Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Romona Allen (An MIT Community Vigil)”.
Ramona ALLEN, My name is Ramona Allen and I’m the vice president for human resources at MIT.. Some of us we are at a familiar crossroads. Familiar because as a person of color violence has impacted our experiences and our family histories in this country. Since its inception. Like a virus, racism mutates and changes, but leads to a national sickness, marked by widespread economic, political and social inequalities.
As a child growing up in segregated Boston, I had eggs thrown at me.. My school bus was regularly stoned and shot at.. I had no choice but to keep moving, so these traumas were never really addressed., But these are collective, deep-seated, historical traumas that are now manifesting on the streets.. It’S exhausting to be a person of color in this country.
And, quite frankly, we are tired.. I’M tired of imagining my husband, family and friends, — people who look like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor — facing a criminal legal system that does not recognize their fundamental worth and humanity and deeply disheartened and disappointed by the ways in which the lives of people of Color have been devalued over and over again.. This is quite a heavy burden to bear. Black men.
Women and trans lives, matter., And this shouldn’t have to be a point of discussion.. Fortunately, we convene today as members of a community of teaching, learning and innovation.. We draw strength from knowing that at MIT we continue to be committed to educating students in ways that will serve the nation and the world.
Watching commencement just a few days ago, warmed. My heart left me feeling encouraged and inspired.. I am and inspired by our staff. Our faculty, who in countless ways, demonstrate their brilliance, thoughtfulness and kindness.. You just heard that from Sandy and Malik and the other students that were here., I’m counting on you all.. My expectations for this community are extremely high.. We have the best and the brightest minds here. So we need to lead the country from Cambridge the way we do in every other way that makes MIT a place of excellence. Innovation, imagination and creativity are part of our DNA, and we must use these strengths to be part of envisioning new ways to be together.
As a community. At this particular crossroads, we must take action and now. No more waiting., Educate, yourself., Raise awareness., Sign. Petitions., Donate to bail funds.
Support our activists. Protest. Vote.. We need all people involved, –, not just people of color, but all people to fight for change.. If you are experiencing a new level of consciousness, just embrace it, because we need you., We need changes in laws behaviors and hiring practices.. We need to create greater opportunity for people from marginalized communities to access education.
And finally, we need to hold each other accountable for that change. Ask your peers what they are doing to enact change.. We must harness the strengths of our diverse campus community and, in the spirit of our mission statement, bring knowledge to bear on one of the world’s greatest challenges. By working together. Let’S lead the way, MIT. We’re calling on you to do that and all of the members of this community to step up and let’s get this done..
Thank you. .