Dear AUWCL Community Members:

I hope that your Spring Break was an enjoyable one. I write to share with you some details concerning a very disturbing incident that happened at the law school just as Spring Break commenced. On Friday, March 4th, a handwritten flier with the words “All Lives Matter” was attached to the office doorframe of a faculty member of color – a colleague with a national reputation for doing important work on issues of racial justice in the criminal justice system. The flyer was placed above an existing announcement regarding a racial justice volunteer opportunity, and in close proximity to several fliers regarding social justice activities and events at the law school.

As many of you are aware, there has been heightened discussion about the issue of race in the criminal justice system as a result of the numerous killings of unarmed black men, women and children by law enforcement authorities. “Black Lives Matter” was first used as a call to action after the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012. This phrase has since become a national movement and organization in support of African Americans who have been the victims of state violence. Although the phrase “All Lives Matter” may sound benign, it sometimes has been used as a rallying cry by some groups who oppose the Black Lives Matter Movement and seek to silence it.

We are proud, here at the Washington College of Law, to enjoy a community that promotes and encourages vigorous discussion and debate about important and controversial issues facing our society. Providing a safe space for this kind of engagement is one of our core values. The Washington College of Law is also an institution and community that respects human dignity, diversity, and inclusion. None of these values, long at the heart of our institution, are in conflict. To the contrary, they work together to make our law school’s intellectual life an especially vibrant, rich, and welcoming one.

Therefore, it is vital that we all express our beliefs with civility and in a time, place and manner that is conducive to effective communication and that promotes further discussion. The circumstances and manner of placing this flier on a community member’s door do not involve the kind of civil and thoughtful discourse that we encourage and aspire to in our community, and indeed may serve to intimidate others and discourage their full participation in the marketplace of ideas.

No member of this community is permitted to engage in harassing, intimidating or threatening behavior towards any other community member. The person who posted this flier did so anonymously and surreptitiously, at a time and in a manner that, regardless of his or her actual intent, had the effect of harassing and intimidating that faculty member as well as others – students, faculty, and staff alike – who seek and deserve to study and work in a safe and non-threatening environment.

I strongly encourage continued discussion and debate about race and our justice system and about any and all issues of concern to our diverse community. But this discussion and debate must happen in settings and forms that serve to promote discussion, not stifle it, and that make all members of our community feel empowered, safe and free to express their views.

I wish you a productive and successful second half to the spring semester and look forward to opportunities to share and deepen the practice of respectful discussion and education on issues of respect, justice and pluralism.