Nationwide Academic Strike
To our MCDB faculty and students:
We are facing challenging yet vital times as communities around the country come together to protest police brutality against black people after the horrific murder of George Floyd by members of the Minneapolis police force. The scientific community is not immune to racism, and black scientists have stood up to call out racism within academia (please read https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01705-x and follow the #blackintheivory hashtag on twitter). The MCDB Program supports all of our students and celebrates the beautiful diversity of our MCDB community. Therefore, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement we are writing to inform you of the nationwide academic strike that will occur, tomorrow, June 10, 2020. We invite our faculty and their respective lab members to observe this strike and refrain from research activities tomorrow. This strike is designed as a day of rest for black academics and a day a reflection and education for others. The organizers of the nationwide strike suggest that time-sensitive research on COVID-19 can continue.
We are committed to standing with the black community, continuing this conversation, and implementing change to further support fair and equitable education opportunities within our program.
Students interested in protesting with other MCDB students: MCDB students have decided to meet at 12:15pm at Goodale Park by the big sign on Park Street and W. Goodale Street. They plan to attend the statehouse protests downtown. There are other smaller protests in downtown Worthington daily.
Other Educational Resources:
Ohio State Multicultural Center's Race Tool Kit
Restaurants to Support in the Columbus area
Books: Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People (Banaji & Greenwald, 2016) & How to Be an Antiracist (Ibram X. Kendi, 2019)
