To our Cornell Catholic family,

The Cornell Catholic Community’s Student Leadership Team condemns police brutality and grieves for the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, and all Black people who have been wrongfully murdered. All human life is sacred and made in the image and likeness of God our Creator. These racially charged attacks are an assault on human dignity, and we as Catholics must affirm the right to life and freedom from oppression. To do so, we stand in solidarity with our Black siblings and commit ourselves to denouncing the sin of racism. The Cornell Catholic Social Justice Committee is hosting discussions throughout the summer to begin the process of understanding these injustices in the context of our faith. These Social Justice Community Conversations will begin on Monday, June 29th. 

We felt called to express our sentiments today, Juneteenth, which commemorates the “official” end to slavery in the United States. It is also a call to combat the different forms of racism that continue to restrict the freedoms of Black communities. This is why we urge you to attend the Social Justice Community Conversations. We hope you can join us in working against racism by educating ourselves and advocating for Black lives as called by our baptism in Christ.

In solidarity,

Joanna Sowa
Danny Alvarado-Gómez
Grace Cala
Alessandra Cruz
Jenna Steins
Alex Koenigsberger
Hudson Scanni
Melanie Goricanec
Patrick Mehler
Sofia Sarai
Daniela Spies