Black Lives Matter
A MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY AND COMMITMENT
The staff of the Fisher Center at Bard, and the wider community of Bard College, stand in solidarity with Black Americans and those who oppose injustice. We mourn the recent and continued loss of Black lives and we grieve for all in our community who are suffering at the hand of an unjust system. In this painful and illuminating moment, we acknowledge that we exist in a system of oppression and racism and that our silence toward this would not only be antithetical to our mission, but harmful to the communities we serve.
To the Black artists, colleagues, students, and audience members who make up our vibrant community, we commit to listening, examining our practices, disrupting patterns of inequity, and amplifying your voices. Black lives matter.
We call on our community to join us in this journey of self-examination—and to work together to disrupt the cycle of oppression and violence experienced by our Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGBTQ+ public. Our mission of inspiring creativity, connection, and community compels us to take action.
In his letter to the campus community, Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, reaffirmed the College’s mission to create a more just and civil society:
In solidarity,“On behalf of the entire Bard College community, I want to express our solidarity with all who grieve for the deaths, with all who live in constant fear of the brutality of racial discrimination, and with all who find themselves without hope in these dark and violent times. [...] Something has to change in a way that actually helps the lives of our fellow citizens and neighbors of color.”
The staff of the Fisher Center at Bard
