Dear NYU Steinhardt Community,
February marks National Black History Month, a time for us to celebrate and reflect upon the immeasurable contributions made by Black people. This month, we honor their legacy and achievements, recognizing the staggering challenges and obstacles faced by generations of Black people living with the persistent injustice of individual and group bigotry and prejudice as well as systemic racism and oppression.
In his 1967 speech, “Beyond Vietnam,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisions a world of peace and justice where racism is replaced by racial harmony, and concludes his speech with this powerful injunction to action:
Now, let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter—but beautiful—struggle for a new world.
The Beautiful Struggle for a New World is the theme of NYU’s
MLK Week 2022, and I urge you to attend an event and explore King’s powerful message. And please join us this week as we celebrate Assistant Professor
Mercy Agyepong at the
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award Ceremony. She will be honored for her teaching, leadership, and social justice advocacy on behalf of Black students in the US public schools.
I hope you will also attend an
NYU Steinhardt Celebrates Black History Month event and our annual
MLK GSO Oratorical Contest, organized by our Graduate Student Organization.
At NYU Steinhardt, we strive to create an environment where faculty, students, and staff can reach their full potential regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or any aspect of their identity. We are committed to taking action that advances racial justice and equity, but we recognize that there is still much work to be done. Last year we established the
Office of Equity, Belonging, and Community Action in the dean’s office to provide resources, information, and support for our efforts to promote these goals.
In her commencement address last year, Tarika Barrett (PhD ‘10), Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, said that the power to effect change comes not from one person, but from a “thriving community of activists, advocates, and ordinary people who believe in the cause of social justice.”
I am honored to be leading such a community.
Sincerely,
Jack H. Knott, Dean
Gale and Ira Drukier Chair