The MHC Community will gather together for a virtual candle lighting and key resources devoted to healing for victims of racisms in community with allies and accomplices to fight racism. There has been significant violence experienced by people on the margins including attacks on trans women of color, recent shootings of Black men, a rise in discrimination towards Asian and Asian American/Pacific Islander people. 

The recent hate crime and murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia has resurrected deep pain within the African American community. Harkening back to the long history of lynching and disenfranchisement in the United States, and the more recent onslaught of violent killings including Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, Jordan Davis, and the Charleston Nine - many African Americans are reeling from the ongoing violence. Simultaneous to the discovery of the injustices in this case, we are witnessing the manifestation of systemic racism and its deleterious effects as evidenced by the significant and disproportionate numbers of people of color who are losing their lives to Covid-19. The vigil sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in collaboration with the Division of Student Life will be an ongoing effort to both memorialize the individuals who have lost their lives and support the healing of those of us that remain. 

For inquiries about the accessibility of this event or to request any accommodations, please contact Shannon DaSilva at sdasilva@mtholyoke.edu. Please make accommodation requests no later than Friday, May 15th to give implementation time, however, in all situations, a good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the event.

Illustration by by Shirien Damra. (https://www.instagram.com/shirien.creates/