#WeBelongUK: A Time for Healing and Action
LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 12, 2016) — The United States was overcome with confusion and sadness last week after the tragic shooting deaths of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota and the horrific killing and wounding of 12 police officers in Dallas.
In his blog Friday, University of Kentucky Interim Vice President for Institutional Diversity Terry Allen asked, "And so beyond what we know today and what we may not ever know tomorrow or in the days and weeks ahead, the question that now confronts us – whether on the streets of Ferguson or Baltimore, New York and Dallas, Istanbul and Orlando, or in the classroom of a university in Lexington – is how do we respond?"
In light of last week's events in addition to many others, the UK Violence Intervention and Prevention Center (VIP Center), the Center for Graduate and Professional Diversity Initiatives and the Martin Luther King Center are providing an opportunity for UK to come together in solidarity with those communities most impacted by such heinous, horrific, and atrocious acts of violence.
On Monday, July 18, a memorial service titled #WeBelongUK: A Time for Healing and Action will be held from 3 p.m to 5:30 p.m. at the Kincaid Auditorium in the Gatton College of Business and Economics. During this time the UK community will have the opportunity to engage in courageous conversations rooted in healing and racial justice.
There will be opportunities for marginalized and minoritized communities to come together as well as time for allies and those aspiring allies to process how they can contribute to a community in which everyone feels and believes they belong.
These discussions will signal the start of an ongoing opportunity for discussion and healing throughout the semester, said Rhonda Henry, director of the VIP Center. The VIP Center plans to coordinate monthly opportunities for these groups to reconvene to continue to sow the seeds of solidarity and build a growing layer of commitment and support.
“We want to provide a brave space on our campus for our students, staff and faculty to heal, but also in a facilitated way to have discussions that will help our campus community move forward,” Henry said. “That was our goal after the tragedy of Orlando. It is our goal in the wake of what has been happening in our country and world the last several days.”
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MEDIA CONTACT: Blair Hoover, 859-257-6398; blair.hoover@uky.edu