We are angered and distraught by the killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of officers from the Memphis Police Department (MPD) on January 7, 2023, the brutality of which was made apparent by the body camera footage MPD released this weekend. There are few words that can describe our outrage and sorrow. As President Biden pointed out this weekend, Tyre’s death is “yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and brown Americans experience every day.”
We want members of the UConn community who are aching as we witness another senseless fatal act of violence against a person of color to know that we see you, we mourn alongside you, and we support you. Please remember the importance of self-care in this extremely difficult moment. We especially recommend taking advantage of these UConn resources for self-care:
- UConn Library’s Wellness Guide for Trauma
- UConn Library’s Wellness Guide about Self Care.
- UConn Library’s Guide for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Wellness
- UConn’s Mental Health resources, Including Student Health and Wellness (SHAW) at Storrs, for the regional campuses, and at UConn Health.
We also want to remind you of the importance of community for mourning and healing from such violence. We will be hosting a TRHT Community Hour in the coming weeks for Faculty and Staff of Color and for Graduate Students of Color. We plan on making this a monthly event to be held in our TRHT hubs at Storrs, Hartford, and UConn Health.
We are deeply saddened by this violence. We stand with you and are dedicated to promoting a climate of racial healing at UConn.