STATEMENT ON THE 2020 REBELLION

Written: May 31, 2020

Dear Friends,

 

May 31, 2020 marked the 99-year anniversary of the start of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which was preceded by the 1919 Red Summer Race Riots that took place during the Spanish flu pandemic. We mark these grim milestones in the midst of uprisings and protests against police brutality, white vigilantism and white supremacy during this ongoing, COVID-19 global pandemic.

 

People are risking their health and safety in order to demonstrate that enough is enough. What must we do now, in this moment and thereafter to ensure that 100 years from now, we are not repeating the same patterns of anti-Black violence and injustice? 

 

We need to do more than make statements. We need to stand together, dismantle oppressive systems and rebuild with equity and empathy. It’s what we do beyond the statement that makes sustained change possible.

 

We at CRAFT stand in solidarity with everyone fighting injustice.  CRAFT remains committed to our mission to help individuals and institutions eradicate exclusionary practices and more accurately reflect the demographics of the nation and the world throughout entertainment and academia.

 

We will be in touch with further updates and action items in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, stay encouraged, stay safe and stay well.

 

In Solidarity,

Dr. Monica White Ndounou

Founding, Executive Director, The CRAFT Institute

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