From June 4, 2020
Many of us have reacted in horror to the senseless killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and other recent acts of violence against Black Americans that have consumed the country. As a departmental community constantly striving to become more inclusive and supportive, we condemn racism and intolerance in all forms. Black lives matter, and black voices matter. The pain of these events has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact on people of color. Many of us are upset and concerned about the future. Let your students, colleagues, and mentees know that you are open to discussing this, and willing to listen. They may be struggling to focus on their work right now, as so many of us are.
Please stay safe and take care of yourselves and one another.
Sincerely,
The Diversity Committee
(Artra Butler, Derrick Carr, Morgan Clark, Jon Engel, Isabella Ford, Julieta Gruszko, Sheila Kannappan, Amy Oldenburg, Mugdha Polimera, Frank Tsui, and Jennifer Weinberg-Wolf)
Resources
If you are struggling, we urge you to reach out to our department community and to some of these available resources:
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“Holding Space for Black Graduate Students,” sponsored by the Initiative for Minority Excellence: June 5th, 1:30-11:30am, register at: https://apps.research.unc.edu/events/index.cfm?event=events.eventDetails&event_key=8DD7CBCCCE04C1FD3C2B55DBA936352009C4ADC4
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Department lunch, sponsored by the Diversity Committee (multiple topics/breakout rooms will be available): June 5th, 12-1:20pm, see department listservs for link
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ViP discussion surrounding police brutality and systemic racism (currently being scheduled here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyjP4okNGZY3wJl7THnYQQtAs10PXgsU29XG79vCHYBKBHNQ/viewform)
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UNC Counseling and Psychological Services: https://caps.unc.edu
If you want support to begin or continue anti-racist work:
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Consider learning about your own implicit biases: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/education.html
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Resources curated by Diversity and Inclusion Office of the University: https://diversity.unc.edu/yourvoicematters/anti-racism-resources/
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Justice in June, a list of actions you can take: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-Vxs6jEUByXylMS2BjGH1kQ7mEuZnHpPSs1Bpaqmw0/preview?pru=AAABcp4o6Ig%2A1s9eI2tSul9tI4x5h6isXQ&fbclid=IwAR3aFbcxqkNsVnm02KqDjX9e8MofSSeTTDaXnkDYxUpEHuy3mhdkCUVY7gw
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75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234
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List of Books- https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/race-and-ethnicity
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List of Podcasts- https://about.radiopublic.com/2019/02/27/podcasts-that-address-race-and-racism-head-on/
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List of Movies- https://www.bustle.com/p/19-movies-about-race-every-white-person-needs-to-watch-from-fruitvale-station-to-do-the-right-thing-8605651