Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the harm that colonialism and white supremacy have brought to these lands, in particular the erasure of both First American Nations and African identities via racist laws that segregated all peoples and produced savage socio-economic inequities.

By recognizing the land that was taken from Indigenous people and the forced labor that was provided by enslaved Africans, we understand that the foundation of our country and the roots that it created are grounded in white dominant culture and patriarchal systems of oppression (racism, classism, sexism, and hetereosexism). Through this acknowledgement, we commit ourselves to dismantle all forms of racial oppression and anti-Black racism in our pursuit of democracy, freedom, and justice.

Tribal Land Acknowledgment (TLA)

Acknowledgment for American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS)

We acknowledge that we are gathered on the ancestral lands of many bands of Indigenous people who cultivated this land and made it their home before it was forcibly taken and colonized by European settlers. We recognize the history of forced relocation by the United States government of many First American Nations from their tribal homelands to our region in the late eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth century.

The Indigenous peoples’ connection to this land has been challenged by violence, disease, treaties, invading settlers, relocations, forced removals, reservation termination policies, and other colonial actions; however, throughout this turbulent history, this land has continued to hold great historical, spiritual, and personal significance for the original land stewards of this region.

With humility and respect, we commit ourselves to being fully present and seek to dismantle ongoing legacies of settler colonialism and oppression in our pursuit of democracy, freedom, and justice.

We acknowledge the legacy of slavery in our region and the enslaved African people whose labor was exploited for generations to help establish the economy of our region and the United States, specifically the production and harvest of surplus crops and land cultivation. During the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, an estimated 12.5 million enslaved Africans were forcibly brought to the Americas beginning in the 1500s until 1867. Countless millions of Black people suffered in bondage in the United States until the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865, which abolished slavery and indentured servitude.

The end of slavery was followed by a series of discriminatory and repressive laws that created a racial caste system that legitimized anti-Black racism. The gruesome legacy of slavery coupled with enduring racist laws and practices continues to impact American culture and our institutions at every level.

The labor of the enslaved Africans built many of the civic and federal institutions with which we all interact and benefit from today. The economics of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the exportation of cotton allowed the United States to position itself as a leader in global trade for centuries. Our nation continues to profit financially from the exploitation of the descendants of enslaved Africans.