Statement on Charlottesville from NYU Silver School of Social Work

We are deeply saddened by the deaths and injuries this past weekend resulting from long-standing hatred, racism, and anti-Semitism. We firmly condemn the violence that has once again shattered lives, which has been followed by a tepid and complicit response by the president and his administration.

The pursuit of justice is what drew many of us to the field of social work. We need to take a strong anti-racist stance against these violent acts in the name of justice. It is imperative for us to embrace accurate language characterizing these events, such as American terrorism at the hands of white supremacists and those sympathetic to alt-right and Nazi ideologies. This is an attack on the fabric of our entire society and should be acknowledged as such. It is imperative that we take a collective stance in bolstering anti-bigotry norms and develop strategies and tactics most strongly suited to stop these atrocities.

As this new school year begins, we must recommit ourselves to our organizing value of social justice. Let us be prepared to engage in conversations that speak truth to the history of injustice in America––it is only by looking at the roots that we gain understanding; understanding to ameliorate dissonance–– as has sadly been witnessed in the recent violence in Charlottesville, VA. We must stop treating each wave of violence as an aberration, but rather a continuum of violence––a tool, historically utilized to steal and build this country while subjugating its "non-desirables." It is by facing this truth of what America is, that we can truly begin the process of creating justice for all of its inhabitants.