Black lives matter. Black voices are valid. Racism is real. And anything to the contrary is wrong — full stop.
As some of you may have seen, there was an email sent out to black organizations at UMass Amherst last week. I was appalled, disturbed, sickened, and saddened by the contents of it. It wrote of despicable fallacies intended to demean the existence of another human being. Its intent was clear. Whoever wrote the email has no regard for human compassion, nor do they care about the damage inflicted by their words. In a word, it is disgusting.
Whenever we walk by the Martin Richard statue in University Park, we can read the sign he is holding up. It reads, “no more hurting people; peace.” Martin inspires me to live in a world where there is no hatred; no maliciousness; no hurting other people. The kind of world I believe he envisioned is one where no one has to defend themselves from bigotry solely on the basis of their appearance.
The continued rise of anti-black sentiments is troubling. It should raise an alarm in all of us. For many of us, we can say that we are surprised and shocked. But for our BIPOC and ALANA students, it is unfortunately unsurprising. To our BIPOC and ALANA students - I will never understand what you go through, but on behalf of your Student Government representatives, we stand with you.
As your Student Government President, I will act to ensure that the SGA makes certain that the university follows through with recommendations given in the Racial Justice Task Force’s report, and to provide student feedback if the contrary becomes true. As President Clark mentioned in his email, I also strongly urge my fellow Bears to either sign or re-sign our Values Statement, and visit it in the Values Corridor of the Rondileau Student Union.
Together, we have the ability to affirm that black lives matter, that black voices are valid, and that anything to the contrary is false in all terms. For far too long, black voices have been left out of the conversation. That needs to stop. It is up to us to rally around this idea and root out systemic racism whenever and wherever we encounter it. We must continue to do the work to become actively anti-racist.
I am sending strength and support to the members of the student organizations affected at UMass Amherst. Bridgewater State University has avenues to educate us all, and help push us forward to make sure something like this doesn’t have a chance to creep it’s way into our campus community. Please utilize the following resources:
BSU Anti-racist Education Resources Inventory
MaxGuide for anti-racism education resources
Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice spreadsheet of racial justice resources
And to those who were harmed by this email, please find support and community where you are most comfortable.
Lewis and Gaines Center for Inclusion and Equity, Rondileau Student Union 101
BSU’s Counseling Services at the Wellness Center, Weygand 1110
Remember - no more hurting people; peace.
Sincerely,
Tyler Czyras
Student Government Association President