On behalf of all of CGA I want you to know that we share a commitment to ending injustice, inequality, and racism of all forms be they in the U.S or elsewhere. We raise our voices for meaningful change and vow to educate ourselves and motivate our community to be accountable for the responsibility we bear as an educational program, and as individuals. We are listening, we are learning, we will take action to reevaluate how and what we teach and do. If we are to build a truly inclusive society where everyone is respected and valued, we need to do better.
In order to hear, we must listen. Our colleagues and neighbors of color are suffering. Their lived experiences are important; their testimony is vital. If we are to be allies in the struggle to tear down racist injustice, we must hear and heed them.
We, as a faculty and as an institution, commit ourselves to do better by creating a more equitable, inclusive, and welcoming learning environment through the creation of a more diverse and representative curriculum, one that explicitly confronts issues of race, inequality, colonialism, and the practices, rooted in White supremacy, that perpetuate and sustains them.
We invite all members and friends of the CGA to think critically about how we can pursue intentional anti-racist approaches in our teaching, our public programming, and in all that we do. We will launch, after consultation with all our constituents, an action plan to take concrete steps needed to achieve our commitment to equality.
Sincerely,
Vera Jelinek
Divisional Dean and Founder, NYUSPS Center for Global Affairs