and feedback about the films are welcome as well as suggestions for future films. Happy viewing! If you would like to engage in a more interactive film experience please check out our Beyond Boundaries Dare to be Diverse film and discussion series.
February: African American History Month
ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke
Soul singer Sam Cooke was a close friend of leaders like Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali. Sam mobilized and inspired his people with his classic song “A Change is Gonna Come.” His sudden, bizarre, violent murder at a California hotel has long raised eyebrows. This film serves as an examination of the circumstances and controversy surrounding Sam Cooke’s murder, who had a potential interest in extinguishing his light and halting his trajectory toward becoming a Civil Rights leader in entertainment.
Watch "ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke"
March: National Women’s History
A League of Their Own
Dottie and Kit, are sisters and avid baseball players in small-town Oregon. Realizing that World War II may put an end to American baseball, the owner of the Chicago Cubs recruits the sisters to join his growing women's team. What follows is an incredible story of the Rockford Peaches, one of the first all-women teams in the MLB. Against all odds, the Peaches win the World Series and permanently open a gateway for more women to join the sport.
Watch "A League of Their Own"
April: National Deaf History Month (3.13 - 4.15)
The Hammer (2010)
A movie, about a deaf person, played by a deaf person! The Hammer is based on real-life deaf wrestler Matt Hamill and his rise in the mixed martial arts world. This is the first movie that gets it right. It does not show deafness through a hearing world lens. Instead, it shows hearing through a deaf lens, and I encourage all who wish to “walk in someone else’s shoes” to try this movie on for size.
Watch "The Hammer"
May: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Minari (2021)
Nominated for six Academy Awards and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, Minari is a touching film about a Korean American family in search of the American dream. After years of working in California as chicken sexers, Jacob and Monica get a fresh start in Arkansas with their two children. On this family's journey, the audience experiences how small conversations about community and belonging can have lasting implications. The film spotlights acculturation and assimilation issues as Jacob and Monica adjust to the new landscape and their chosen communities differently, demonstrating how each immigrant experience can vary.
Watch "Minari"
June: LGBTQ+ Pride Month
Rafiki (2018)
Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) and Ziki (Sheila Munyiva) are daughters of political rivals who fall in unexpected, ill-advised, vibrant love. Rafiki brilliantly showcases both the peril of gay love in Kenya, where homosexuality is illegal, and the vivid, uncontainable joy of a star-crossed, whirlwind romance. Directed by Wanuri Kahiu, written by Jenna Cato Bass and Kahiu, and inspired by the Caine Prize-winning short story “Jambula Tree” by Monica Arac de Nyeko, Rafiki was initially banned for release in Kenya before Kahiu sued for and won a weeklong theatrical release on the basis of free speech.
Watch "Rafiki"
September: National Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month (9.15 - 10.15)
Our Quinceañera (2020)
This documentary directed by Fanny Veliz Grande is about a high school principal in a small town in Texas who hosts a yearly Quinceañera for students that can’t afford it. The entire border town gets together to teach these girls that with the power of community, any dream can come true.
Watch "Our Quinceañera"
October: National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Crip Camp
In the early 1970s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation, discrimination, and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a ramshackle camp "for the handicapped" in the Catskills, exploded those confines. Jened was their freewheeling Utopia, a place with summertime sports, smoking, and makeout sessions awaiting everyone, and campers who felt fulfilled as human beings. Their bonds endured as they migrated West to Berkeley, California - a promised land for a growing and diverse disability community - where friends from Camp Jened realized that disruption and unity might secure life-changing accessibility for millions. Co-directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Nicole Newnham and film mixer and former camper Jim LeBrecht, this joyous and exuberant documentary arrives the same year as the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, at a time when the country's largest minority group still battles daily for the freedom to exist.
Watch "Crip Camp"
November: National American Indian Heritage Month
The Seventh Fire (2015)
This harrowing documentary was filmed on and around Pine Point, a settlement on the White Earth Indian Reservation. It follows gang leader Rob Brown as he prepares to return to prison for a fifth time. As Rob confronts his hand in creating the violent and drug-ridden land that surrounds him, he realizes the negative effects he’s had on his culture—a culture he wishes to revitalize. The Anishinaabe prophecy of the Seven Fires serves as a backdrop speaking of the future of Native American life in North America. The film is quite haunting, but also incredibly moving.
Watch "The Seventh Fire"What are "Lib Guides"
LibGuides, or subject guides, pull together all types of information about a particular subject or course of study. The Speed Library LibGuides contain information about both our library's resources (books, databases, multimedia, etc) and online resources that are relevant to a particular topic.
To learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion at buffalo state.
To learn more about residential schools and forced assimilation.