Denunciation of racism

SIGARCH, SIGMICRO, TCCA and TCuARCH join together to express our denunciation of racism and to stand together, particularly in support of African American members of our community, as representatives of our research community. Together, we mourn the innocent Black lives violently taken recently, without cause, including but not limited to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

We recognize that recent events have led to stress, fear and righteous indignation—especially for Black members of our community and for all of us. The values and truths we all hold dear and defend were violated by the torture and killing of an innocent person, a human being, in broad daylight and in front of numerous witnesses by law enforcement, captured on video for all to see and detest. We understand that it is difficult to carry on with business as usual, and we respect time away from professional commitments taken by individuals to deal with these events and the mental load/toll these events are having.

These are indeed dark and difficult days made worse by the isolation we are currently experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we cannot express our distress, empathy, and support in person, we hope that our members find support and comfort in knowing that we as a community stand in solidarity with this moral movement against racism and social injustices.

It is the goal of our SIGs and TCs to support all members of our community in their professional pursuits. With this message, we reaffirm that discrimination and harassment have no place at our events or on our online platforms. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive community that allows all of our members to thrive and breathe.

We hope no one will ever experience racism at one of our sponsored events. But if this happens, please know that CARES members and senior leadership are available assist you. Let’s remain hopeful and act, together.