To the entire #RealCollege community,
Our movement began with the recognition that when it comes to educational opportunity in America, sometimes it is necessary to stop being polite and start getting real.
So let us be clear today: The Hope Center believes that Black Lives Matter.
The evidence is quite clear: for generations Black families have endured economic, political, and social violence in the United States. Untold harm has been done, and much of it was further laid bare in the COVID-19 pandemic. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police is only the latest episode in a story that dates back hundreds of years.
It is the same story that writes homelessness and hunger into the college journeys of far too many Black students. It is the same story that starves Historically Black Colleges and Universities of resources at a time when their leadership is more critical than ever. It is the same story that deprives Black people of leadership positions in higher education. This pattern is repeated through government, corporations, and our so-called justice systems.
We are sick and tired of this story. Institutionalized racism must be eradicated. We are committed to anti-racism work – in our research, in our practice, in our policy agenda, and in how we grow and expand ourselves. We will heed AERA President Shaun Harper’s call to “unite to take bold, evidence-based action that exposes and ultimately ends the catastrophic police killings of unarmed Black people.” We know we have a great deal of work left to do, including within our own team, and we are committed to the task.
Please know that we join you in action, in solidarity, and in this fight. We invite you to reach out with your ideas for how we can best do this work, together.
Thank you,
Sara Goldrick-Rab and the Hope Center team