National Day of Racial Healing

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS: just like those who came before us, it is our duty to protect the University of Arkansas campus and maintain communities in which everyone is given the opportunity to succeed, and

WHE REAS: we must all work earnestly to create courageous and supportive environments that acknowledge the traumatic past; promote the healing of the wounds created by racial, ethnic and religious bias; and build an equitable and just society so that all students, faculty and staff can thrive, and

WHEREAS: students, faculty and staff have the right to be provided every opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive in nurturing environments that do not violate their safety, dignity, and humanity, and

WHEREAS: every single person has the opportunity to exhibit an act of kindness to make a simple change within their self that can have a profound effect on an entire society, and

WHEREAS: if we all dedicate ourselves to the principles of truth, racial healing and transformation, we can all bring about the necessary changes in thinking and behavior that will propel our university forward as a unified force where racial biases will become a thing of the past, and

WHEREAS: racial healing is a vital and crucial commitment to the educational, social, mental, and overall well-being of all students, faculty and staff at the University of Arkansas.

NOW THEREFORE, I, Joseph E. Steinmetz, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas and on behalf of myself, the Provost, the Deans of our fine Schools and Colleges, and Senior leadership, do hereby proclaim January 19, 2021, on the University of Arkansas campus as

"National Day of Racial Healing"

On the U of A campus and urge all members of our campus community to promote truth, racial healing and transformation in the ways that are best suited for them individually, as a means to working together to ensure the best quality of life for every student and every member of our community.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the University of Arkansas to be affixed the 19th day of January, 2021.

Joe Steinmetz, Ph.D.
Chancellor