A moment to listen, and learn, and get better

Because the present reality is so far away from good enough

UC Berkeley @UCBerkeley

“We write to express our outrage; we stand in steadfast solidarity with our Black community; and we offer heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of the victims of the racially-motivated violence that is taking place in various communities across America.”

news.berkeley.eduA message from campus leaders: Standing togetherWe stand in steadfast solidarity with our Black community, two Berkeley leaders write

I’ve been struggling for days trying to decide what to put in this space. Even IF sports around the country weren’t shut down, everything that has happened in this country and is happening right now in this country would overshadow everything else. Protests in reaction to the police murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are too important to be ignored.

Some may object that this is off-topic, political, or otherwise unnecessary on this website. To a certain extent, I wouldn’t really blame somebody for wanting to block out the outside world right now.

But if you’re a Cal fan, then you must surely know that the people that have been the source of so much entertainment to us are hurting right now. They don’t have the option of ignoring the problem of police violence and biased law enforcement practices. If you cared about Shareef and Layshia and DeSean when they wore the blue and gold, you owe it to them to listen and understand their experiences.

It isn’t the responsibility of black Americans to open the eyes of their fellow citizens, and it isn’t their responsibility to express their pain publicly. But I think that it is our responsibility to listen and learn from those who do, so that we can advocate for a better future in this country.

Everything below only begins to touch the surface of reactions from Cal’s black athletes, past and present, to say nothing of reactions from the greater Cal academic community. If you have something worth sharing, please add a link in the comments.

Since this is an inherently political subject, we’re going to be exercising more judicious moderation in the comments. Please be respectful.

Charmin Smith

𝙲𝙾𝙰𝙲𝙷 𝙰-𝙿𝙷𝙸𝙻 @AP_Cali

A great space was held today by Cal Women’s Basketball lead by @21charmin . Space for discussing social justice issues that affect us all. These moments, opportunities, and discussions are important. Full video on @CalWBBall Instagram IGTV.

Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown @FCHWPO

I will be peacefully protesting tommorow

Hope Ford @hope_iam

“Remember why we’re here!” Protest turns into March lead by @FCHWPO who drove 15 hours from Boston just to be here for a peaceful protest in his hometown #11Alive #bostonceltics

Talia Caldwell

Justice for Breonna Taylor & Atatiana Jefferson @ESOTERICTalia

Peaceful. Hands are up. #GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter

Justice for Breonna Taylor & Atatiana Jefferson @ESOTERICTalia

Don’t say a DAMN thing about the protests if you weren’t there. We were peaceful, organized, focused, full of powerful, healing, & loving energy until we got boxed in for no reason. I don’t know why we had guns,batons & pepperspray in our faces. When that happened, things shifted

Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Shareef Abdur-Rahim @ShareefAbdur_R

No one is going to swoop in & magically fix these big problems for us. It’s on us, & only us. We need to commit to digging in together to start chipping away at answering these big questions as best we can. The result will benefit us all.

bit.lyStructural racism — yep, it’s still here - Shareef Abdur-RahimFirst, the good news: We had an extremely successful fundraising campaign for the Future Foundation recently, where — thanks to so many donations big and small — we acquired $250,000 for our Foundation’s kids! It was $80,000 OVER our original goal (!!) and will help us address the needs our students…

Rod Benson

Rod Benson @boomtho

Read my recap of the protest yesterday here: m.facebook.com/story.php?stor… @LAist @LAWeekly @ericjedelstein

Layshia Clarendon

Layshia Clarendon @Layshiac

👀 we know who incites the violence, we always have

Jessica Valenti @JessicaValenti

We’re drowning in videos of police abuse: cops cars running over protestors, an officer shoving a petite woman so hard she had a seizure, cops shooting rubber bullets at reporters on live TV. It’s clear who is escalating violence.

Desean Jackson

0ne0fone

Remember how far we’ve come. But don’t forget what we’ve been thru. Remain silent isn’t a option ✊🏾

May 31, 2020

Justin Forsett

Justin Forsett @JForsett

Tired But Not Defeated

Paris Austin

Paris Austin @ChefBoyParis

Growing up my family never called the police...under any circumstance

De’Zhon Grace

De’Zhon Grace @DeZhonGrace

Hey @NCAA would love to see some sign of support for your Black student athletes... whom generate majority of your revenue.. which feeds the bellies of not only you and your families, but also your parterners and various stakeholders + their families as well.

Traveon Beck

Traveon Beck✨ @HeyImTray

I’m not against what’s going on by any means because i understand. But I do want my friends, loved ones and those i care about to be safe at these riots man. We need justice, we need to be heard and felt. Just please be safe. 🤞🏾

Darius Allensworth

Darius Allensworth @_MoneyDA

This stuff doesn't even shock me anymore.

Stephen Anderson

Stephen Anderson @S_Anderson89

Sure is getting exhausting seeing other black men getting murdered