We in the Department of Black Studies were extremely dismayed to learn that posters reading #BlackLivesMatter were torn down or postered over this past weekend. The #BlackLivesMatter campaign is of particular and urgent concern for our fellow humans who suffer disproportionately from police violence, but it should be of concern to any and all who care about racial justice and basic human decency. The disrespect toward this campaign expressed in the tearing down, defacing, or covering of posters sends a terrible message to our community.

In response, the Department of Black Studies would like to voice unwavering support for the campaign and affirm a commitment to racial justice and raising consciousness about matters of race not only in the classroom, but on this campus more widely and in our surrounding community. As well, we would like to encourage the organizers and participants in the campus #BlackLivesMatter campaign to channel their rage and outrage by responding with more awareness, more focus on the campaign, and more resilience even in the face of this disrespectful response. #BlackLivesMatter comes from a good and just place. It is on the right side, plain and simple. Let’s keep the message alive.

In solidarity,

Hilary Moss, Chair
Rowland Abiodun
Jeff Ferguson
Rhonda Cobham-Sander
Solsi del Moral
Khary Polk
John Drabinski
Mitzi Goheen