LTE: “What would Jan Griesinger Do?”

Catherine C. Beres sent this Letter to the Editor in response to the termination of former Director Lacey Rogers in 2021. It has been lightly edited for grammar and style.

Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.

Rev. Jan Griesinger led United Campus Ministry (UCM) for decades. She took bold stances to call out sexism, racism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism and discrimination. Jan does not hold back or self-censor; she tells it like it is. Jan is honest and direct in the face of conflict. We need to follow her lead.  

Lacey Rogers was the first woman of color to serve as the Director of UCM. She gave 16 years of service to the organization yet experienced microaggressions and different performance standards than her white predecessors. Last year, the board did not renew her contract without a rationale for her dismissal. Lacey deserves a sincere apology from UCM’s board of directors. We need truth and reconciliation to restore justice to our beloved community.

For my 25 years in Athens, I have relied on UCM as the “Center for Spiritual Growth and Social Justice.” I served on the board and staff of the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network, located in the UCM building. I have volunteered with People for Peace and Justice, Indivisible Appalachian Ohio, Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and other organizations that met at UCM. I participated in Appalachian Ohio spring break service trips and Underground Railroad tours led by UCM. 

Lacey Rogers gave so much of her time, talent, labor and leadership to UCM for over 16 years. She has a strong work ethic, dependability and accountability and gets the job done. 

I first met Lacey when she was an Ohio University student leader with Empowered Women of Ohio (EWO); we attended meetings at UCM and the Ohio U Women’s Center. She was a UCM intern, volunteer, member of the board of directors and later served as assistant director. Lacey coordinated Thursday night suppers, Saturday lunch programs and led successful fundraisers. She also advocated for racial equity, social justice and the LGBTQIA+ community. She supervised student interns and volunteers as well. 

When the previous executive director left in October 2020, Lacey was asked to step in as interim director and was given a six-month contract. When she tried to negotiate a longer term, the board cited “financial exigency.” She also noted that her paychecks were irregular, and her expected performance standard was different from her predecessors. 

Board members asked her to show more “enthusiasm” and critiqued her facial expressions. She was asked to tally her hours and account for every activity she worked on from home and on-site during the pandemic. She endured surveillance and scrutiny, unlike her white predecessors. These reasons suggest that the board did not trust her. 

When she pointed out issues within the organization, Lacey was treated as “the problem woman of color in the workplace” and characterized as an “angry Black woman.” When she requested a mediator she trusted was sensitive to racial equity, the board responded that it was an unfair “bias.” Obviously, seven white people working with one woman of color is inherently biased. 

After two mediation sessions, the board decided to end the process. In March 2021, UCM’s board of directors terminated her contract and asked the mediator to deliver the message rather than doing so themselves. The board consulted a lawyer, who advised the directors not to talk to Lacey anymore. It appears they denied their biases, ignored her concerns and blamed her for the problems. She was paid through the end of her contract but never received a reason for the termination. 

In October 2021, UCM hired a new, white male director at a 30% higher salary than Lacey was paid. The board has not responded to repeated calls for transparency and accountability, even from previous staff members, board members and the larger community. 

UCM announced intentions to hire a diversity consultant to help them create a strategy for diversity, equity and inclusion. Without an acknowledgment of harm and a sincere apology, hiring a consultant is just a band-aid fix. We need to hold UCM accountable for what happened to Lacey.

Since the UCM board decided Lacey would no longer serve as the director of the organization, Lacey continues to lead our community. She is still a leader within local anti-racist book clubs, an anti-racist class and weekly discussions at Athens High School, and the PRISM after school program for LGBTQ youth. Lacy has also led implicit bias workshops and has trained over 200 members of Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action (HAPCAP), the Athens City School District and other local groups. She is also a licensed professional counselor at Hopewell Health Centers. 

Recently, Lacey catered a fundraiser and helped raise over $4,000 for anti-racism work in the community. She is still putting her skills, talent and love to work for our community. She is more visible and active in programming now than UCM has been since she left. She is a valuable member of our community and she deserves better than how UCM treated her. 

Tema Okun insists that “We are all deeply harmed by white supremacy culture.” She describes how white supremacist characteristics and behaviors show up in organizations: the right to comfort and fear of open conflict, denial and defensiveness, perfectionism, individualism, either/or thinking, etc. 

“We need to sit with the devastating impacts of white supremacy culture,” even and especially when it surfaces within our “progressive” organizations.  

Okun reflects: “The movement is currently engaged in important conversations about calling in and calling out. I lean on the words of the late and fabulous and fierce and funny Cynthia Brown, a social justice warrior and beloved friend, who told us with her last breaths that ‘we should never throw anyone away.’ This does not mean we can’t hold each other accountable (another word for supporting each other to be our best selves), set boundaries when people have not learned yet to take responsibility for themselves, apologize and take responsibility ourselves when we cause harm, and continue to grow and learn how to be with each other even when we are getting on each other’s last nerve.”

I have always looked to UCM as a source of community and strength in times of need; it has always felt like home for the activist community. I expect UCM to practice what it preaches and embrace diversity, equity and inclusion. That is why this hurts so much. Like any dysfunctional family, we need to call on each other to improve our relationships and restore justice. We need to speak up and take a stand. We should all feel welcome here.