 Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. Those words resonate with me because the lyrics are all about being lost and now found. The regret of so many things and the hope for the opportunity to do better and be better. I am Wanda Heading-Grant, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. And I welcome you, my UVM community, my UVM family, this afternoon to join me and others to reflect, remember and recommit ourselves to racial equity and racial justice. Even though we are physically apart, we are sewed together in spirit and in hope and in action collectively. You will hear from President Garamella, Provost Prelock, staff, students and faculty. Amazing Grace will showcase members of our community reflecting, educating and honoring those who recently lost their lives to institutionalized racism, like Breonna Teller, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and so many others. We want you to know that black lives matter. Black lives matter here at UVM and we stand together. So thank you, thank you for joining us and enjoy. Hello everyone. Thank you for coming together for this event. I'm hopeful it will bring healing to us all. Even more importantly, I hope it will help put us on a pathway to positive change. The killing of George Floyd was as tragic as it was wrong. But sadly, it was nothing new. The history of our nation is scarred by so much injustice and lost potential. There are so many names to be remembered and spoken. And I struggle with the understanding that an incalculable number of them will not be heard or recognized. They can however be acknowledged and honored and the power to do that rests in our hands. The events of the past couple of weeks have shaken me on many levels. As a father, a friend, a colleague. But today, as an educator, I want to focus on potential. Our potential is precious. It is a gift. And to waste it, to thwart its growth or cast it aside is a deep injury to our well-being as a society. I do not have all the answers to fight systemic racism. It terrorizes and diminishes us all. And it is time for it to end. But as an educator, I commit to you that I will do everything in my power to harness and develop potential. Black lives matter. And I'm here to ensure the talent, experience and perspective of black lives are fully represented in our community. We cannot delay this work. As I shared last week and in the words of Langston Hughes, I too am America. That is our North Star. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this important event and to share my support for the black and African-American members of our UVM, Burlington and Vermont communities. I would like to take this opportunity to also extend my deepest condolences to the family of George Floyd, whose death was horrific and senseless. The events of the last several weeks have been heartbreaking. I know that as deep as my pain has been, the pain, anguish and anger that black and African-Americans have experienced has a depth and a breath that I cannot begin to imagine. In the most recent days, we've been hearing the question, what's next? My role as Chief Academic Officer of the University of Vermont allows me to work with talented and committed people who want to help answer that question. We share the goal of identifying and dismantling institutional racism and the systematic barriers to change. This begins with our curriculum. We are a research university rooted in the liberal arts. The liberal arts help us understand our past and our present and the forces that hold us back and move us forward. They help us tell our stories. They help us express our sorrows and our hopes and all that it means to be human. We will use the power of our new general education curriculum to support and prepare the leaders of tomorrow. We will do this through a broad set of newly adopted academic requirements that will provide our students with the knowledge and skills necessary to build a better world. This work builds on our existing diversity and sustainability requirements. Included in that, I've identified several action steps that will help us to achieve our goal, many of which are already underway. Let me just share a few of them with you. Our reappointment promotion and tenure guidelines are being revised and many consider how our faculty demonstrate their commitment to our inclusion and diversity goals in their teaching and advising. We have also revised our approach to recruitment and expanded our efforts to collaborate with the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to recruit more diverse faculty, including Henderson Fellows. Deans, vice provosts and directors are expected to provide annual updates on their Inclusive Excellence Action Plans and to demonstrate how they have integrated feedback from the university's 2019 climate survey into that plan. We are also building research collaborations and beginning to create curriculum bridges with an institution that is one of our historically black colleges and universities. We are also more carefully examining our social justice activities across campus and we're mapping a plan to increase collaboration and integration of these activities. The events of the last several weeks have been swift and dramatic. The work that comes next is equally important. Our progress will come through a series of collected and individual actions that will be both public and private, great and small, and rapid and methodical. Each member of our academic community has a role to play and duty to contribute to a just and equitable future. I look forward to working together to make that change happen. Thank you. I'm here for students of color and I come to you today with a heavy heart. It belongs to be comforted by justice and real change. I begin this reflection with a few words from an Inuit prayer and there is only one great thing, the only thing to see the great day that dawns and the light that fills the world. End of quote. You and I were blessed to open our eyes this morning. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, their eyes are forever closed. Never will they saber the sweet morning sunlight again. For them and many other black Americans whose names I have not called, the days of their lives are over. Wrench from them and us by the savagery of racism. We can never bring them back. They will have no more morning jogs, cuddles with partners or quick stops at the corner store. They are gone except in our memories and so we say their names. Ahmaud, Tony, George, Breonna. What's in a name? What do we conjure when we speak the name of our kin? Imagine the joy, pleasure and hope that accompanies the naming of a newborn. The chosen name identifies the unique and sacred life force present in the tiny bundle of humanity. Some names connect the little one to ancestors or goddesses. Others are ingenious creations of parental imagination. With our names we are entwined with our families, loved ones and the human tribe. Our names portend to promise and launch us into the life to come. Our names become our very selves, encapsulating our miraculous lived experience. To speak the names of our departed is to hold on to the reality of their precious lives, to keep them with us, especially when they are shockingly taken before their time. As an act of resurrection and resistance, we say their names to demand justice for each black life destroyed by racism. We say their names as a reminder that black people in this land should not have to be courageous to simply go about the business of an ordinary day, an ordinary life. We say their names so that in our multicultural nation our racial identities will not relegate some of us to life and others to death. We say their names now so that one day we never have to add another name to this infamous list so that one day murderous racism will never prevent a precious, sacred black life from seeing the light of day. Mariana Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and the innumerable named and unnamed black people taken by racial violence. We pledge to work for justice and real change so that your living and your dying will not be in vain. Thank you. Hi, my name is Major Jackson Richard A. Dennis, Professor of English. I would like to read my poem Invocation which was written in response to self-isolation shelter in place as a result of the global health crisis. But I also had in mind maybe prescient even the police brutalities and intolerance in our country. The poem is titled Invocation. Down here we've inherited an arcade of stars and want kindness that can stop a bomb. We want intelligence that survives mutation. No more rallies of hate. No more stone mountains. Just proliferating peaks in the presence of friends like magical wands. We want the father in the park running after a child peddling into her future. We want to turn a corner and stumble upon the muted concert of two people in an embrace with entangled eyes. We want to hear a faraway train whistle cast a spell on the coming night. Back in that faraway land we were nurtured once on a dance floor, blazing in some tribal purity, probably near some bribe, probably swirling in sweaty laughter as we reach for the tips of each other's fingers streaming their ambient light. Such were the new bursts of ourselves breaching horizons like a sting. This is not the ending we imagined. We want to see each other again. Strangers walking through curtains of rain, storms lighting up streets laden with blossoms. Thank you. I hope you are well and I hope you are experiencing joy in the possibility of tomorrow. Over the past couple of weeks there have been an increasing amount of riots and protests all over America and in other countries such as the UK and New Zealand. Black lives matter urges for one simple thing, the respect and consideration of black and African American lives. We realize that we cannot have true peace until there is equity among all, until we look at one another and don't make quick assumptions based on their race. As a result of many people joining in the fight to spread awareness of Black Lives Matter, we can see some hope for our future and for the future generations to come. It is amazing to see many people of many ethnicities, cultural backgrounds coming together just to fight for one simple cause. I truly believe that maybe one day that we can change some minds of others of those who see Black people as inferior and switch it so that they may see us all as equal and see us all as one. My name is Gerald Coleman and I'm director of custodial services, waste management, recycling and university surplus at the University of Vermont. And this is a revolutionary time in America's history and it will be televised. The racial and social and economic injustices that are so woven into the fabric of America can no longer be quilted. It is past time for us to tear the threads apart. As the revolution continues today, protests and protestors of all walks of life stand in solidarity against senseless acts of prejudice, mistreatment of a nation's people and murder and broad daylight, social injustices, economic injustices of innocent unarmed Black Americans. The world is watching as America tears herself apart and the peoples of the nation are joining in the movement for equality and justice for their fellow Americans. As a nation, we can no longer hide our heads in the sand and our privileged and safe spaces to watch our fellow man be mistreated, murdered and basically lynched in broad daylight. We're resilient people and we've suffered and survived for decades and centuries of afterthought and brutality and prejudices and the conscious and unconscious attempts at extinguishing Black people in America. We can't continue with this state of oppression. As Martin Luther King said in his letter from a Bremenham jail, perhaps it's easy to say that if you've never felt the stinging, it's time to wait, stinging of segregation. But we as a people can no longer wait. The oppressed cannot remain oppressed forever. This is our time to rise up and continue the revolution. Betty Jones, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, and to all the Black and African American people out there that have been victims of racism, many might not understand the fear of going to a grocery store, going out for a walk, or the fear of simply just living. Many might not understand the pain and suffering of many Black families. But we stand with you. I stand with you. It is time for change. It is time for people to acknowledge their privilege and the role racism has in our institutions. It's impossible to be Black in this country and not be filled by a pervasive awareness of one's race, racism, and its impact on your personal and professional life. It's impossible to be Black in this country and not be filled with a sense of constant awareness of one's visibility, vulnerability, and the potential dangers that it poses. In the last few weeks, I have felt my awareness and sense of vulnerability heightened. My worries and anxiety for myself, my son, my community almost overwhelming. I am also aware that in the last few weeks, my anger and sadness as a systemic oppression, targeting, and marginalization of Black people by the police has been a constant presence. What I know for sure is that at the height of bubble, written expression, and emotional outpouring of anger, sadness, and fear lies hope. The recognition and naming of racism and racialized encounters with the police that many of us have experienced countless times. That in naming and shouting them from the mountaintop, that a revolution might reach its peak, that many of us might actually live to see its outcome. For anyone watching this recording, if you wish to create a more just and fair society, one characterized by racial equality and safety for all, one in which the police are held accountable for their actions and trained to offer low enforcement based on the principles of justice and fairness for all. Then show it in your actions and policies. The time for what alone is gone, we are now living in the age of action. I remain optimistic, and I hope that you too remain optimistic, and that this moment empowers you, energizes you, and reveals the possibility of unity, diversity, racial equality, social justice, and peace in our country. Our world. Thank you. For Brother George Floyd, Palante, Prendicione Palante. In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass, in a speech rebuking slavery, said, Ford is not the light that is needed, but fire. It is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened. The conscious of the nation must be roused. The propriety of the nation must be startled. The hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed. UVM, let us be thunderous. UVM, let us be the earthquake. Let us use the privilege and power of education to learn, and to grow, and to condemn structural and institutional racism. George Floyd's daughter, Gigi, said, My daddy changed the world. UVM, let's use our collective power of education to prove her right. I am Dr. Wanda Heading-Grant. I am the vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Vermont. I've been here for some time, and I'm sure some of you will recognize my name and my face. But what you don't know is that how important this place is to me, and this is why I continue to be here and do the work here. I intentionally chose the Davis Center to say a few words that were on my mind. I've spoken a lot, I've said a lot, and I've really just sort of felt perplexed in terms of which way to go next. I really wanted to be here, but felt really close to me next to David Jamison's portrait. David's portrait is called Self-Portrait at the University of Black Vermont. David and I went to school together. David and I entered into the University of Vermont together. We spent part of the summer together as part of the Summer Enrichment Scholarship Program. I loved David. We fought verbally. We talked and played. We slid in the snow together. We hung out. But David opened my eyes to a lot of things, and David was an activist. He advocated for justice and for equity, and I felt like this is the place I wanted to be. As we call lots of people's names, Breonna, George, Michael, Trayvon, Amadou, Diablo. I call David Jamison's name because he's so part of this community and its history. There's so much I can say. I've already said a lot. What I really want to do is call us into action. I want to be, and I believe I am, a part of the next steps. It's so important, my UVM family. We have to dismantle racism. We have to tackle this, inequalities, racialized practices within institutions here and beyond. I am ready to roll. I hope you are. I'm going to be asking you for help. But no, it's important to reach out to your Black and African American family and friends. Let them know you care, and the best way of letting them know you care is getting active. So my message to you is I'm remembering David right now. Black, gay, and ready to roll all the time. Let's get busy. For real, let's get busy. I need you as a Black woman. I need you as a professional here at the University of Vermont. I really need you to care about this. Thank you. As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to take a course titled The History and Development of Racism in the United States of America. That one course profoundly changed my life, and my experience speaks to the transformational power of education. In that course, I learned about some of the laws passed during the 1600s to begin institutionalizing racism in the colonies and how for almost 400 years many people, particularly Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, have fought for their right to be seen as human in both the eyes of their fellow citizens and in the laws and policies that govern our country. Due to that transformational experience, I committed my life to passionately pursuing justice to make the world a more equitable place. And I hope that many of you will commit or recommit yourselves now and in the years to come to help our communities be better, more equitable places to live and learn. This is a watershed moment in history, and I hope you will choose to be on the right side of history. I'm Alan Maynard, faculty member in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. It's important in these times to acknowledge that many in our community and beyond are hurting. There's anger, frustration, sadness, fear, and more. I think to our common ground, respect, integrity, innovation, openness, justice, and responsibility. These aren't just a common core set of values. They are etched in stone on our campus. They inform our framework for inclusive excellence that operationalizes these ideals. True academic institutions, our agencies of change. True academics are not interested in the status quo. And as we build academic community, let's be sure to be the embodiment of our common ground. Let's link arms together and walk one step at a time towards a better UVM, a better academic community, and bring those along with us that will help make this world a better place. We can do it one step at a time for Mott Strong. So, this is kind of hard. I'm feeling sad, angry, makes me unsure of what I really have to say to this. So I'm trying to use an image. This is a picture I took at the memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, the Peace and Justice Memorial. Each of those cylinders represents a listing for one county in the U.S., black men who are lynched. So it's not just Gregory Freud's death that comes to mind with what's happening right now, but a long, troubled history. And I'm getting a little old for this, right? I've just seen this happen so many times. And yet I know there's a wonderful book called Faces at the Bottom of the Well by Derek Bell that surrenders just not a good option. Rather than my words, I'm going to give you a few quotes that have helped me and that I hope will help you, that will help us, black folks, to have grace. In the words of Audre Lorde, it's not our differences that divide us. It's our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. James Baldwin once said, not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed unless it's faced. And Malcolm X reminds me, you cannot separate peace from freedom, because no one can be at peace unless they have their freedom. So in these times, let's hold each other close, at least in our hearts and our minds if we cannot, do that in person. And let's continue to push for changes, however slow, but without pushing, they won't happen. Thank you. Precious Lord, take my hand, let me stand, pressure. Yes, Lord, lead us on, at least lead me on, whatever moves you forward. Look at all the videos. I can't tell you how many times I cried. I can't tell you how many times I even just laughed at the fact that we're doing this together. It's so ridiculous. The only emotion that would come out was laughter sometimes. I just want to thank all my colleagues, all my friends who came together in their homes, in their yards, behind their desk to share their feelings, to acknowledge racism, to tell the truth, to tell their stories, to help us reflect, remember, and recommit ourselves. There are a number of other videos where folks have told their truth, have told their stories that call us to action. I want you to see them. I want you to hear them. I think everybody who has contributed. Please look at this program again. Go to the website where the others will be there. Thank you. I am ready for action. You will also find resources and next steps for where we're going as an institution. Yup. UVM. We're going as an institution and therefore we will be moving forward and beyond the walls of UVM because we will have an impact for difference, to make difference. So thank you again. Be well. Be safe. Let's roll y'all. Let's go.