Our hearts ache as we watch members of our Black community be killed and harmed. As Cornell University President Martha Pollack stated, “decent people and institutions cannot stand silent while such violence against our fellow citizens continues.”
We honor all life on this precious planet. In the diversity of people, plants, and all living creatures lies our species’ only hope for resilience, and our need to adapt, grow, and flourish. Just as we protect and nurture the diversity within our living collections, we support the University and our community in protecting and nurturing diversity in our human communities.
We will, as President Pollack promises, “address this scourge of racism. We will address it directly in our educational programs, in our research and in our engagement and related activities, working through the ways we know best to push for a world that is equitable and kind; where people do not have to fear for their lives because of the color of their skin; and where everyone has the same opportunities to grow, thrive and enjoy their lives.”
We offer our grounds, which have remained open during this pandemic, as places for respite where we, collectively, can create a world of diversity, beauty, and hope.
Statement on Anti-Asian Violence
Along with the campus community, we denounce acts of racism, violence and hatred, and stand firmly with our Asian and Asian American friends and colleagues.
Land Acknowledgement
Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation), members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Carolyn Finney: 2020 Vision, A Black Walden Pond & Other Musings
Dr. Finney explores the complexities and contradictions of American history as it relates to green space and race.