Social Justice Message

We cannot “unsee” the disparities in our society – this is a sentiment we have thought much about over the past year. Whether these disparities are rooted in longstanding social and economic inequities made more evident during the global health pandemic, or the result of racially-motivated bias and hatred resulting in violence and death across our nation, we have all witnessed these atrocities and sought ways to heal – as individuals and as a community.

Today’s guilty verdict of Derek Chauvin is a defining moment in our nation’s history, and it comes in the midst of a deeply troubling and tumultuous period. As we digest the outcome of this trial, we are reminded that “justice for all” is something to strive for daily. Emotions are high again today, and understandably so, as we also think about George Floyd. For so many across the nation, his death is a reckoning moment about structural racism, particularly in the Black community. In our community, as a former A&M-Kingsville student, he was also a father, a son, a brother and a friend. For all, George Floyd is more than the final recorded minutes of his life, which have become emblematic of the larger complexities surrounding issues of racial injustice and equity.

Today represents an opportunity to do our best to influence the future and to honor the life of George Floyd and the countless other Black and Brown individuals whose lives have been impacted by violence and racial injustice. During these times, we often wonder what we can do – if our voices and actions matter. Know that every action and each word matters. In the words of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (April 4, 1968): “… What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country.”

As a campus, it’s in our DNA to share moments of solidarity. All are welcome to join together in a moment of reflection at 1 p.m., Friday, April 23, at the Presidential Rose Garden behind the Madla Building to lift our hearts toward social justice. Or you may privately participate in this moment of silence from your personal space.

In the words of civil rights servant and icon John Lewis: “Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Never lose that sense of hope.”

President Cynthia Teniente-Matson and Cabinet

Dr. Jeanette DeDiemar
Vice President, University Relations

Dr. Mari Fuentes-Martin
Vice President, Student Success & Engagement

Kathryn Funk-Baxter
Vice President, Business Affairs

Jessica Loudermilk
Chief of Staff & Director, Presidential Operations

Brandy McLelland
Vice President, Enrollment Management

Dr. Mike O'Brien
Vice President, Academic Affairs & Provost

Darnell Smith
Director, Intercollegiate Athletics & Recreational Sports