The faculty, staff, and students of the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (MIAEH) are present in solidarity with people of color around the world as we witness the culmination of centuries of injustice and discrimination. We have seen the disproportionate impacts on persons of color from the recent novel coronavirus pandemic. We have also witnessed the injustices and horrific racial violence against historically disadvantaged and minority communities. While adding to the long history of past inequitable transgressions, these recent events lay bare the systemic inequities within our culture and governing practices. We strongly denounce these injustices, grieve for those impacted by them, and encourage all persons to take actions that support people of color in our communities and beyond.
Whether through direct protest, calls to House and Senate legislators and policymakers, donation, help for those affected, or other forms of allyship, there are ways we can be present in forceful solidarity and fight against this injustice that persists in our community today. Both the University of Maryland and the School of Public Health have developed websites (linked above) with resources for events and opportunities to connect, act, learn, and reflect. We urge you to visit these websites, take what actions you can against hate and injustice, and let your voice be heard by voting. Encourage your friends, family and all you know to register to vote and send in their ballots or go to the polls. We commit to caring better for each other and honoring the precious ties that form the reality of our beloved, interconnected human family.
In addition to our actions as individuals, we will reflect and discuss as an Institute ways we can work together to help dismantle structural racism and inequality. We aim to champion the just transformation of institutionalized structures of oppression while championing the changing of hearts and minds to be more open and aware of how we can better love each other.
In solidarity,
The MIAEH community