Dear USAPECS Members and the Polar Science Community,
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[Content warning: USAPECS response to current events. This CW is intentionally vague in an attempt to not cause further trauma]
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We at the USAPECS Board condemn all acts of police brutality and injustice against Black individuals and the Black community as a whole. Black Lives Matter. The culture of structuralized white supremacy that pervades the very core of our academic, government, and other institutions perpetuate these acts of violence and oppression within our country.
Racism, discrimination, and violence are in direct conflict with values established by our organization, APECS, as well as the personal beliefs of the USAPECS Board members. The polar science community must recognize that racism in our fields, from individual to organizational levels, contributes to these injustices in the past and present. Polar science suffers as a result of embedded and structural racism and white supremacy within our own scientific communities.
Now, more than ever, we need to listen, support, and amplify the voices of the Black community. We acknowledge our positionality as an organization where white voices currently make up the majority of our Board. As such, we do not want to take space on social media, email inboxes, etc. where other voices should be projected. We will not be posting original content in these spaces right now and will only be sharing content from Black voices during this time. We will continue to update our website, including with tangible actions we are taking to work towards organizational improvement, resource lists, and further statements.
The USAPECS Board is here to listen to your concerns, suggestions, and needs, so please do not hesitate to reach out (usapecs@gmail.com). We welcome any feedback in any format about our organization, our response, and our actions moving forward.
The USAPECS Board