Dear UCSF Community,
In 1619 the first enslaved people of African descent arrived on the shores of what is now Hampton, Virginia. While the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect January 1, 1863, the orders did not reach all parts of the confederate south until nearly two-and-a-half years later, on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. This year, Juneteenth brings great significance as our world continues to confront both overt and systemic anti-Black racism.
“Of all Emancipation Day observances, Juneteenth falls closest to the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, when the sun, at its zenith, defies the darkness in every state, including those once shadowed by slavery.”
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
In observance of this important day and to further our campus commitment in affirming that Black Lives Matter, the Office of Diversity and Outreach is hosting a special event featuring keynote speaker Dante King, who will explore the history of anti-Black racism in the United States from the colonial period to the present. We encourage all members of the UCSF community to attend this event and stay engaged throughout this important moment in time. Our office is working to curate events to facilitate healing and learning, and we encourage people to stay connected by subscribing to our newsletter.
Furthermore, we are working with all to center the voices of our Black community members to develop our plans for transformational change that dismantles anti-Black racism at UCSF.
Anti-Blackness and Its Link to White Racism, Privilege and Power presented by Dante King...
Dear Colleagues,
In the last two weeks, our nation has gone from outrage and grief over the racial injustice seen in the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery to the extraordinary calls for addressing the systemic racism that underlies these tragic deaths and the many that preceded them.
At UCSF, we have a responsibility to speak out against violence, including police violence, that is racially motivated. It is anathema to the core values of our community, which stands firmly against bias and discrimination of all kinds. Violence of this nature, along with other elements of systemic racism, is a public health issue. We denounce it and we must take action to eliminate it.
More broadly, as I stated in my message to the community on May 31, we at UCSF must continue the hard work of dismantling the structural barriers of racism in education, research, employment, and health care. As we undertake this long-term work, we can learn from the leadership of our colleagues here at UCSF calling for change today.
Members of the global STEM community have organized a day of reflection tomorrow, June 10, called #ShutDownSTEM, to draw attention to the impact of systemic racism and injustice on Black people in STEM and academia. We support this movement, and encourage you to take time tomorrow to reflect on what each of us can do in our lines of work to address racism.
In addition, members of our campus community are organizing peaceful sit-ins on Thursday to bring further campus attention to these issues.
At a leadership level, the Chancellor’s Cabinet will be...
Dear Colleagues,
The past weeks have exposed, in undeniable ways, a problem that has been festering in this country – the unjust treatment of people of color.
We are all feeling pain and anger in different ways. Some of you have spent a lifetime taking daily precautions in order to safely navigate society in ways a white person never has to consider.
For others, who don’t ever worry about getting pulled over by police when simply out driving – and how to respond - or ways to shop without aggravating suspicions of a store manager, the recent deaths of black people jogging outside, sleeping in their homes, and now, under a policeman’s knee, are exposing horrendous gaps in how people of color are treated in our country.
Racism and injustice are pervasive problems that require societal solutions that start with each of us. At UCSF Health, we must accelerate our work to reduce health disparities, and the inequities in our own culture that have been brought to light in recent engagement surveys.
There are actions we can take that are in our immediate control. As a start, I ask everyone at UCSF Health to join me in doing three things: listen, learn and lead.
I have been reaching out to colleagues to ask them how they are doing. Please respect that everyone may be processing events differently. Use your best judgement to let colleagues and teams know you are there for conversation and support. Race and ethnicity can be difficult topics to discuss, and it may be uncomfortable, which is precisely the reason it is so important for us to do. We may use the wrong words at times. But if the outreach comes from a place of genuine compassion and concern, we can listen to...