An open letter to the CWRU community
In an open letter to the CWRU community, the university’s Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity Robert L. Solomon, Esq. reflects on protests and reactions following the death of George Floyd and suggests ways that the campus and country can move forward after this senseless tragedy.
In part he writes,
“To move forward, we must also acknowledge that while the death of George Floyd was the catalyst for our current protests, it is only the tip of the iceberg. All of the decades of pain, frustration, anger, sadness and hopelessness have come to a head.
Despite my anguish, I believe there is hope. I believe this is a watershed moment in our history. I believe our current struggles can produce progress, but we must move beyond words. We must continue to bring pressure to bear on every facet of America to produce the progress we demand.”
Read Solomon’s letter in its entirety.
Read President Barbara R. Snyder & Provost and Executive Vice President Ben Vinson III's letter.
Conversations on Race: Turning Pain into Purpose
Reflections and discussion on the death of George Floyd and its aftermath with Robert L. Solomon, JD, vice president for CWRU's Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity and Bryan Adamson, JD, associate dean of diversity, CWRU School of Law. View the presentation from this engaging remote conversation, which included group discussion facilitated by trained Sustained Dialogue moderators.
2020 Homecoming Event: Diversity Think Forum
Thursday, October 8, 4:30 to 6 p.m. From Pain to Progress: The State of Racial Justice in the U.S. in the Aftermath of the George Floyd Killing. Moderated by Robert L. Solomon, Esq., vice president of the OIDEO and featuring panelists Frank Whitfield, Ayesha Bell Hardaway, Alexandria Johnson Boone and Trina Evans.
A Promised Hope for Honoring Racial Justice
The Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity (OIDEO) joined the Interreligious Council and the Office of Multicultural Affairs in honoring those killed by systematic racism and police brutality at a special tree planting ceremony. The "A Promised Hope for Honoring Racial Justice" event was held on June 25, exactly one month after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
The event symbolized OIDEO's and others collective commitment to address racial justice in concrete ways.