Dear Truman Community:<\/p>\n
As protests continue across the country and around the world demanding justice for George Floyd (and many others) and an end to structural and systemic racism, these protests are happening during a time when the nation is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0 The anger and anguish of another senseless death coupled with the known disparate impacts of the pandemic on communities of color make it clear that for our University that values diversity, inclusion and excellence and deplores racial injustice and inequity, the time is now to confront the legacies of the past, acknowledge the realities of the present, and do real work to achieve an equitable future.<\/p>\n
Community has always been an essential component of Truman\u2019s identity and \u201cwe are in this together\u201d has been a rallying cry during the pandemic.\u00a0 But community and \u201cwe are in this together\u201d will ring hollow if we don\u2019t work as a collective whole to address the current realities that challenge us and develop effective, actionable solutions.\u00a0 I have great faith that our community will rise to the occasion to take the steps necessary to confront injustice and support equity.<\/p>\n
It is not enough to issue a statement that racial injustice and inequity must end.\u00a0 As a liberal arts and sciences institution, it is in our core to be the change we want to see in the world.\u00a0 To be that change, we must start with being self-reflective about what we are doing well and where and how are we falling short.\u00a0 We must acknowledge that racism exists at our University and in our community. \u00a0We must listen to our students, faculty, staff and community members of color when they are ready to share their truth.\u00a0 We must take action and not stand silent. Unto that end, as a first step in our self-reflection process, please be on the lookout in the next few weeks for an invitation to a virtual town hall where members of our community can share their ideas for meaningful, sustained ways Truman can be the change we wish to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cInjustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.\u201d \u2015 Martin Luther King Jr.<\/p>\n
Best regards,
\nSue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Truman Community: As protests continue across the country and around the world demanding justice for George Floyd (and many others) and an end to structural and systemic racism, these protests are happening during a time when the nation is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0 The anger and anguish of another senseless death coupled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n