Statement in response to racial unrest in our communities

We, the members of the College of Arts and Sciences Diversity & Inclusion committee, in solidarity with the protestors around the world, condemn the racist violence and oppression that has taken and damaged so many Black lives. We are saddened and appalled by recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and David McAtee, and support the right to peaceful protest in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, and throughout the world. We must speak out against all injustices, lest we be complicit. We understand that systemic racism is still with us and a post-racial society is a chimera in the much too distant future. In the face of the atrocities that this scourge brings to all of us, we must stand in solidarity with those who seek peace and justice, striving for equity and an end to racial discrimination.

The CAS Diversity & Inclusion committee opposes racist structures and practices, and supports clear, definitive antiracist policies and practices. We call upon the College of Arts and Sciences and all its members to value diversity, to practice inclusivity, and to demand equity and justice, to establish conditions whereby people of all colors and creeds can live into being their authentic selves. We stand in unison to speak out against the physical and material outcomes of inequality. Because racial injustice erodes societies and diminishes all of our humanity, we cannot ignore the legacy of bigotry that persists to the present. As members of the University community, we must rise up above our differences and recognize the unity of all humankind and its inherent worth.

We invite you to hold us and one another accountable, and in this spirit, we recommend these resources and request that you share your resources with us.

Members of the 2019-20 CAS Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Jacquelyn Bizzell, academic advisor
Kathleen Drzewiecki, administrative assistant, Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Sharon Gill, professor of biology
Ashley Glass, executive assistant
Michael S. Nassaney, professor of anthropology
David Paul, professor of philosophy
Heather Petcovic, associate dean
Tim Ready, professor of sociology