Dear USC Rossier Faculty, Staff, and Students,
All of humankind currently lives each day with a global pandemic. We assume it will end at some point, and that we all will return to some semblance of our pre-COVID-19 existence.
All of Black America lives each day with an unending plague of racism and police brutality. This scourge continues on, generation after generation. And it’s on top of the social, educational, economic, geographic, healthcare, and criminal justice inequities that people of color experience in this country.
President Folt said Friday: …As Trojans, we must redouble our efforts to build a truly just and welcoming community. And our hearts and voices must fight racism and injustice now and always. I want to join her and others at USC who are decrying the police action that took George Floyd’s life last week and the systems that enable and perpetuate such acts. It’s hard to find the words to match the outrage we feel in seeing these repeated, senseless killings of Black men and women – of Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade and Ahmaud Arbery and so many others.
USC Rossier’s mission is to identify, interrogate, and prepare leaders to counter the negative effects of these systems on the education of individuals and communities. And our school, with its focus on urban education, is especially attuned to the pain and frustration of the Black community.
So much of the work of USC Rossier’s faculty and research centers is focused on identifying racism and providing solutions for educators, schools, and organizations. We are so weary of the setbacks and new barriers we see occurring around our mission of social equity. But at this difficult, disappointing, and maddening time, I hope we can take heart in doing work that addresses the very issues that are again playing out in our nation – work that can and does improve equity across our country.
To repeat the words of James Baldwin I included in my first Rossier@Home faculty-staff letter: The paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated. We have to address the ever-growing issues around hatred, bigotry, and violence as we prepare and train the next generation of researchers, practitioners, and teachers.
I am proud that you, our faculty, staff, and students, are committed to this education, whether through research or the preparation of new leaders. And I know also that many may feel anger, confusion, and defensiveness at the suggestion of being anything less than equity-minded. It is on us to learn how inequities grow in the systems we support. Some suggestions on where to start:
- Research by Associate Professor Brendesha Tynes on how videos of police brutality against Black people are emotionally damaging
- Reports by Provost Professor Shaun R. Harper on how colleges fail Black students and how universities fail Black male student-athletes
- Research by PhD students Tara-Marie Desruisseaux and Akua Nkansah-Amankra, and Assistant Professor David Quinn, on public attitudes toward increasing the number of Black educators
May you and your families stay safe and remain hopeful this week.
Fight On.
Sincerely,
Karen Symms Gallagher, Ph.D.
Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean