The Queens College Libraries declare our opposition to the racial terror and state-sanctioned violence that shape the lives of Black people in the United States. Black lives matter. We share the sorrow and rage of our community and stand in solidarity with protests against police brutality. We recognize and condemn these acts and other forms of racial violence, bigotry, and institutional racism, and hold ourselves accountable to work against the policing of CUNY and its libraries. This statement affirms our commitment to anti-racist practice and our pledge to use our skills and resources to advance the production of knowledge for social justice.
The Queens College community has a long history of supporting the movement for racial justice. In fact, the iconic Rosenthal Library clock tower is dedicated to the memory of three civil rights workers–Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Queens College student Andrew Goodman–who were murdered while helping organize voter registration efforts in Mississippi during the Summer of 1964. As the struggle for racial justice continues, we honor this history and stand against police brutality and white supremacy.
This statement is adapted from the CUNY Graduate Center’s statement on Black Lives Matter, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
