Tag: solidarity | LA Social Science

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Darren Ornitz

On May 30, 2020, UCLA Leadership released the statement below to the campus community regarding the nationwide protests. According to the UCLA Newsroom, “shortly before midnight on Saturday, 37 campus leaders, including the presidents of the undergraduate and graduate student associations, joined together to send a message to the UCLA community expressing their collective anger, sadness and solidarity.”

In addition, UCLA Dean of Social Sciences Darnell Hunt has recently been quoted when providing his expert insight on the nationwide protests against racism and injustice by several media outlets. Check out those articles below the statement.

To the Campus Community:

Across the country, people are horrified by the recent killings of three African Americans: Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. We share that outrage. And these are only a few of the most recent deaths to cause particular anguish amongst those who for too long have endured cruelty after cruelty, indignity after indignity.

What stood out about the killing of George Floyd — more than its senselessness, more than its brutality – was its casualness. What was so chilling was the relaxed demeanor of a police officer — sworn to protect and to serve — his hands calmly in his pockets, kneeling on the neck of a fellow human being, indifferent to his cries of pain and the fear for his life. Equally harrowing was his three fellow officers who stood there and did not recognize the need to intervene in a life or death situation. All these behaviors reflected the utter dehumanization of Black life.

We must never let that indifference to human suffering become our own. We must never deaden our hearts to the pain of others. Our fundamental values demand that we care.

At UCLA, we believe deeply that equity, respect and justice are central to the character of our institution, to the health of our democracy and to the well-being of our world. Still, we recognize that UCLA also can and must do better. As campus leaders, we recommit ourselves to ensuring that our policies and actions value the lives, safety and dignity of every Bruin.

We have begun the process of coordinating virtual reflection spaces for departments and units, where we can come together to try and process what has happened. With assistance from the Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and the university’s Equity Advisors, we are also trying to share ways we can honestly and humbly acknowledge the pain and search for solutions. This includes working with student government leaders to understand and address the needs of our students. Our efforts will be updated on the Resources for Racial Trauma web page as we push forward to deeper understanding and genuine change.

We conclude by stating unequivocally that Black lives DO matter. They matter at UCLA. They matter in Minnesota. They matter everywhere.

In solidarity,

Gene D. Block Chancellor	Emily A. Carter Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost	Michael Meranze Chair, Academic Senate
Michael J. Beck Administrative Vice Chancellor	Gregg Goldman Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer	Monroe Gorden, Jr. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Jerry Kang Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion	Michael S. Levine Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel	John Mazziotta Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences CEO, UCLA Health
Louise C. Nelson Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs	Mary Osako Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications	Rhea Turteltaub Vice Chancellor for External Affairs
Roger Wakimoto Vice Chancellor for Research	Yolanda J. Gorman Senior Advisor to the Chancellor and Chief of Staff	Dan Guerrero The Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics
Antonio E. Bernardo Dean, Anderson School of Management	Ronald S. Brookmeyer Dean, Fielding School of Public Health	Eric Bullard Dean, Continuing Education and UCLA Extension
Miguel A. García-Garibay Dean, Division of Physical Sciences	Robin L. Garrell Vice Provost, Graduate Education Dean, Graduate Division	Darnell M. Hunt Dean, Division of Social Sciences
Brian Kite Interim Dean, School of Theater, Film and Television	Paul H. Krebsbach Dean, School of Dentistry	Kelsey Martin Dean, David Geffen School of Medicine
Jennifer L. Mnookin Dean, School of Law	Jayathi Y. Murthy Dean, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science	Linda Sarna Dean, School of Nursing
Gary M. Segura Dean, Luskin School of Public Affairs	David Schaberg Dean, Division of Humanities	Victoria Sork Dean, Division of Life Sciences
Brett Steele Dean, School of the Arts and Architecture	Eileen Strempel Dean, The Herb Alpert School of Music	Marcelo Suárez-Orozco Dean, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
Pat Turner Senior Dean, College Dean and Vice Provost, Undergraduate Education	Tony Lee Chief of UCLA Police Department	Naomi Riley President, Undergraduate Students Association
Jean Paul Santos President, Graduate Students Association

Dean Darnell Hunt was interviewed in the following articles/podcasts (click links):

Michelle Goldberg, “America Is a Tinderbox: Scenes from a Country in Free Fall,” The New York Times, May 29, 2020

Alia E. Dastagir, “‘Riots,’ ‘violence,’ ‘looting’: Words matter when talking about race and unrest, experts say,” USA Today, May 31, 2020

Helier Cheung, “George Floyd death: Why Do Some Protests Turn Violent?” BBC News, May 31, 2020

Background Briefing with Ian Masters, “The 1992 Rodney King Riots and Today’s Looting and Rioting in LA,” June 1, 2020

The UCLA Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics (CSREP) and Race, Ethnicity and Politics (REP) Workshop presented the Mark Q. Sawyer Memorial Lecture in Racial and Ethnic Politics on Thursday, January 10, 2019. In remembrance of the late Professor Mark Q. Sawyer, the lecture’s goal is to highlight the outstanding research of an advanced assistant or associate professor whose work focuses on racial and ethnic politics in the United States and internationally. Professor Danielle Clealand from Florida International University was the honored first guest lecturer who shared compelling research from her book, The Power of Race in Cuba: Racial Ideology & Black Consciousness During the Revolution.

Mark Q. Sawyer

Students, staff, professors, and community members attended the event to celebrate Professor Sawyer’s life and honor his legacy. The room overflowed with those eager to hear about Professor Clealand’s work that aligns with Professor Sawyer’s previous work (e.g., his critically acclaimed book Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba). Professor Clealand examines comparative racial politics, group consciousness, black public opinion, and racial inequality with a focus on the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and the United States. Her award-winning book examines racial ideology and the institutional mechanisms that support racial inequality in Cuba as well as black public opinion.

Professor Kelly Lytle Hernandez, who serves as interim director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, gave the welcoming remarks. She thanked and acknowledged those involved in making the memorial lecture possible, especially Professor Lorrie Frasure-Yokley, the first woman of color to earn tenure and promotion in the Political Science Department at UCLA, who spearheaded the entire event. In her introductory remarks, Professor Frasure-Yokley shared that Professor Sawyer had been a great mentor and friend. In fact, it was Professor Sawyer who encouraged Professor Frasure-Yokley to apply for a professorship at UCLA. That advice allowed them to be UCLA colleagues for ten years. She also stated, “Mark loved UCLA and his discipline enough to constantly challenge it to be better and do better.” In addition, Professors Lytle Hernandez and Frasure-Yokley reminded those in attendance that the reason why many get to enjoy and benefit from having the Department of African American Studies at UCLA is greatly attributed to Professor Sawyer for shepherding the application that led to its establishment.

During her informative presentation, Professor Clealand shared a snapshot of her findings from survey, ethnographic, and interview data that touched on structural racism in Cuba, black public opinion, black solidarity, and black consciousness by way of hip-hop.

Fortunately, like many others, Professor Clealand was lucky to have been mentored by Professor Sawyer as well. She mentioned that as a first-year graduate student she met Professor Sawyer, who later became a mentor to her. She often thinks of the similar work they have done and has asked herself, “How can I continue his legacy, how he helped me?” She believes it is by celebrating his legacy and imprint that he has had on her and many other scholars.

It has been nearly two years since Professor Sawyer’s passing. His wife, Professor Celia Lacayo was in attendance and offered a few words during the closing remarks. She emotionally expressed her gratitude for everyone who had helped to remember and honor her husband. Especially because it seemed quite fitting that this event happened to fall on his birthday. She commented that it was great to see how Professor Clealand’s work aligned with Professor Sawyer’s and that it was important to keep his legacy alive. She remarked that he planted many seeds, and it’s good to see them bloom. Aside from his academic success, Professor Lacayo felt fortunate to have Professor Sawyer as a life partner and father to their daughter. Finally, she left us with this piece of advice her husband lived by, which is to continue to “break doors down and create more opportunities for people of color.”

From left to right: Drs. Lorrie Frasure-Yokley, Danielle Clealand, Celia Lacayo, and Marcus Hunter

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