Friday, June 5, 2020
For the next 8 days we have chosen to be silent with all channels of our communications in recognition of George Floyd's last eight minutes of life. This time will enable each of us to dig deeper into understanding race, privilege, inequitable systems, and effective change processes. The staff of the IU Center of Excellence for Women & Technology stands in solidarity for equality, equity, inclusion, and justice. To our community members impacted by systemic racism every day, we stand with you and we commit to educating ourselves, listening to you, and taking positive actions to eradicate injustice and inequity in all of its forms.
We want to do our part in being effective advocates and positive change agents, and this is how our team will spend this silent time. Therefore, we will:
- Read more and educate ourselves about the issues of systemic racism in this country.
- Continue to educate ourselves about how to be more effective allies rather than Silent Bystanders. (A Google search provides many valuable articles about this.)
- Investigate potential sites that allow us to contribute to and promote systematic, positive change such as Black Lives Matter, Color of Change, and others.
- Seek to practice deep listening to people most affected by these recent events to help us to truly understand.
- Examine ways our Center can use technology to have positive impact on our community members now.
- Commit to take positive action(s).
We encourage you to participate in similar actions during this time and beyond, to engage in difficult discourse with friends and family, to commit to enlarging your perspectives, and to make a difference in your own way.