GAPS Statement of Solidarity on Racism and Systemic Violence
Recent events in the United States have exposed the persistence of a systemic and institutionalized racism with the Black American community as its prime target. We recognize that very similar structures persist in many European and other postcolonial societies, where ethnic and religious minorities are often systemically racialized and persecuted. The ongoing protests have also incited a global response, signalling a growing discontent of politically and economically marginalized classes across racial and social divides, no doubt precipitated by the fears and anxieties triggered by the mishandling of the Corona pandemic.
While GAPS acknowledges that it is part of a system which perpetuates racial discrimination, it is fully committed to fighting such discriminatory practices from within and condemns all forms of racism – overt, covert, and systemic. GAPS stands in solidarity with all who resist systemic injustices in their research, teaching, and work places, as well as the larger world.