"Black lives matter. Black lives matter in STEM. Black lives matter at Mount Holyoke. For members of our community who are Black, we see you, we value you, and we stand with you. We fear for you. We want you here, and you belong here. We celebrate your contributions to the scientific endeavor, and to the community of scholars who work and learn together in Carr, Clapp, and the entire Science Center.
We cannot condemn individual acts of racism without also recognizing and condemning structural racism. Academia and science are no exceptions, nor is Mount Holyoke or the programs in Biochemistry and Chemistry. Our institution and programs were constructed with racial barriers in place, such as inequities in access and privilege. We are committed, more than ever, to doing the anti-racist work of identifying and dismantling these barriers. We further recognize that it is the responsibility of each member of our community to continuously monitor and challenge our own internalized racism, implicit racial biases, and behavior. White faculty and staff continue our commitment to self-educate about white privilege and act to dismantle white supremacy."
As we work towards becoming more anti-racist as a department, as individuals, and in the policies we implement, we have the following goals:
dialogue
transparency
accountability
To support dialogue, we commit to holding regular Community Meetings as a space for faculty and staff to listen to student experiences and to share back our work in progress. To support transparency and accountability. we commit to sharing our efforts through minutes of these Community Meetings.
We will also use this space to share Resources that will support students in navigating their experience as STEM undergraduates and all members of our community in becoming more anti-racist.