A Message from GSEIS Leadership

We write in outrage and with deep pain in mourning the barbaric killing of our African American brothers and sisters. We here and now reassert an education and information studies agenda animated by an ethic of care and solidarity, an ethic of dignity and human rights, an ethic of engagement and service to others. Racism, hatred, police brutality stand in complete opposition to a humanist civilization and to the elemental requirements for the practice of democratic citizenship.

Racist violence and destruction, now taking the form of what Pope Francis has called an “industry of death” is bequeathing an empire of suffering in every city large and small. Its victims include those who we hear of in the news – an innocent African American man, Ahmaud Arbery, going out for a jog felled with impunity in his own neighborhood; an innocent woman, Breonna Taylor, murdered in her own apartment; a Black trans*man, Tony McDade, shot by police; and the barbaric murder of a pleading George Floyd by the police in Minnesota – but, there are so many more lives lost that have not made the headlines. Our community is both outraged and devastated by these events and by the ongoing loss of members of the Black community.

As scholars of education and information studies who are committed to social justice, we must reflect in our privileges and act in all that we do against the systemic racism that impacts our community and the children and families and communities who we serve. We must address racism and anti-Blackness and its impact on the daily lives and opportunities of individuals of Color.

With your input we will take action to advance GSE&IS’ advocacy and efforts in confronting racism and sustain our commitment to achieving equity. Please reach out to the GSE&IS’ EDI committee and Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Cecilia Rios-Aguilar with thoughts and ideas. We are available.

Marcelo Suarez-Orozco
Wasserman Dean

Tina Christie
Department Chair, Education

Jean-François Blanchette
Department Chair, Information Studies

Anne Gilliland
Associate Dean for Information Studies

Jody Priselac
Associate Dean for Community Programs

Cecilia Rios-Aguilar
Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion