A Message from the Director

Image: www.shutdownstem.com

 

On behalf of all our staff at the MIT Sea Grant Program, I would like to state our deeply held conviction that Black Lives Matter. Although we are a small unit, we believe that we can make a contribution by taking a stand against the injustice that Black people face every day.

As a first step, we participated in two organized events recently, Mechanical Engineering’s #ShutDownSTEM, and #ShutDownAcademia on Wednesday, June 10, 2020. We are encouraging all of us and our colleagues, those working with MIT Sea Grant but also beyond, to take the time to educate ourselves on what injustice and systemic racism look like today, and to read about the past to see what led us here.

It is not enough to personally not hold racist ideas, but we must actively fight racism, whether held by persons or groups, or when racism is systemic when it is most difficult to confront. We must actively work towards a world where our Black brothers and sisters can live without fear and know justice is on their side.

Michael Triantafyllou
MIT Sea Grant Director