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Statement of solidarity and anti-racism from E3P

Statement of solidarity and anti-racism from E3P

The Environment, Ecology and Energy Program (E3P) community at UNC-Chapel Hill condemns the recent, ongoing acts of violence directed at Black people and other people of color.  Our solidarity is grounded in a shared sense of humanity and justice, and the understandings of our world afforded by the several disciplines in our Program.  The murder of George Floyd, along with the many, many before him and the systemic racism that underwrite these deaths and injuries, are not tolerable.

 

The conditions, attitudes, and processes that produce injustices are longstanding.  They are made possible by centuries-old cultural, economic, and political systems that continue to permit and promote oppression.  These systems have set the stage for blatant physical assault and for the pervasive disparities in health, economic opportunity and general well-being that have long been the reality for communities of color.   The current tragedies demand both reflection and significant action. Protest and discussion in so many communities, in so many venues, across the country and globally, signal hope for meaningful change. We recognize that we have much work ahead to make that change a reality.

 

E3P commits to promoting racial justice in our workplaces, work practices, professions, and communities, including by acknowledging and grappling with the histories of anti-blackness at our university and in many of our disciplines. This work is particularly necessary in the scientific community where Black, Brown and Indigenous people are vastly underrepresented.

 

We further commit to taking substantive action, using our work and workplace to challenge and alter the structures and processes that have contributed to the intolerable inequities we see protested today. We pledge to recognize and transform the ways in which our own disciplines, as scientific and academic enterprises, have perpetuated inequities.  We will act to support anti-racism in our Program and institution, through efforts to identify and address ways in which our curriculum, recruitment and support of students and faculty, and other practices may implicitly and explicitly contribute to inequities and can be tools for correcting them. The E3P community is actively discussing and developing plans for anti-racist action; we look forward to sharing those plans in the coming weeks.

 

Some sources of information on causes and consequences of racism and on anti-racist efforts in our disciplines:

General science and academia:

Environmental science, environmental education, and environmental engagement:

Geoscience:

Anthropology: 

Geography:

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The Environment, Ecology and Energy Program is a multidisciplinary degree program that seeks to foster an understanding and appreciation of ecological systems and future environmental problems.

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Environment, Ecology and Energy Program
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
3202 Murray/Venable Hall, CB#3275

e3p@unc.edu
919-962-1270