Dear ECU Community,

Yesterday, a jury delivered a guilty verdict on all three counts against former police officer Derek Chauvin. While the verdict is a step towards accountability in policing, it does not lessen the grief felt by George Floyd’s family and friends, nor the Black community.

It was George Floyd's murder last May that compelled many institutions around the world to address the ways racism and anti-Blackness have become embedded in our society.

The verdict yesterday was simultaneously cause for relief, anguish, and hope. Meaningful reforms are needed, not just in the judicial and policing systems, but in the way our society functions. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and with the Indigenous people and people of colour who have been at the forefront of this battle.

We know that there is much work to be done, both by ECU as an educational institution, and by society as a whole to dismantle the oppressive structures that have shaped our contemporary culture.

We stand firm in our commitment to do this work and create an equitable and just society.

For more information on the actions we are taking to address racism and inclusion at Emily Carr please visit our EDI Action Plan. This work belongs to all of us, so I also invite you to reach out to me any time by email at president@ecuad.ca.

Yours,

Gillian Siddall
President + Vice Chancellor
Emily Carr University of Art + Design