Message from LALS about current events and institutionalized racism

 

LALS stands in solidarity with Black communities in the United States, the rest of the Americas, and across the world to combat the abhorrent institutionalized racism and systemic injustices that are destroying peoples’ lives. The horrific and senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless Black lives lost before them as a result of police violence, symbolize the insidious and pernicious regimes of white supremacy that continue to afflict Black, Indigenous, and Peoples of Color throughout the world. 

 

At home, anti-black racism is deeply embedded in our institutions, it includes inequalities in access to education, health care, job market opportunities, housing, and voice in politics, among many others.  We cannot go on like this. We must join others in this fight and confront systemic racism that is ever-present around the world. Silence and complacency have no room here, for they will lead to further oppression and violence. LALS is committed to fostering equality, justice, and sustainability through all our programming, and in our teaching, research, and community outreach. LALS stands in solidarity with the Black faculty, postdocs, students, and staff at Penn, and with the rest of the Black communities of Philadelphia and the world. Black Lives Matter!