A Message from the Dean
Dear Colleagues,
One week ago today, George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was brutally and senselessly murdered by the very police charged with serving and protecting our communities. This horrific act is just one of a seemingly endless stream of inhumane acts against Blacks and other people of color—a troubled history dating back to the founding of this nation.
I, personally, and we, as a school, stand united in disgust and condemnation of these acts.
I am struck by the metaphor that UCLA alumnus Kareem Abdul-Jabbar invoked in his Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times this weekend likening racism in America to a ‘dust in the air. It seems invisible—even if you’re choking on it—until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere.
Like the Covid-19 pandemic, this moment is exacerbating and bringing into ever sharper focus the inequities and deeply rooted structural racism that have long-existed. Unlike Covid-19, however, there will be no vaccine or easy fix to address and protect against systemic racism.
As challenging as this moment is, I look to it as a reminder of the difficult work that we need to do as individuals, as a community, a society, and a country. We all have a role to play to properly confront and undo these inequities and injustices. It starts with each one of us. We must demand changes.
Grappling with the anger, fear, frustration, distress, and sorrow that is boiling over in communities across this nation right now is a tall order for any of us—and especially the most vulnerable amongst us—at a moment when we have already been stretched to our breaking point coping with the most serious global pandemic in generations.
I recognize the profound impact that all of this is having on all of you, on our communities, and on our country. I also recognize that it is more important than ever that we stand in solidarity, with compassion and empathy, and commit—no, insist—on enacting positive and real change.
While there are no easy answers, there are resources that can help us get through this difficult moment and there are issues that we can and must address as we make our way forward. I offer below some of the campus resources that are available to you:
Resources for Racial Trauma
Organized by UCLA Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, this page aggregates a very good list of articles and resources that address racial trauma
Staff and Faculty Counseling Center
Phone: (310) 704-0245
I recognize that I cannot truly know—we as a community cannot know—how this is impacting you without a space to hear your voices. To that end, I have scheduled a time for us all to come together as a community to begin to share, to listen, and to heal on Wednesday, June 3 at 5 pm. Instructions for logging in to the gathering will be forthcoming shortly.
I hope to see you there.
Take care of yourselves and take care of each other,
Brett Steele
Dean | UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
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