PLA Community,
The senseless and horrific killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery add to a litany of so many unacceptable displays of systemic bias and racism. We are witnessing a response vividly on social media and in cities across the US and globally, including Madison and Milwaukee. We are all being called to disrupt racist beliefs and behaviors directly and through addressing its many underlying institutionalized forms.
As L&S Dean Eric Wilcots stated in his message earlier this week, “...let us not fall into thinking that systemic racism and injustice are problems too large and too pervasive for us to solve. Let us not fall into thinking that finding solutions is someone else’s responsibility." Many in our community are already acting to create and support solutions and have for years. As a department, we commit to doing more. Our faculty and staff will continue discussions throughout the summer to identify how we can further advance solutions to systemic racism and injustice.
This edition of the department newsletter compiles statements from campus and area leaders along with information from our professional and academic fields about actions we can take as planners, landscape architects, and restoration ecologists.
Please click on these links and read these resources.
We have important work to do.
Ken Genskow
Professor and Chair
On behalf of the Department of Planning & Landscape Architecture
