Dear friends and colleagues,
The Institute of Arts and Humanities stands with UC San Diego and San Diego communities in mourning the deaths of Tony McDade, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people by police. We condemn these murders and understand they are not exceptional acts of brutality but systemic to the function of police and white supremacy in the United States and beyond.
The Institute is home to the African American Studies Program and other academic programs committed to advancing intersectional analysis of systemic oppression and struggle. It promotes creative artistic and interdisciplinary humanities work to understand the state of our society and to critically imagine and enact a different world. We recognize this work is not possible as long as Black students, workers, and members of our communities are not safe.
We are committing our programming budget this coming academic year to build our collective capacity to diagnose and to combat systemic violence. We will continue to support and amplify the community organizations and activists who do this critical work. And we will fight for resources for artists, musicians, cultural workers, and others whose voices are needed now more than ever.
As an institute we humbly ask you to keep us accountable.
Sincerely,
Nancy Kwak and Simeon Man
Director and Associate Director, Institute of Arts and Humanities
