Racial Reckoning is a response to the mass protests following the police-involved killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Rayshard Brooks during the spring and summer of 2020. These events are part of a long history of racism in the United States. The end of the Civil War and American slavery did not bring equality for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Today, unarmed BIPOC encounter individual, institutional, and systemic racism in their everyday lives, and compared to white people, are disproportionately likely to be stopped, falsely arrested, and killed by the police.
With the Racial Reckoning site, we seek to collect, preserve, and present the stories from the broader George Mason community. These narratives will highlight the personal memories and digitally-born materials generated or inspired by protest actions against racism and white supremacy. Since COVID-19 dispersed the community, documenting this moment means capturing experiences on- or off-campus, in another city, state, or country.
If you are a Mason student, staff, of faculty member and experienced a protest away from campus, your experience is part of this story. We welcome your contributions here.