History Repeats Itself

They say history repeats itself. I'd have to agree with that statement, given the last month since the unjust killing of George Floyd on May 25 by Minneapolis police and the demonstrations that followed in at least 140 cities nationwide. Prior to Mr. Floyd's death, our country was grappling with the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African American man, shot while he was jogging through a Georgia neighborhood near his home; and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American woman, shot by police while asleep in her apartment. Historically, America has experienced too many killings of Black men and women because of racism.

We saw it during the Chicago race riot of 1919 when 38 people died, including 23 Black Americans. We saw it during the Tulsa race massacre in 1921 when mobs attacked Black men and women and their businesses, killing 36 people including 26 Black Americans. Today, we continue to see Black Americans victimized by racism and discrimination in our policing, health care, education, government, courts, and every other institutional system in our country.

Enough is enough. We have so much more work to do to eradicate racism. As health care workers, we must recognize that racism is a public health crisis in our country. At the School of Dentistry, each of us must do our part in making our world more just for our Black patients, learners, faculty and staff. We must use the UCSF PRIDE values (Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, Excellence) as a guiding light in our everyday work and social interactions.

That work begins today. Quite simply, we haven't done enough to face down this challenge and we all must do more to change the course of history for humankind. The School of Dentistry is partnering with our Black learners, faculty and staff to improve the culture and climate. In addition, I am working with the UCSF Office of Diversity and Outreach to ensure that our school is using the office's resources, faculty and staff to the fullest. I recognize that change will not happen overnight. Righting systemic wrongs will take time, and we will need to remain committed.

To start, I commit our school to a leadership response action plan to dismantle systemic barriers, promote anti-racism, and build support and accountability structures that improve the school climate for Black students. Several of these actions will begin immediately, including designating an associate dean for culture and climate to improve the Black student experience — as well as the experiences of all students; curriculum and training to educate our community on anti-racism, racism, and implicit bias (among other topics); and events that will encourage inclusion and mentorship for Black learners at the School of Dentistry and across UCSF.

As dean, I also commit to transparency about our goals and our work to achieve them. Part of this commitment will be meeting regularly with our Black learners, faculty and staff as we continue working on these efforts. However, the responsibility of changing our school's culture and climate will not land on any one individual. It will take our whole community — each of you — to work toward this evolutionary change. It will take personal and institutional honesty. All of us must seek to understand and confront our own truths. Please join me in this evolution.