To our SIPA community,

The Race, Inequality, Solidarity, and Economics (RISE) Working Group and our Student Org Partners stand in solidarity with demonstrators across the country fighting for Black lives and the Black community at SIPA, Columbia University, and beyond in the midst of racist violence. We hold in our hearts Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and all Black people killed by the transphobic, misogynistic, racist apparatus of this country. To their families and communities we extend our deepest sympathies and our active support. We promise to continue the work of upending systems of discriminatory violence  that have operated in various forms throughout the history of the United States.

We stand with our Black classmates at SIPA and Columbia. We affirm your presence in this space, and offer our assistance in securing your health and safety during this time. Our lines of communication remain open. We also understand that the harm is not limited to what is seen in pictures, videos, or detailed in news stories.To bear constant witness to such acts is incredibly difficult. All of your feelings in this moment are valid, and we take them to heart. We know that you are tired, and yet continue to fight injustice. In pursuit of this centuries-old mission, we act with you in policy, practice, and protest.

As uprisings continue around the country, white supremacist groups are mobilizing to undermine them. We condemn white supremacy in its many forms. We also acknowledge the structural nature of racism in the United States, emphasizing how it collaborates with transphobia, misogyny, and xenophobia to perpetuate systemic violence. As uprisings continue around the country, some people decry them as reckless or ineffective. We assert that no amount of property damage can compare to the destruction of Black lives. To compare them is to diminish these lives in the cruelest way. As uprisings continue around the country, privileged detractors call out for more peaceful or quieter approaches, shaming the rage of Black people and their allies. That iteration of peace does not entail progress. In times like this, silence and inaction are the enemies of justice.

As future policy professionals we commit to advancing policy solutions that rectify systematic injustice, invest in Black communities and defund police and prisons. We seek to amplify the voices as well as the needs of community organizations and leaders working diligently to protect the precious lives of Black people in this country. Please consult the RISE Up Resource Guide for more information.

In conclusion, we recall that Columbia University sits upon stolen land belonging to the Lenape people as we echo: Where there is no justice, there is no peace.

In Solidarity,

RISE & Our Partners

Editor’s Note: This letter was written by SIPA’s Race, Inequality, Solidarity, and Economics (RISE) Working Group and republished with permission.