We at the Pacific RISA condemn systemic and institutional racism and stand in solidarity with our Black colleagues and communities of color as they confront acts of violence that continue to occur in the United States. We join other organizations in challenging systemic racial injustice and demanding accountability from law enforcement. Together we must refocus our resources to increase access to healthcare, education, and economic well-being for Black communities. At this time, we encourage communities of science and climate practice to reflect on the ways in which we have upheld oppressive systems and commit to dismantling them in our own institutions.

Statements from Partner Organizations and Scientific Societies

East West Center – A Message from the President of the East-West Center

“For six decades, the East-West Center has focused on promoting better relations and understanding between the United States and nations of Asia and the Pacific. It has been guided by values that honor diversity and inclusion, racial equality and justice. We are now being vividly reminded of the extent to which severe inequities continue to exist, and the challenges we face to overcome them.”

Pacific Islands Development Program – “We Must Work Together to Create a ‘New Normal’” 

“We at PIDP believe that the true strength of the Pacific lies in our diversity. Our institution was established 40 years ago to celebrate and cherish our differences, while sowing unity across our blue continent…Together, we must create a “new normal” in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts.”

University of Hawaiʻi – “UH President reflects on a week that has rocked our nation”

“None of us alone can reverse the impacts of the history of mistreatment and discrimination that we see playing out before our eyes today. But we can each make a beginning by acknowledging for ourselves the continuing impact of that history and vowing to work to reduce it on our watch.” 

University of Hawai‘i School for Ocean and Earth Science and Technology – Statement from program leaders

“As an institution dedicated to advancing the ideal and principles of learning, mentoring, research, and service, we affirm the benefits of, and the need to be advocates for, diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion. We acknowledge our collective history, including the racism underlying the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and the need for compassion, understanding and empathy in our daily relationships. These events are opportunities to reflect on our own behaviors and actions and to further educate ourselves on the historical context underlying institutional racism in America.”

Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women – “Statement for Black lives”

“The State must do better to respond to anti-Black racism and police violence in Hawaiʻi, a society recently organized by a “master race” that sowed racial divisions and disparities which continue to operate in our systems. The Commission witnesses daily the devastating impact of racial hierarchy in the lives of women in Hawaiʻi…We must ensure that we are doing our part not to perpetuate inequality, white supremacy and anti-Blackness, especially on Native Hawaiian land.”

American Geophysical Union – “AGU demands diversity, equity and inclusion”

“We are geoscientists, and we are eager to work with others to solve societal challenges to meet the needs of populations around the globe. We have already removed some barriers within our community to be more diverse and inclusive, yet we know we have more work to do. Rest assured that this remains one of our key priorities until injustices and inequalities are eliminated.”

American Meteorological Society – “Special Statement on Racism and Inequity”

“We acknowledge the pain our Black and African American community members are experiencing and hope our solidarity relieves a small part of the weight of that pain. In the AMS community, we promise to continue doing all we can to challenge and change systems of inequity that perpetuate racism and bias within our community.”

Association of American Geographers – Letter to Members 

“Geographers have long been at the forefront of scholarship on the social and spatial foundations and consequences of racism, violence, and inequality. But this is not enough. We need to use our research, our teaching, our mentorship, our work, and our science to stand up against systemic inequality.”

American Society of Adaptation Planners – “ASAP’s Solidarity Statement” and the “ASAP Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement”

“We will not allow the actions of the past to dictate our future and we commit to leveraging our network and resources to promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the climate adaptation field and beyond.”

SACNAS (Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) – “SACNAS Stands in Solidarity with Black Communities & Condemns Racial Injustice”

“SACNAS is committed to advancing historically excluded populations in STEM so we can achieve true STEM diversity, and we stand with Black communities to demand accountability from law enforcement, to condemn racism, and to dismantle oppressive systems. Black lives matter.”

nature – Systemic racism: science must listen, learn and change

Nature commits to working to end anti-Black practices in research.

“We recognize that Nature is one of the white institutions that is responsible for bias in research and scholarship. The enterprise of science has been — and remains — complicit in systemic racism, and it must strive harder to correct those injustices and amplify marginalized voices.

At Nature, we will redouble our efforts to do so, and commit to establishing a process that will hold us to account on the many changes we need to make.”