Special Message from the President: June 3, 2020
Office of the President
Good afternoon colleagues,
We are facing a pivotal moment for our college, our community and our nation. I hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy as we continue to navigate this unmapped journey of uncertainty in the midst of so much pain and rhetoric in our nation. The very real pain of African Americans has been laid bare through the outrage around the senseless killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others. This has left a great number of us filled with anger, frustration, uncertainty and sadness. We are left with a choice: to sit on the sidelines and allow things to remain status quo, or to act with courage and demand a society, and a justice system, that truly value Black lives.
We are currently facing multiple challenges – a novel pandemic, a pending economic crisis, and a long-standing history of addressing systemic racism in our nation. The most recent death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American, has incited national unrest amongst many Americans which has reached an all-time high with unprecedented, non-stop, national protests.
I do not profess to know how this most recent death of an African American has impacted our students, nor could I profess to know what this feels like in our community of color. But I have thought a lot about our role as educators, the history of America and the current state and how we have not made as much progress in being a better place for all Americans. It has saddened me deeply and I can only imagine the pain and fear that this most recent tragedy has sparked in our students and community.
As a young person, I remember reading about the Civil Rights movement and thinking to myself, “I would have acted. I would have stood up and protested.” Now is our moment to be on the right side of history. I know with 100% of my being that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is right, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”
To be silent right now is to be silent in the face of racism. Every one of us, and especially those, like me, who have benefited from white privilege, has a moral responsibility to listen, and to show-up for African Americans. This means calling out injustice where we see it, supporting organizations and businesses led by Black leaders, and personally choosing to be a champion of racial equality.
In response to the recent events, FCC is hosting a series of Talking Circles for students. The purpose of the Talking Circles is to allow students to process their thoughts, feelings, and reactions in a safe and secure place, in order to promote community healing. The Talking Circles will be held on June 8 from 11:00 a.m. – Noon; June 9 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.; and June 10 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. There will be a limited number of spots available for students to register for the Talking Circles. However, additional Talking Circle times will be created if there is a high number of requests for registrations. For questions or more information, please contact Dr. Samuel Montano at samuel.montano@fresnocitycollege.edu
I want to reinforce our college’s commitment to student equity, equity-minded principles, and inclusion. As stated by Estela Bensimon from the USC, Center for Urban Education, to be equity-minded requires us to be race-conscious, institutionally focused, systemically aware, and equity advancing. Although, I cannot necessarily compare our equity work at FCC to the events concerning the senseless killing of Mr. Floyd, there is one distinct commonality – our quest and commitment to racial equity and justice.
Please join me and my guests on Friday, June 5th at noon for my virtual campus forum so that we can continue this discussion. Thank you!
In unity,
Dr. Carole Goldsmith
President
Fresno City College
1101 E. University Ave.
Fresno, CA 93741
Phone: (559) 489-2212
Fax: (559) 499-6045
www.fresnocitycollege.edu
