LGBTQ+ FSA statement in support of Black Lives Matter

The LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Association (FSA) is comprised of people from many racial and ethnic identities, and we represent and advocate for the interests of faculty and staff coworkers. As an executive board of white individuals, we stand in support of our Black colleagues, and are committed to putting in the work to end white supremacy in our communities, in our institutions, and in ourselves. We want to amplify the tremendous work that our colleagues across the campus are already doing, and we aim to center the voices of Black, Brown and Indigenous people. Therefore, we applaud and share thestatement, events, and resources from the UMBC Campus Life’s Mosaic, Interfaith, & Pride Centers, thelist of resources compiled by Amelia Meman, Assistant Director of the UMBC Women’s Center, and an upcoming event announced by Courtney C. Hobson for the Dresher Center with links to resources from the Dresher Center and from the Center for Social Science Scholarship. 

We are grateful to our colleagues for sharing their wisdom at this critical time, and we hear the calls to action. We want to follow the lead of theGender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies Department, in making commitments. 

The current FSA leadership team plans to:

1. support faculty and staff events and speakers that center and honor the experience of BIPOC;

2. continue working in coalition with other campus affinity groups toward necessary change on campus, especially in the areas of hiring and retention of BIPOC faculty and staff;

3. advocate for tangible acknowledgement (such as grants, stipends, salary increases, paid release from work time, paid positions, etc.) of the invisible labor of our BIPOC faculty, staff, and students to build and maintain an inclusive culture on campus;

4. actively recruit LGBTQ BIPOC on campus to become members and fill leadership roles of the LGBTQ FSA.

In addition, we want to encourage our members and our allies, especially white people and those with privilege, to support our Black colleagues and community by attending demonstrations, donating to local Black organizers and bail bonds, educating ourselves through the many resources available, speaking out against racism in all its forms, and voting.

We want to underline the fact that, in June, we celebrate Pride month, because the Stonewall Uprising was a riot against police brutality that began on June 28, 1968. These protests were led by Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans woman, and Storme DeLarverie, a masculine of center Black lesbian, and many other people of color who put their lives on the line to stand up for the right to exist and thrive as LGBTQ individuals, free from persecution and discrimination. We want to share this thoughtful PRIDE season post of our colleague Heidy George.

We want to say, as loudly and clearly as possible---

Black Lives Matter. Black Queer Lives Matter. Black Trans Lives Matter.

In Solidarity,

Vicki Sipe, President, LGBTQ FSA

Tim Phin, Faculty Co-Chair

Elle Trusz, Staff Co-Chair