Black Lives Matter Statement (June 2020)
The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter is a powerful and constant reminder that Black lives haven't mattered. The end of slavery was not the end of dehumanizing Black people; it was the beginning of a deliberate weaving of racism that has penetrated deep into the fabric of the American legal, educational, political, health care, and financial systems. Eric Garner couldn't breathe. George Floyd couldn't breathe (again) because law enforcement would not take their knee off his neck. Racism, police brutality, and systems of power have crippled the Black community. It is time for us to take our knees off the necks of the Black community. It is time for us to take a stance and bend our knees to kneel against oppression. The knee has become emblematic of the oppression and suppression of Black people - even as Kaepernick took a knee to protest, we have far to go.
We want to honor the memories of those folks brutally murdered and for whom justice has not been served: Eric Garner, Michael Brown Jr., Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Riah Milton, Tete Gulley, Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and many more. We say their names so we don't forget them. We say their names to work tirelessly to prevent it from happening again.
While communities of color often are grouped together when allocating resources and discussing systematic oppression, the experience of Black people in the United States is distinct in its direct connection with the country being built by, but not for Black people. Anti-Blackness is pervasive (some examples can be found at Black Students Are Twice As Likely To Be Disciplined By Law Enforcement, Black Lives Matter: Policing and Incarceration, and Killing the Black Imagination: The Legacy and Impact of Anti-Blackness in America), and isn’t only perpetrated by white people. Non-Black people of color are not automatically anti-racist and can contribute to anti-Blackness. This is important to recognize. It is crucial for white and non-Black people of color to work to dismantle systemic oppression that prevents Black people from living without the constant weight of being in survival mode. Our collective liberation depends on it.
The Cultural Resource Centers must be a space that spends energy shifting power to people who are actively working against racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and bigotry. We are passionate about empowering our communities of scholars to build a just and equitable world. We recognize the power of higher education to address state-sanctioned violence, social injustice, and systemic oppression. We are committed to educating our communities on various social justice issues; committed to fostering dialogue around how anti-Blackness shows up; and committed to engaging in opportunities to better serve our BIPOC students/communities.
As the CRCs work to support our Black students, we acknowledge the labor that Black students who have come to us with concerns have contributed to our plans moving forward. We recognize the shortcomings of our unit and commit to actively engaging in actionable change. Our professional staff are working to create a plan that seeks to sustainably and effectively bring about change to uplift and support PSU’s Black students. We look forward to sharing our plans with you later this summer. For now, here are some initial commitments we make as a unit: