November 13, 2015
The following statement was read at the Nov. 18, 2014 meeting of the faculty in response to the events of Black Lives Matter Awareness Week. Approximately two months later, on Jan. 23, 2015, the college held a Day of Dialogue on Race and Racism, in response both to tensions and controversies emerging on campus from Awareness Week events and to issues raised by student activists who attended the Nov. 18 meeting to voice their concerns regarding racism directly to the faculty.
Along with our colleagues in Black Studies, we in the Anthropology and Sociology Department wish to express our strong support for #BlackLivesMatter. The thoughtfulness, courage, and shared commitment to issues of racial justice that resulted in the events of Black Lives Matter Awareness Week should be applauded, not disparaged, and the aspiration of the campaign’s organizers to enhance self-reflection among the campus community regarding racism and police violence should be embraced as a model of what enlightened citizenship can look like here.
