Our UHS Social Services team stands in solidarity with communities who are heartbroken, outraged, and in reflection about the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and many other Black lives lost due to police violence. We write this in humility and commitment to supporting our Black students and colleagues, and the larger movements beyond our campus community.
These incidents and recorded videos remind us of the collective and interpersonal impacts of racial trauma. We recognize that these crimes are not isolated incidents, but the violent legacy of institutions and structures that originated 400 years ago which endure today in the form of institutionalized anti-Blackness in this country. These histories lie beneath the protests, movements, and challenges we face to address police brutality in Black communities today.
We wish to use our program's power, privilege, and positionality to move out of complicity and to reduce the oppression of communities of color. We would like to offer intentional allyship and ask ourselves critical questions about healing services - how to create supportive spaces to process grief and actively listen to people's lived experiences.
Social Services is committed to supporting the health and well-being of the diverse Cal student body and members of marginalized communities, with the recognition that anti-Blackness, colorism, and racism are traumas that can profoundly impact the concerns we address in counseling - including relationship violence, sexual assault, identity exploration, body image, nutrition, food insecurity, alcohol & other drug use, and chronic health conditions. As providers, we commit to services that engage in social justice and to unlearning those rooted in white supremacy. We stand in support of the Black student community and our colleagues.
In wellness and health,
The Social Services Team