The Mead Witter School of Music is immensely saddened by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Tony Robinson and countless others. Though we are saddened, we cannot claim shock: this country’s history is laced with anti-Black violence.

We feel that it is a matter of human dignity and duty to express our outrage and stand with our Black community members including students, faculty, and staff. We also stand in solidarity with those who are protesting anti-Black injustice in all its forms: not only the most blatant forms like police murders, but also disproportionate rates of incarceration, disparities in healthcare and education, and myriad other structural inequities.

We offer our sympathy in anger and grief, our love for those who wish to accept it, and our ears and shoulders for those who may need them. Especially, we affirm our commitment to dismantling the structures that perpetuate racial disparities both inside and outside the School of Music. Please feel free to reach out to the undersigned with thoughts, feelings, and suggestions. We do not all experience the world in the same way, as these police murders make clear, but we do share it, and we wish to share it well.

Susan C. Cook, Director of the Mead Witter School of Music
director@music.wisc.edu

David Crook, Diversity Advocate for the Mead Witter School of Music
dcrook@wisc.edu