Black Lives Matter
This statement of solidarity is a living document. New amendments are ongoing and under review. We pledge to hold dialogues, to raise up Black voices, to listen, and to share ways to best continuously adapt this statement, our policies, and our actions toward a world free of anti-Blackness.
We, the faculty and staff of the Computer Science Department at Bowdoin College, affirm our belief that Black lives matter.
We mourn the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and Atatiana Jefferson. We share in the grief and outrage over their deaths and the loss of countless other Black lives, as well as the persistent criminalization of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.
We recognize that structural inequities persist in computer science education and academia, that Black students and faculty face oppression within their daily lives, and that these two forces intersect to impact recruitment and persistence within computer science.
As members of the Computer Science Department, we are committed to challenging all forms of racial injustice, oppression, and white supremacy globally.
Our core values include the following:
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Stand by our zero-tolerance policy of hate and racism of any kind.
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Integrate best practices into our curriculum and our teaching methods that foster community, belonging, and retention.
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Work toward increasing inclusion, equity, and representation, especially with regards to race, gender, sexuality, class, nationality, and power inequities, within our classrooms, research laboratories, and department-supported activities.
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Work toward increasing inclusion, equity, representation, and support, especially with regards to race, gender, sexuality, class, nationality, and power inequities, of faculty and staff.
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Contribute time, energy, and financial support toward providing resources and opportunities, building communities, and connecting members of underrepresented groups in computer science, as well as celebrating the diversity that exists in computing.
It is important to acknowledge that we aren’t perfect. We must be held accountable as we work to attain the above goals, and we must be open to adding more.
We believe in visible, consistent, measurable action. The list above mentions small but concrete actions in our ongoing efforts to create and sustain equitable, collective, and just communities at Bowdoin and beyond. We commit to being accountable to these goals by reporting annually on our actions toward achieving them via the Chair’s departmental reports.
We seek thoughtful dialogues, reform, and compassion within our communities. We affirm that Black lives matter.
—Department of Computer Science