Rider AAUP Chapter Statement on Racial Injustice
June 12, 2020

Together we have arrived at a moment. 

It is a moment when the systemic racism and white privilege that have plagued our country from the start must end.  

It is a moment that requires long-overdue actions. 

George Floyd’s death was yet another stark reminder of the systemic racism that has existed in our country since its founding. There are countless reminders from the past, most recently Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sandra Bland, and Tamir Rice to name but a few. Innocent Black lives caught in the lethal crosshairs of a culture which again and again fails to come to terms with its inherent racism.  

We must solve this problem. We can, and we will.

We stand in solidarity with the surge of peaceful protests challenging racist and unjust systems. We stand with our students who are becoming activists for each other. We stand with our colleagues who are fighting for a more just world. 

We call upon all members of the Rider community to repudiate racist behavior anywhere and everywhere.

Additionally, we pledge to engage in a process of dialogue around issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and to support racial diversity among faculty at our institution. To begin this process, we will be sponsoring a Fall 2020 forum on the history of racism and white privilege and to provide an open dialogue to discuss not only the recognition of racism in our lives, but also the positive steps we will take to eradicate it from our society and our university.


Rider AAUP Executive Committee
​Joel Feldman, President
Art Taylor, VP
Jeff Halpern, CGO
Joel Phillips, AGO
Nancy Wiencek, Treasurer
Laurel Harris, Recording Secretary
Quinn Cunningham, At-Large
Evelyn McDowell, At-Large
Michael Brogan, Past President

We have included below a list of organizations and their corresponding websites for our members who might be considering what actions to take, and we are committed to fostering dialogues about race, justice, and social change within the Rider community and beyond. 

American Civil Liberties Union
https://www.aclu.org

Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice
https://www.rustincenter.org

Black Lives Matter
https://blacklivesmatter.com

Brennan Center for Justice
https://www.brennancenter.org

Common Cause (for voting rights)
https://www.commoncause.org/

Equal Justice Initiative
https://eji.org

Innocence Project
https://www.innocenceproject.org

Mutual Aid Networks by State
https://mutualaid.carrd.co

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
https://www.naacp.org

NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund 
https://www.naacpldf.org

Poor People's Campaign--A Call For Moral Revival
https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/

Southern Poverty Law Center
https://www.splcenter.org

YWCA
https://www.ywca.org/get-involved/

House of Representatives H.R. 40 Bill Regarding Reparations
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/

Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
http://www.trentonsoupkitchen.org

Stop Redlining by writing state senators and representatives.
What Redlining Is
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/

What the Senate did recently to roll back protections for people of color
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/14/the-senate-rolls-back-rules-meant-to-root-out-discrimination-by-mortgage-lenders/