August 27, 2020

Dear DBBS Community Members, 

We write you, again, in solidarity with the many emotions you may be feeling at this time—outrage, fear, anger, sorrow, grief—given the current state of affairs in our country and world. DBBS stands together against racism and injustice within our institutions, which are reinforced by racist and bigoted individual actions and beliefs. DBBS stands firm in the determination that Black Lives Matter. Moreover, we continue to recognize the complex stressors and traumas within society, and we underscore the importance of unity in humanity in opposition against those who try to create divisions and ideas of “the other.”  

We grieve alongside Jacob Blake and his family. We mourn for those murdered and injured while protesting in Kenosha. We seek to shed light on the two different in/justice systems in the United States folks must navigate, depending upon the color of their skin. These injustices are made unignorable by the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Nina Pop, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Tony McDade and countless others. We recognize the terror of white supremacy “vigilante justice” and its devastatingly hateful outcomes. Furthermore, we want the DBBS community to be part of the change.  

The Division, alongside the WUSM Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is working to create a culture that reinforces principles of anti-racism. Part of this shift, will begin with reconstructing Orientation sessions for the incoming DBBS class. All incoming DBBS students will complete Canvas modules covering the following themes and concepts: 

• The urgency of intersectionality; 
• WashU’s In St. Louis Project; 
• The “Delmar Divide”; 
• Education, policing, and socioeconomic status related to zip-codes; 
• Racist histories and current realities within St. Louis; 
• Forward Through Ferguson; 
• The #2039 Action Plan; 
• Alternatives to calling the police in St. Louis; 
• Incoming students’ personal commitments to social justice work and volunteering in St. Louis; 
• A timeline of WashU’s racist past; 
• Upstander training; 
• Sexist and racists cultures within science and graduate training; 
• Documenting incidents of bias and harassment;  
• Social identity, implicit bias, imposter fears, micro aggressions, and stereotype threat; 
• And a brief analysis of racism in the context of the US and scie​nce 

Additionally, you might remember the Student Wellness During Current Events survey we distributed last month. We are thoughtfully analyzing responses to appropriately plan needed and supportive programming to the DBBS community. After the completion of our current DBBS Resiliency Journal Club, we will be releasing a new DBBS Journal Club focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the biomedical research enterprise. Similarly, the WUSM Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is developing a universal “Understanding Systemic Racism Training.”  

While we express our sadness, anger, grief, and other relevant emotions over our country’s current racial injustices, there is one emotion it is important to note that we do not feel: surprise. It is important recognize that without structural change, evolution of cultural norms, funded policy mandates, and individual transformations toward anti-racist practices, racist structures and individuals will continue to thrive in the US—at the cost of Black and Brown lives.  

We, as DBBS leaders, will commit toward seeing this change; we ask you to join us in these efforts. If you would like to arrange a time to chat about current events, how we can best support you and your fellow peers, build our community, or simply touch-base, please let us know. We understand that focusing on your science at this time may be difficult. Should you encounter any issues, we are here to support you. 

“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” 

-Angela Davis 

In solidarity,
DBBS Team 

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​​June 5, 2020

Dear DBBS Community Members,

We write you today in solidarity with the many emotions you may be feeling at this time—outrage, fear, anger, sorrow, grief—given the current state of affairs in our country and world. We have to stand together with the victims of murder, marginalization, anti-Blackness, and oppression because of their skin color- especially those in the Black community- and with those who seek justice through protests across our country. We are so proud of all the protesters taking to the streets in George Floyd's name and against police brutality all over the country. This movement is so brave, risking infection and injury so that this story and others are told and justice is demanded. In order to sustain changes, we all, especially white folks, need to be committed to adopting anti-racist ideologies and practices. We believe it is the responsibility of those with privilege to commit to and do this work to make changes in our current system.

This month alone we saw in six parts of America, six different scenes of racism played out in front of all of us.  George Floyd, Nina Pop, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Tony McDade- it is important to say their names and recognize their humanity and personhood. Alarmingly, these are just instances that received national attention or had video footage. Although the national dialogue has increased over the past few years due high-profile cases of police brutality and murder in the media, little to no change has been actualized to address racist policy or social norms. In June, we nationally observe LGBTQ+ Pride Month. In this moment, it important to remember that the first LGBTQ+ Pride, at the Stonewall Inn in June 1969, was a riot led by trans women of color against police violence. State-sanctioned violence and police brutality are issues that affect many communities. Liberation for one marginalized group cannot happen in isolation, we rely on community.

We recognize that in order for students to be allowed to bring their full, authentic selves to their labs and programs, we need to be aware of the social conditions outside of DBBS. We are here for you as students, scientists, and people. We have kept returning to Audre Lorde's quote, "Without community, there is no liberation." We hope to continue to build a DBBS community that seeks to empower and recognize all identities and experiences. As part of this effort, we are building and continuing to:

1. collect and curate resources for DBBS community members to engage with. We hope these resources will encourage growth, connection, and meaningful change. We have provided a list of events and resources at the bottom of this page;
2. develop and launch two newly created mini-courses/online journal clubs on Resiliency & Racial Injustice and Inequity. These mini-courses/journal clubs will not be for credit, but will have registration start and end dates. In the next two weeks, we will be releasing registration for our Resiliency journal club. Please refer to our webpage or sign-up emails from your program coordinator;
3. follow through and implement the AAMC’s restorative justice pilot program in which DBBS and MSTP students will be participating in next year. The SOM Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, jointly with the DBBS Office, submitted a proposal for the request for applications for the Restorative Justice in Academic Medicine (RJAM) program in mid-April. This program, selecting five pilot institutions, is a supplemental/alternative process for academic health centers to build community and address mistreatment and misconduct. In late May, we received notice that WUSM has been selected as a pilot institution. All DBBS and MTP students will participate in this program in fall of 2021;
4. & assess and address climate and climate-related issues within DBBS. In 2017, DBBS began systematically collecting information on climate and culture in our programs and division. We have done this through our 2017 Climate Survey, subsequent focus groups, and other surveys and assessments. We had been working on releasing a plan addressing our climate this spring. We know that addressing bias needs to begin with our students and community. However, we feel strongly that without collecting data on the COVID-19 pandemic and experiences during this time of unrest that our plan would not adequately address the various needs of our student body. Hence, we need to gather feedback in various forms (e.g. listening sessions/focus groups, surveys, etc.) from our community members so this plan is thoughtful and informed by all of our community’s needs. We plan on releasing this full plan to you in the fall of 2020. This strategic plan will include action items, assessment metrics, and targets for addressing our climate, culture, and training in regards to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We recognize that many of us are feeling deeply affected by the racial injustices present in our society, which have continued to persist systemically for generations. We feel, as DBBS leaders, it is important that we show-up for the community and provide support, tangible resources, and reinforce our commitment to this movement. We want to assure you that DBBS staff is here for you.

If you would like to arrange a time to chat about current events, how we can best support you and your fellow students, build our community, or simply touch-base, please let us know. We understand that focusing on your science at this time may be difficult. Should you encounter any issues, we are here to support you.

“People over property.
People over product.
People over profit.” - Rachel Cargle
Black Lives Matter.

In Solidarity,
Robyn, Cami, Anna, Jessica, Andrew, Joel, and Rosie​ 

Educational, Community, and Support Resources 

We recognize there may be paralysis in not knowing what to do at this time. We want to highlight some recommendations and resources that you can use. While this is not an exhaustive list or checklist, this is a place to start:

As a note in a movement for justice and equity, we recognize this means there will be a diversity of tactics and we must support and center those most directly affected by these issues. Supporting and centering the movement can take many different shapes and forms- there is no one way to do this work given we all have differing limits, boundaries, and traumas we carry with us. This means we will intentionally take care to not put others in harm’s way with our actions, especially those who are most vulnerable. Similarly, we should work to support those in leadership who are affected by these issues. Those of us with privileges should shoulder risks and burdens when others cannot. Talk to people who are in the fight with you. The stronger our community is the more difficult it is to divide us.​