Statement on Structural Racism and #ShutDownSTEM

The BioInspired Institute’s mission to address global challenges in health, medicine, and materials innovation requires an equitable and just system to deliver these solutions to every member of society. We are thus deeply saddened, ashamed, and outraged by the continued, preventable loss of brown and black lives due to persistent structural racism in our country, and as global protests demonstrate, around the world. Our progress as an Institute and as a society rings hollow unless such advances can be shared equally with every citizen and without the suffocating threat of violence and injustice for too many. BioInspired positively affirms our responsibility to speak out against racism and injustice in all forms, including any within our organization. We stand in solidarity with those opposing racism and racialized violence, including the #ShutDownSTEM and #Strike4BlackLives movements, and agree that “we have an enormous ethical obligation to stop doing business as usual.” As an Institute, we pledge to develop and implement actionable plans to promote diversity in our ranks and support people of color. By looking inward first, we will strive toward promoting a healthier and more just society for all.