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As I begin my senior year at Bowdoin, my mind races. My thoughts have always been rapid; growing up as the oldest daughter in a single-parent household has its fair share of challenges, and being an educated Black woman in the United States has even more.
President Clayton Rose went before the Brunswick Town Council via Zoom on Tuesday to express concern about racism in the Brunswick area, sharing news of two separate racist incidents that occurred in Brunswick during the last month.
This afternoon, Professor of History Patrick Rael and Geoffrey Canada Associate Professor of Africana Studies and History Brian Purnell will kick off a four part discussion series inspired by the New York Times Magazine’s “The 1619 Project.” The series, sponsored by the history department, was inspired by the social and political movements that swept across the United States after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers in May.
In an email to the campus community on Wednesday, President Clayton Rose provided an update on the College’s plan for anti-racist work in the upcoming months. “I am writing to follow up on my message of June 11 about our work ahead on race and racism,” Rose wrote.
For the past few days, an unmistakable beeping noise has pierced my house at least once a day, notifying my entire family of curfews set by Los Angeles officials. None of us were surprised—protests were occurring throughout the country in response to the latest brutal murder of a Black man by a police officer.
Over the past three weeks since George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis police on Monday, May 25, Americans across the country have taken to the streets in protest. These mass demonstrations focus not only on justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others who were slain by police violence, but also on calling for an uncompromising reexamination of institutional racism in our nation.
In the weeks since a police officer killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, our country has been embroiled in a critical conversation about the racism, police brutality and systemic violence that Black Americans face every day. With Americans taking to the streets in all fifty states to protest police brutality, we, the members of the Orient’s editorial board, stand in solidarity with Black students and activists.
As Minneapolis erupted into protest in response to George Floyd’s killing in police custody, communities across the nation followed suit, with large-scale anti-racist demonstrations occurring in more than 75 cities. As Bowdoin students watched the protests unfold on their screens and in their streets, with some choosing to join in, sign petitions, make donations and spread awareness on social media, the College formulated its own response.
