"Hope for justice, peace, and equity" – A statement by President Marcy and President-Elect Pitchford

Dominican Community,

Even as Black Americans continue to die in encounters with police, and as other manifestations of racialized violence tear us apart, today’s verdict in the trial seeking justice for George Floyd’s death offers a moment of hope that greater justice, peace, and equity can be won.

As a diverse university with a mission that declares our shared faith in the possibility that we can learn together, with all of our community, and also deepen that learning and turn it outward in service, Dominican welcomes and affirms such hope. We also mourn together, and will continue to make space to honor and listen to one another’s anger as well as our commitment to making further change. We work for a world in which all have access to education, autonomy, and the basic safety to reach their full potential.

The judicial system cannot change what has already been done, or rectify losses and pain that have already occurred. It is our responsibility as communities to honor that pain and those losses. The legal system can hold individuals accountable for acts of racist violence, and as a nation and a community, we are right to demand that it does so.

Sincerely,

Mary B. Marcy, President, Dominican University of California            
Nicola Pitchford, President-Elect, Dominican University of California