Dear Campus Community,
On Tuesday the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin resulted in a verdict of guilty on all three counts for his role in the death of George Floyd. For many, this is a moment of relief, gratitude for justice, perhaps even triumph. It is a moment of great emotion: This trial has swept up so many of us – particularly Black students, faculty, and staff members – in a rollercoaster of outrage, grief, and desperation for violence to stop. We held our breath, not knowing how it would conclude.
A guilty verdict is a positive. However, it does not vindicate all the other cases of injustice and racism. The verdict does not change the problem and the necessary solution. Even now, we must acknowledge that individual justice does not equal systemic change. We need to see more people willing to step up and identify problems, more who are willing to interrupt or document violence instead of being a bystander, and more who are willing to name and interrupt racism.
It is for this very reason that CC remains steadfast in our unwavering commitment to antiracism. We see this verdict as evidence that our work to root out unjust systems is not in vain.
Our work on the college’s antiracism initiative began in earnest three years ago, and it permeates our teaching, learning, and work. Just over a year ago, we issued a statement about the racialized violence that resulted in George Floyd’s death and reinforced our acknowledgement that anti-Black racism does not occur in isolation. There is no denying that white supremacy is embedded throughout our society not only in institutions of learning, but as recent events continue to affirm, within our criminal justice system. We must remain vigilant in rooting out racism wherever it exists, and this includes perhaps the most difficult place, within ourselves and our institution. We want more for our institution, for our community, and for our world: Racial violence must stop, and justice must prevail.
Try as we might to process, the near-daily onslaught of additional reports of violence lingers heavily in our minds and our hearts. We mourn the loss of Daunte Wright, a Black man who was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop north of Minneapolis. Bodycam footage surfaced of Adam Toledo, a seventh-grade, Latinx boy, who was shot and killed by a police officer in Chicago. And just yesterday, 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant’s life was taken by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio. All of this, amid the daily mass shooting tragedies across our country – Atlanta, Boulder, Indianapolis, Kenosha, and the list goes on. We have barely begun to grieve one tragedy when yet another occurs.
We want all of our students, especially Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and other students of color, to feel that CC is a safe place for them. We know that all of us are impacted by these events in some way, as pain, trauma, and questions resurface.
Our diversity, equity, and inclusion team, along with Campus Activities staff, provide this extensive list of ways you can take action and be an ally to those who are hurting now and who are shouldering racism every day, and how you can work to dismantle it.
If you need support today or any day to process these atrocities, please reach out to these resources, which are here for you:
In a time when so much of our day-to-day lives is uncertain, our most sincere wish is that none of you are caught in a situation that may harm you in any way.
Please see this how-to-guide as a way of helping to keep you safe and aware of resources, opportunities for engagement, and ordinances that can help you exercise your freedoms. We encourage you to get involved and take an active part in creating the change you want to see.
Continue to take care of one another.
Sincerely,
Mike Edmonds
Acting Co-President
Robert G. Moore
Acting Co-President
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