Statement in Solidarity and Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement

engaging education (e2) is heartbroken and outraged towards the continuous murders of Black lives. The demonstrations and organizing around the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Christian Cooper, and countless others that we hold in our hearts, reflect the change that needs to happen in this country. 

e2 was born 17 years ago through communities of color coming together to protest and fight against racism and hate crimes on this campus, and to make education equitable and accessible for all. Our alumni, students, and general community have been committed to fight against and challenge white supremacy through years of fighting against policies and actions that don’t serve the interests of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) on this campus.  This statement is meant to reinforce our commitment by standing with our Black community in fighting anti-blackness, eradicating white supremacy, and creating a more just world.

Our vision is and has always been to “challenge the current educational system to support the experiences and needs of historically under-resourced communities”. Our outcry in this moment has to be in tandem with continuing to push and organize around systemic and policy change.

Many of us have taken to the streets to protest and demonstrate, and many are holding space and educating one another to be anti-racist. We all have a role to play while denouncing the anti-blackness of all forms in our communities. This struggle requires a lifelong commitment from everyone to fight and change our world. Let us not let this just trend in this time, and organize to win beyond this moment.

e2 commits to engage in and address anti-blackness within the e2 space. We commit to addressing anti-blackness in the communities we serve by holding conversations in our orientations, retreats, and programming that we do throughout the year. Externally, we also commit to continuing our mission of fighting for change on the campus and our educational system. These institutions and systems operate by perpetuating anti-blackness and e2 needs to continue to challenge them. It will require more than conversations to erase anti-blackness, but it is the beginning of our process to educate one another and unlearn our behaviors that contribute to anti-blackness. 

Resources for Black folx:

https://liberatemeditation.com/

https://www.blackgirlinom.com/bgiocreatorsforchange

https://www.join-real.com/real-to-the-people

Anti-racism education resources:

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1NW89wNp0hMHq6eGWaxsHDv2WS9pP4-16Z63zUA2qNTA

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1odJy1Mj5lsr94xbS_5EHhEYmvls9QsE5o7nLsyzWV4Uusp=gmail

Additional links:

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1CjZMORRVuv-I-qo4B0YfmOTqIOa3GUS207t5iuLZmyA/mobilebasic

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18sjJKe_2lfVUx2dQn3MKDTbShIuOTholuPHVcNhEjcs/htmlview

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15bFK2D_VQ2J6N63HrwFpjd_QFNDO4_dQYXVz_hatU3o/mobilebasic

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0Bz011IF2Pu9TUWIxVWxybGJ1Ync

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a-lzdtxOlWuzYNGqwlYwxMWADtZ6vJGCpKhtJHHrS54/mobilebasic

Know Your Rights:

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights/