As members of ITM, we stand in unshakable support of the Black Lives Matter movement and the urgent demands for social justice in our present. In that spirit, we ask all of our readers to read and share this statement by Medievalists of Color in support of the uprisings that have followed the murders of George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, and other victims of police violence. As the statement authors stress so well:
"The intensity and political clarity of the protests reflect a lengthy history especially of Black struggle against systematic structures of racism and oppression that have been part of the settler colonial and racial capitalist projects of the United States since its inception. The movement’s demands to abolish the status quo of militarized policing reflect a growing awareness of the police as violent agents of a U.S. state invested in upholding white supremacy, capitalist inequality, and ruthlessly suppressing dissent.
As medievalists we know that a world without police is not only possible but the norm for most of human history.
It’s time to act. We ask that you donate to relief funds, to Black community mutual aid organizations, Black students, and to Black businesses, and Black community groups."
MOC has generously attached an array of resources and educational materials to this statement -- we urge you to read them and take action within your communities (academic and otherwise) in all ways that you can.
Portraits by Ariel Sinha
