Dear Campus Community
As we enter the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd and the creation of our Valuing Black Lives Task Force, we are preparing to share the progress of our Valuing Black Lives Initiatives soon.
This work is ongoing and there will be many more updates to come as we maintain the accountability and transparency necessary to move this work forward in a meaningful manner. We invite you to take part in a moment of silent reflection on Tuesday, May 25, at 9:25 p.m. (CT) (7:25 p.m. PT). Please use this moment to reflect on what you need to care for yourself so that you may be an active agent of change, as well as what we need in this ongoing battle against racial violence. Honor and remember George Floyd so that there may come a time where we no longer have to write to our campus community about yet another life lost.
In addition, we invite our campus community to participate in a Healing Circle to honor George Floyd’s life, legacy and the catalyst through which he changed the world. The healing circle will be held on Thursday, May 27 at 12 pm (PT).
The work of dismantling systemic racism requires continued attention and commitment. We know that our campus can build towards cultivating a sense of community that gives us reprieve from expressions of racial violence. The fight against hate must be inclusive of all so that we can continue our work against anti-Blackness, and we do this in tandem with fighting against anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander hate and so many others. We begin by making small but impactful changes that build-up towards a systemic and institutional shift.
Always with you,
