Dear Leadership Alliance Family:
As I watched the events unfold over these past weeks, I have experienced a spectrum of emotions including outrage, frustration, profound sadness and at times a sense of helplessness. The tragedies of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, KY have unveiled, for the whole world to see, the chronic racial injustices that are plaguing the African American community in particular and communities of color in general.
When I reflect on the Leadership Alliance’s mission, my sense of helplessness dissipates as I am reinvigorated by the social justice approach to the work we do. We are developing leaders who, through their scholarship informed by their diverse perspectives, will help to amplify and address issues that are disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. We each have a part to play in this and we have our work cut out for us. These recurring events of historical oppression are powerful reminders that we must be diligent and stand in solidarity in the fight against systemic racism, police brutality, and social and economic inequities.
Throughout the summer, we will share resources and plan opportunities to engage in critical and cathartic conversations with scholars from across the country. I believe that through dialogue comes healing and understanding. As a thought partner in this fight for equality for all people, I commit to learning, sharing and leveraging resources to unite our collective and creative voices to inform actionable strategies for change. Even in the wake of a global pandemic, the Leadership Alliance commits to supporting the next generation of diverse scholars and the transformative impact they will have wherever they go.
We can do this. It’s our responsibility, our legacy.
Medeva Ghee, PhD
Executive Director, The Leadership Alliance
Assistant Professor of the Practice of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Brown University
