Chair Statement
Recent events have shown that we, as Americans, still have a long path to justice, healing, and understanding, especially in the treatment of our Black and other marginalized communities. The police involved killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others whose names are not a part of the national story, show that racism, xenophobia and intolerance are still prevalent. But every day, each and every one of us can stand up against racial prejudice and intolerant attitudes.
We join Chancellor Carol Christ and many others on the Berkeley campus in condemning this violence and standing against racism in its many forms. We encourage you to read the Chancellor’s recent message, which also includes links to resources during these difficult times: https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/05/29/a-message-from-campus-leaders-standing-together/
Acts of racism, violence, and injustice toward one another, particularly toward our communities of color, are a stark reminder that we all must do our personal best to make our community fair, inclusive, and just. The Department of Integrative Biology has pledged to listen and learn of the perspectives on anti-Black racism across the university and identify necessary policies, programs, research and the appropriate actions to address racism in all forms. We must make real, substantive change, and make a commitment to look squarely at systemic racism on our campus and deal with it.
We are stronger together.
