Statement on Current Events

April 19, 2021

Dear Genomics Institute community,

We want to share that we are deeply disturbed by the news of the most recent police shootings of unarmed Black and brown people, in particular 20-year old Daunte Wright in Minneapolis and 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago. We recognize that a steady stream of news about racially motivated violence, including anti-Asian hate crimes, is overwhelming. We encourage you to seek out campus resources, those provided to staff like the employee assistance program, or to ask our HR team for help finding them.

We also recognize that statements such as these without accompanying action can cause harm by eroding trust. Our Diversity Committee has identified priorities and goals that it feels will be impactful to improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the genomics research space. We shared those with you at a town hall; through regular meetings and work, we’ve made modest progress towards those goals. Learn more here, and please stay tuned for additional updates.

We encourage you to take part in anti-racist work like that of the diversity committee and the Racial Justice Learning & Action Group organized by Mary Goldman, meeting bi-weekly; we applaud those of you who are independently or individually doing anti-racist work, and we encourage you to share your experiences if you are moved to do so.

We recognize that in order to measure progress, we will need to ask our organization how you are feeling before, and after these initiatives take shape. Please stay tuned for a more formal invitation to share your thoughts with us in a structured climate survey.

Sincerely,

David Haussler

Scientific Director