Heritage/History/Prevention Messages

Heritage/history/prevention months/weeks at UC Berkeley serve as platforms to honor and celebrate the rich tapestry of cultures, histories, and identities within our community. These initiatives are guided by a framework anchored in equity and inclusion, ensuring alignment with campus values and goals. Through CalMessages, webpages, and newsletters, the campus disseminates information, fosters dialogue, and promotes engagement. By acknowledging and celebrating diverse heritage and history, UC Berkeley cultivates an inclusive environment where all members feel valued and represented.

Wishing you a meaningful recognition of all holidays, celebrations, and remembrances that are occurring this year.

Please take a moment to share your thoughts, ideas, and any concerns you may have. Your input is essential to ensuring these celebrations resonate with our campus community and contribute to an inclusive and supportive environment for all.

Building belonging: Creating an inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community and allies at UC Berkeley

May 26, 2025

By Jackie Krentzman

Disability Awareness Month at UC Berkeley

October 6, 2021


Dear Campus Community,

Nationally, it is Disabled Empowerment in Higher Education Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month. College campus communities are welcomed to join daily events - chats, talks, workshops, and ‘bonus events’ on everything related to disability and the higher education experience. A screen-reader calendar in long-form has a listing of all...

National Coming Out Day

October 11, 2021

Dear campus community,

Today, we celebrate and acknowledge National Coming Out Day (NCOD). Today is also Indigenous People's Day. These two dates falling together compels us to particularly recognize the Native and Indigenous Two Spirit, Queer, and Transgender Communities on campus, territory of xucyun (Huichin) and beyond. Among these, we celebrate queer Navajo painter R...

Honoring Indigenous Peoples' Day

October 11, 2021

Dear Campus Community,

We celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day to recognize and honor Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Indigenous people across the Americas and the globe, centering on the resilience of Native people and recognizing the persistence of culture and community despite the deeply painful and harmful impacts of colonialism. The day has increasingly become a time to celebrate the resistance to assimilation and lift up the thriving Indigenous cultures and peoples that remain rooted to Indigneous land.

...

Take a Moment and Celebrate Veterans Day

November 10, 2021

Dear UC Berkeley Community,

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, a time for us to honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. This day was first celebrated in 1919 as Armistice Day. Many countries celebrate the occasion as Remembrance Day, marking the end of World War I. Many UC Berkeley students, faculty, staff, and alumni are affiliated with the military and share the same commitment to public service and excellence that we hold true as a campus community.

To mark the occasion, the Cal Veteran Services...

Honoring Black History Month 2023

February 1, 2023

Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion Dania Matos, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Stephen Sutton, Director of African American Student Development Takiyah Jackson, Vice Provost for the Faculty Victoria Plaut, and Associate Vice Chancellor for People & Culture Eugene Whitlock sent the following message to the campus community on Wednesday, February 1:

Dear Campus Community,

February is Black History Month. It’s a time for us to call attention to and pay tribute to the far-reaching...

Arab American Heritage Month 2023

April 3, 2023

Dear Campus Community,

During the month of April, we invite you to join us in celebrating and elevating National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM), which focuses on the expansive cultures, lineages, and futures of this country’s 3.7 million Arab Americans. In 2022, after years of organizing and advocacy by Arab American people and communities who wanted to formally mark the long and abundant history of Arab Americans, the U.S. Department of State officially recognized April as NAAHM.

Arab Americans trace their ancestry to one of ...

AANAPISI at UC Berkeley

May 10, 2023

Vice Chancellor for Equity & Inclusion Dania Matos and Vice Chancellor for Research Kathy Yelick issued the following campus-wide message on May 10, 2023:

Dear Campus Community,

With great joy, I am sharing the good news that UC Berkeley is officially an Asian American, Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution* (AANAPISI). The Department of Education recently approved our request,...

Celebrating Filipino American History Month

October 2, 2023

Dear campus community,

As we enter Filipino American History Month (FAHM), we celebrate and recognize the vibrant and diverse Filipinx* community at UC Berkeley. Our campus is home to 3.4% of undergraduate and 1.5% of graduate students who proudly identify as Filipinx, along with 3.9% of our dedicated staff members and 0.4% of our ladder faculty and Lecturers with Security of Employment (LSOE).

We are thrilled to celebrate the first anniversary of the...

Arab American Heritage Month

Honoring National Arab American Heritage Month - articles, events, resources, and more.