A Statement of Solidarity from the Cogut Institute

Published June 5, 2020

The Cogut Institute for the Humanities stands in solidarity with all those protesting the killing of George Floyd (and so many others) and against the deeply entrenched effects of systemic racism and police brutality in the United States. We share the intensifying revulsion of so many fellow Americans and global citizens for white supremacy, a “lethal public health issue that predates and contributes to COVID-19,” in the words of a June 2, 2020 open letter signed by 1,000 public health professionals. As an Institute dedicated to humanistic scholarship and the values of dignity, difference, and diversity, we are committed to research and collaboration on ways to confront long-standing injustices, enact meaningful change, and end dehumanization. We join with all those working to repair what James Baldwin called the “enormous incoherence” at the heart of the American experience. And we affirm the historic opportunity of this moment to advance the project of dismantling the foundational system of institutional and structural racism in this country.

Amanda Anderson, Director
Timothy Bewes, Interim Director, 2019-2020