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The murder of George Floyd (Minneapolis), and the deaths of Regis Korchinski-Paquet (Toronto) and Breonna Taylor (Louisville), and the protest and violent unrest that has erupted over the past week highlights the significance of the work of the FAS Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity Implementation Committee and the importance of engaging all members of our Faculty in responding to the continuing issues faced by our community members.

The FAS EDII Committee stands in support of Black staff, students, and faculty, and community at large. We strongly condemn anti-Black violence and systematic racism against the Black community. We recognize that in the past Queen’s University has been complicit in perpetuating anti-Black racism and white supremacy (www.queensu.ca/inclusive/initiatives/picrdi). We reaffirm our commitment to anti-racism around the world and at home here at Queen’s University. This anti-racist work is crucial at this pivotal moment in time.

In the words of Wesley Crichlow, EDI Director, Canadian Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences, issued on Monday June 1, 2020: “Racism and anti-Black racism are alive. They eat at the core of our humanity. We all have a responsibility to eradicate them …” ()

Please see the Committee’s recent statement of solidarity and support to the members of our Queen’s community who have had their inequities amplified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and participate in its to suggest actions that we can take to improve EDII in our Faculty.

In the coming weeks and months, we will continue our efforts to support EDII in the FAS. We will be actively reaching out to the FAS community for feedback and input as we identify strategic areas of action.

Please contact asc.edii@queensu.ca if you have questions or for more information.