The OU Black Emergency Response Team, Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Affairs David Surratt and the Big 12 Board of Directors responded to the recent killings of several African Americans in Friday statements.
In an email, Surratt referenced the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Brionna Taylor, Tony McDade and George Floyd — deaths heavily featured in news cycles across the country.
“(These deaths) have been personally challenging for me and I’ve been reflecting for a long time of what my responsibility is as an African American and Asian American person, as a man, as a friend, as a college administrator, and as a human,” Surratt said in the email. “Frankly, figuring out my responsibility has been hard because this is so deeply personal and no clear answers have revealed themselves still. However, I do feel I have a responsibility to acknowledge what’s happening and to also acknowledge that I may not be the only one managing these emotions.”
BERT co-directors D’India Brown and Jamelia Reed also referenced the deaths of Arbery, Taylor, McDade and Floyd — as well as other deaths at the hands of law enforcement — in a statement on Twitter, saying they were “hurt but not surprised.”
“As members of the black community, we are irritated and exhausted by the treatment of black people, especially with the lack of justice that follows,” Brown and Reed said in the statement. “In response to these acts of injustice, there have been multiple protests organized and occurring throughout the world.”
Surratt said in his email that Floyd’s last words — “I can’t breathe” and cries for his mother — have served as stark reminders for him of similar deaths in the past weeks and years.
“I’ve tried to have meaningful conversations with friends and family about the impact of Floyd’s death and it’s been impossible to make sense of images that defy basic understanding and human decency,” Surratt said in the email. “Such tragedies have hit me and my loved ones hard and I know it elicited strong emotion with a multitude of you as well. Many of you have reached out to me and others expressing concern, rage, despair, and support, and that kindness is tremendously appreciated.”
Surratt was confirmed as dean of students a few weeks after two OU students committed blackface in January 2019, and several more racist incidents involving students and professors have taken place on campus since his arrival.
Surratt said in the email that he’s been in situations that could have ended similarly in tragedy.
“I was stopped by a neighbor while checking a fuse box who asked if I lived in my home,” Surratt said in the email. “I was stopped by law enforcement and directed to have my passengers show their IDs outside of protocol, I was stopped for speeding and the first comments from the officer when I kept my hands visible on the wheel were 'I can tell you’ve done this before' in which I replied that I have family in law enforcement and I want him to see my hands out of respect for his safety.”
He added that he could share several more similar stories.
“Outside of these media images that elicit disturbing familiarity of a fear of negative consequences of engaging in common activities (e.g. bird-watching, cooking, running, etc) while being Black — It is simply draining,” Surratt said in the email. “And I’m tired. I do not speak for all African Americans or people of color, we all have our own lived experiences. To ask me, or others like me, to represent the sentiment of an entire culture is a burden others don’t have to carry and shouldn’t. Our overarching goal should remain focused on caring for one another as people and showing it in our words and actions sincerely and consistently. This includes reflecting on our own efforts to be the community we aspire to be from Georgia, to Tallahassee, to Minneapolis, to Louisville, and even in our home state of Oklahoma.”
Surratt then quoted James Baldwin by writing “I can’t be a pessimist because I’m alive. To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter, so I’m forced to be an optimist. I’m forced to believe that we can survive whatever we must survive.”
Surratt said in the email that this quote has influenced a lot of his reflection and conversation with friends.
“While I am deeply hurt, I maintain hope and gratitude for you and other people in my life and the work we do to help provide access to education and promote civic engagement,” Surratt said in the email. “This is the challenge laid before all of us in relation to the future of our country and our diverse communities. Thank you all for your continued commitment to our students and to one another toward a future rooted in justice and love.”
The university presidents of all schools in the Big 12 Conference, including OU President Joseph Harroz, said in a statement that they’re committed as a conference to fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect in their campus communities.
“Acts of racism, violence, no matter their origin or target, contradict this core commitment we share within the Big 12 Conference,” the statement read. “Recent incidents of racial violence underscore the need for us and for all Americans to join together in addressing matters of racism and injustice in a united, meaningful way.”
Brown and Reed said in the BERT statement that they encourage supporters, allies and community members to participate in protests and support the victims’ families and communities, but also to maintain social distancing and follow guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. They also urge everyone to collaborate and stay informed about their local law enforcement and justice department to try to prevent “this unignorable, yet familiar reality we know all too well.”
BERT does not condone rioting or violent practices, Brown and Reed said in the statement, but they understand the reasoning behind those actions.
“We see other non-violent methods as equally effective alternatives, including but not limited to, exercising your right to vote in the primary, local, state and general elections, organizing and supporting peaceful protest, attending community meetings and town halls, and contacting elected officials regarding areas of improvement,” Brown and Reed said in the statement.
BERT also encourages “aspiring allies” to utilize resources and influence with friends, family and on social media to raise awareness, educate and hold community members who engage in “anti-black violence, discrimination, racisim, sexism, homophobia and other various forms of hatred” accountable for their behavior, according to the statement.
Brown and Reed said in the statement that, like other black community members, they’re frustrated and have lost hope in a society that “seems to deem our existence less than human by its actions and words.”
They emphasized that black community members are not alone and encouraged them to utilize resources like Goddard Counseling Services. They also said they’d be holding a virtual community meeting allowing faculty, staff and students to voice concerns, answer questions and have a place for healing.
“We as BERT know and understand the frequent immoral actions that people in power use against our community are never easy to process even more so in this time of pandemic that has caused all our lives to become unfamiliar,” Brown and Reed said in the statement. “We shall overcome the injustices and wrongdoings against our community until then we will continue to confront racism and various oppressive structures that affect the black community specifically, and marginalized communities at large.”
