Colleagues:
I know many of our students, faculty, and staff are feeling disappointment, frustration, and anger over the recent news of Breeona Taylor. I want to acknowledge this and remind us to be aware of those emotions that may be heavy today and the weeks to come.
There is a lot of pain in our nation, and some may question the meaning of shared humanity. I do believe that UNC can show what shared humanity means and I encourage you to reach out to our students, faculty, and staff of color to model relationship building which is foundational to our UNC community. Many of us care, and we need to be courageous to let our students, faculty, and staff of color know.
Although the details of the case are not fully exposed to the public, violence within minoritized and racialized communities continues to be an affront to these community. Additionally, communities of color utilize "being in community" (being in the presence of) as a canonical foundation to feel a sense of support. Therefore, being physically apart and socially distant creates additional challenges. Let's keep that aspect on our radar, and perhaps we have to do more check-ins than before.
Thanks for allowing me to take a few minutes of your day. Let me know if you need anything.
Dr. Tobias J. Guzmán
