Our Commitments to Social Justice and Anti-Racist Work
Biopolitical Times
We are in a moment of extreme challenge for each of us and for our country's future – yet again. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other Black men and women are recent horrors in a centuries-long history of systemic racism.
The waves of anger, grief, and protest in response to these killings offer some hope for confronting and finally ending this inhumane system. For that hope to be realized, we will have to step up, to sharpen our opposition to white supremacy and deepen our commitment to explicitly anti-racist work. Those of us with privilege and influence because we are white or have economic and social resources must listen to and learn from leaders and organizations fighting racism and all forms of oppression, and take concrete actions to achieve real social change.
The Center for Genetics and Society’s commitment to social justice includes unearthing the legacies of scientific racism and eugenics. These legacies are not curiosities of a long-buried past. They distort current endeavors ranging from biomedical research to bioethics, from genetic genealogy to DNA forensics, from assisted reproduction to general health care. They continue to dehumanize targeted groups, stratify society, and justify inequities.
To do this work, both as an organization and as individuals, means confronting anti-Black racism and white supremacy in all their forms. We will learn and do as much as possible as we work in coalition to bend the arc of history toward justice.
In solidarity,
The CGS team
Photo by Isaiah Rustad on Unsplash