Re: Fwd: Confronting Racial Injustice

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

Time for some effective quota-based affirmative action?

 > From: "Heather L. Howard" <http://www.stanford.edu/~hlhoward>
 > Date: Sat, 30 May 2020 06:57:51 +0000
 >
 > Nicely said
 > 
 > Begin forwarded message:
 > 
 > From: Provost Persis Drell <http://www.stanford.edu/~provost>
 > Date: May 29, 2020 at 9:10:14 PM PDT
 > To: "Heather L. Howard" <http://www.stanford.edu/~hlhoward>
 > 
 > 
 > [A message from Stanford Provost Persis Drell]
 > 
 > May 29, 2020
 > 
 > Dear Stanford Community,
 > 
 > We write this evening with heavy hearts as we witness the senseless acts of 
 > violence perpetrated against Black communities. The tragic loss of lives – 
 > those of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and before that, the deaths of Ahmaud 
 > Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Sean Reed – due to racial violence is deeply 
 > saddening and a stain against the values that we personally hold, and that 
 > Stanford, as an institution, cherishes.
 > 
 > These horrific recent events are, sadly, not isolated events. They represent 
 > systemic issues of racism, inequality and injustice that have plagued our 
 > social fabric across history. We condemn this history and present reality and 
 > ask all to join us in seeking racial justice and an end to the brutality that 
 > oppresses and traumatizes Black communities.
 > 
 > The fact that these horrific acts have occurred in the midst of a pandemic are 
 > a double blow. They cause additional pain and grief at a time when we are 
 > dealing with so many other challenges. But the shameful reality is that the 
 > virus has disproportionately affected our country's communities of color. It 
 > has laid bare the inequities of our healthcare system and made painfully clear 
 > how those who have suffered so many other injustices for so long must also 
 > unequally bear the burden of this disease. These acts of racism and hatred we 
 > have witnessed in the last few weeks bring into even greater relief that sense 
 > of injustice.
 > 
 > More than 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about these issues at 
 > Stanford in his speech "The Other America<
 > https://uitsendy-ppo.stanford.edu/prod/l/C2c4LKcck46CR7MAYYYybw/dZc4fdR821mHsZOUcMdcQw/JGsaYTl6EBMSs8KaCxEwqw
 > >:"
 > 
 > And the great tragedy is that the nation continues in its national policy to 
 > ignore the conditions that brought the riots or the rebellions into being. For 
 > in the final analysis, the riot is the language of the unheard....And the fact 
 > is that justice is indivisible; injustice anywhere is a threat to justice 
 > everywhere.
 > 
 > The violence we witness today arises from our painful legacy of racial 
 > injustice embedded in our most vital social structures. It is not an issue that 
 > impacts our Black community alone. It impacts all of us. Indeed, it is an 
 > assault on our shared humanity. Ending this violence requires not only constant 
 > vigilance, but a united stance again racism and hatred in all its forms.
 > 
 > As a community, we will continue to seek ways to be defined by what unites us 
 > rather than what divides us. In the last year, we have worked with our student, 
 > faculty and staff communities of color to find ways to better support them. We 
 > have a long way to go but we are committed to making progress through specific 
 > actions. This includes using the university's intellectual resources and 
 > wellspring of talent to further address social inequity, and through our 
 > research and teaching, advance public policy changes and much needed social 
 > reform.
 > 
 > As always, please remember that there are support systems available to you on 
 > campus even if you are physically elsewhere. We are here to help in these 
 > extraordinarily difficult times.
 > 
 > Even if we are physically separated, we stand with you in support and 
 > solidarity.
 > 
 > Persis Drell, Provost
 > Susie Brubaker-Cole, Vice Provost for Student Affairs
 > Tiffany Steinwert, Dean for Religious Life