Dear Colleague,
The murder of George Floyd and the police brutality against those who protest the systems that caused his death are just the latest episodes in the history of American violence against Black people. It must end. We do not know what an America not based on white supremacy looks like, as it has never previously existed, but we do know that all of our institutions will be impacted.
Our demands are the first steps in dismantling white supremacy in our university and our union. All who are committed to ending our systems of oppression must act quickly, before those who have an interest in maintaining white supremacy weaken our resolve with half-measures and rhetoric.
- We call for the enactment of all of the June 5th demands of the Black Student Collective. They are the first steps we must take if we are going to transform the University of Oregon from a university that bolsters white supremacy to one the fights it. We pledge to work with both the Black Student Collective and the administration to make these demands a reality by the end of the 2020-21 school year.
- We call for free tuition at the University of Oregon for first-generation Black college students descended from slavery.
- As members of the AFL-CIO, we call for all police unions to be expelled from the Federation until such time that they have reformed and are ready to rejoin the labor family.
These demands are small, first steps toward restructuring our university and unions away from relying on and reinforcing white supremacy. We welcome all ideas our faculty and students have to expand this project. We pledge to be an active participant in this struggle.
In Solidarity,
UA Executive Council