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Dear CWC Community,��

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The last ten days in America once again warn us that racism, if not eradicated, will cause undue harm to our fellow citizens, rip us apart as a nation, and eventually topple our democracy. Will we listen?

YES.��

A��white��man kneeling on a��black man’s��neck is not just one��knee��on one neck. It’s the weight of centuries of oppression, eviscerating��the��lives of Black people, through physical violence, economic violence, and social violence. It’s the manifestation of an entrenched racist and patriarchal system. It’s what happens in a culture that has far too long assumed that the person under the knee alone��bears the��responsibility of moving the knee. But, George Floyd��decimated that assumption when he cried, “I can’t breathe.” We are listening and we hear you, Mr. Floyd.��Yours is a cry we commit to amplify and address through our work at the Colorado Women’s��College.��

We will dig deeper and ask ourselves what more we can do.��We will begin with empathy as we convene courageous conversations to change beliefs and behaviors, including our own.��We��will��act in concert with��students, faculty, staff, alums, partners and friends to hammer away at organizational systems, community structures, political systems, and social constructs.��We will own our identities and experiences��as��we approach the work ahead with humility, curiosity, courage and persistence.��We will inspire hearts and minds and motivate a united community to dismantle, destroy and rebuild in the image of an equitable world.

At CWC, we��believe��equity��is in reach - not just in our students’��lifetimes, but in our own. For over 500 years, this country has been waiting for the generation that puts��an��end to racism and inequity. To that we say, in solidarity,��“Us. Now.”

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Ann Ayers

Dean, Colorado Women’s College

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I offer this message from the hearts and��minds��of our entire team at CWC, with whom I am grateful and honored to work each and every day.��

#equityis #blacklivesmatter #silenceisviolence #cwc