Dear GPQA members,
We know that words fail to soothe the pain felt by our Black siblings across the nation as we mourn the deaths of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. However, it’s still important to speak out.
We acknowledge the lack of response from various communities within UCSF and would like to apologize for not speaking up sooner. GPQA stands in solidarity with the Black community and unequivocally affirm that Black Lives Matter and Black Trans Lives Matter.
Demonstrations:
If you are able to, consider participating in a demonstration in your city. Please read the following to protect yourself from COVID-19 while protesting: Guidelines for Safe Protesting
Donations:
Please also donate what you can to these non-profit organizations fighting police violence and anti-Blackness: Black Visions Collective Minnesota, Reclaim the Block, and/or Campaign Zero. You can also donate to bail funds for demonstrators who are arrested: Nationwide Bail Funds. In addition to donating, share these links on social media and encourage your family and friends to match your donation.
Regardless of where you are, we hope you speak out against anti-Blackness in your community and fight for what is right.
Resources:
To our non-Black members, we encourage you to read this resource - Anti-racism resources for white people. Ally is a verb.
If you need to talk, we encourage you to reach out to any of the following people:
Robbie Diaz, GPQA Leadership (roberto.diaz@ucsf.edu)
Matt Ryan, GPQA Leadership (Matthew.Ryan@ucsf.edu)
D’Anne Duncan, Asst. Dean of Diversity and Learner Success (danne.duncan@ucsf.edu)
Liz Silva, Assoc. Dean of Graduate Programs (elizabeth.silva@ucsf.edu)
Remember that Stonewall was a riot against police brutality started by Black and Brown trans women.
In mourning and solidarity,
Leadership of the Graduate and Postdoc Queer Alliance
“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be antiracist.” — Angela Davis.