06/02/2020
Sewanee's Community Engagement House stands in solidarity with its Black students and definitively stands -against- the systematic racial violence that has been hurting Black Americans for the last centuries. Part of community engagement is listening, understanding, and responding to its people; it is practicing empathy, showing care, and providing support when support is needed. To our Black students, faculty, staff, and community members: We hear you. We see you. We feel for you. We love you, and we stand with you. When one member of our community is hurting, we all are. We are sorry that when we say the names of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and the many others before them, we do so in memory of them. May they rest in power. This is a time of grief and sorrow, and a time we share with you. We are sorry that in moments like these, it is far too easy to see the shortcomings and limitations of an institution, of its community, and of America. We cannot speak for everyone, but we will speak for us: we
-will- do better. In the following semester, our goals are not only to bring about general community engagement with the surrounding towns outside Sewanee but to also engage with its Black students and students of color and the Black communities and communities of color that remain within the university's vicinity.
The link here (https://bit.ly/3eHxRbW) is an extensive list of resources for how to help, where to get information, where to donate, and how to act.
For allies: Use your privilege to the betterment of Black lives; use your privilege to uplift them.
Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic, once said, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Change yourself, before you seek to change the world. And once you do, don’t stop.
If you are white, please know that mistakes can happen, even when we continually strive for self-awareness and for a more equitable society. Sometimes you say the wrong thing; you do the wrong thing; you mess up, and you miss the point. Apologies matter, and in moments of hurt, the greatest act isn’t one of protest or civil disobedience (though that certainly helps)––it’s an apology. Learn how to acknowledge and take accountability, own your guilt, and name specific wrongs. Avoid blame-shifting and passive voice, make amends, and know that the apology should not be offered to make you feel better. If you are in need of Anti-Racist resources, this google doc (https://bit.ly/36RWz6q) provides a sufficient amount.
If you are a non-Black student of color, please understand that the term ‘people of color’ has its limits; in the words of activist Dylan Marron, “It is impossible to unsee the way Black people are routinely mistreated, marginalized, oppressed, imprisoned, and abused by laws and groups that create and enforce those laws. It is also becoming more and more clear that the mistreatment of Black people is in fact proof of the system working, not failing… Allyship is not about lumping us all together and finding the ways we are all the same, but finding the *points* where we intersect and using those points to understand & advocate for each other, while also being aware of the many points where we don’t intersect, and respecting those too.”
Finally, here is a list of some of the Sewanee-affiliated organizations fundraising for those who are dedicated to the pursuit of justice for Black Americans and for their advancement.
Theta Pi Sorority, for the Louisville Community Bail Fund:
https://bit.ly/2XVdNvX
Phi Kappa Epsilon, for the Black Visions Collective: https://bit.ly/3eErGFq
Alpha Delta Theta, for the Nashville Bail Fund: Venmo -ADT
Phi Gamma Delta for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota:
https://bit.ly/2XOu6ug
Kappa Delta at The University of The South: Sewanee, for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund: Venmo
Signed,
Jasmine Huang (C'21) and Bernice Joyce Leveque (C'21)
