May 29, 2020

Dear Campus Community,

We write today to share our fear and concern about the racialized violence occurring across the country. Sadly, such behavior is not new, but with amplified visibility because of social media and already heightened anxieties around COVID-19, the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd (and Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray Jr., Walter Scott, Oscar Grant III, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Ahmaud Arbery, and more) are hitting home right now. We caution you against thinking of these as isolated events as in 2019, Black people constituted 24% of people killed by the police, despite comprising just 13% of the U.S. population.  

Here at Colorado College we are not immune to anti-Black racism. Our external review dedicated four pages to describing the multitude of ways in which Black students, staff, and faculty experience micro and macro aggressions, marginalization, tokenism, and discrimination in our hiring, retention, and promotion policies; in classes when faculty do not pronounce names correctly; and certainly when engaging in dialogues across sociocultural difference. Importantly, as noted in the review, “anti-Black racism does not occur in isolation. It occurs within the context of anti-indigenous and other forms of racism, sexism, classism, elitism, trans-antagonism, heterosexism and homophobia, ableism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of oppression and marginalization” (p.13). There is no denying that white supremacy is embedded throughout our society not only in institutions of learning, but as recent events continue to affirm, within our criminal justice system.

We take seriously the lived experiences of minoritized people and are committed to continuing our efforts to become an antiracist institution. The Butler Center, Dean of Students/Vice President for Student Life Mike Edmonds, and Director of Campus Safety Maggie Santos have worked on comprehensive cultural competency training with members of the Colorado Springs Police Department who participate in campus life, and will engage them in further training. These officers have been supportive of the college’s diversity and inclusion work. We know that we have much more to do but we are committed to the continued implementation of our antiracism plan and ask for your engagement in the coming year as we continue this essential work.

As antiracism requires collective action, we encourage you to join forces with existing organizations working to end police violence, including the ACLU, Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero, National Police Accountability Project, the NAACP, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.  

No matter what you do, please take care of yourselves and others. It is easy to turn a blind eye to these events if they do not directly impact you. But recognize that many of your fellow community members at CC are in deep pain because when police officers kill unarmed Black people, it is psychologically damaging to all members of minoritized groups.

Remember there are numerous resources on campus to help you navigate these challenging times. Do not hesitate to contact the Counseling Center, the chaplain, the Butler Center, or the Wellness Resource Center. We are in this together.

Sincerely,
Jill Tiefenthaler, President
Alan Townsend, Provost
Claire Oberon Garcia, Dean of the Faculty
Robert Moore, Senior Vice President for Finance & Administration
Mike Edmonds, Dean of Students/Vice President for Student Life
Mark Hatch, Vice President for Enrollment
Lesley Irvine, Vice President/Director of Athletics
Jane Turnis, Vice President for Communications
Kim Waldron, President’s Office Chief of Staff/Special Assistant to the Board of Trustees
Brian Young, Vice President for Information Technology/Chief Technology Officer
Manya Whitaker, Butler Center Interim Director/Associate Professor and Chair, Education Department
Pedro de Araujo, Vice Provost
Rochelle Dickey-Mason ’83, Senior Associate Dean of Students

Add your name in support. See all names here: https://2cc.co/2Af3HOv (list updated periodically)