We object in the strongest terms to the “UC statement on the tragic killing of Daunte Wright,” issued by UCOP on April 13, 2021.

The statement, “We unequivocally stand in support of ending systemic racism, of an immediate end to the killing of unarmed Black and brown individuals by law enforcement, and of prosecuting those that commit hate crimes against Asian Americans,” shows UCOP’s profound misunderstanding of what it would take to end systemic racism on Turtle Island. In its efforts to be inclusive, it reinforces the logic of white supremacy that pits Black and Brown communities against Asian/American communities.

As Dr. Dylan Rodriguez has noted, the individualized language of “hate crimes” against Asian/Americans in need of prosecution aids in legitimating the systems that produce anti-Asian violence in the first place. It is troubling that UCOP would issue such a statement given this and other critiques issued by prominent Black and Asian/American studies scholars in the UC system.

The statement further disrespects the work of organizations like Red Canary Song that mobilized quickly in the aftermath of the shootings in Atlanta to support the communities most impacted. They warned soon after the tragedy of the turn to intensified policing: “We reject the call for increased policing in response to this tragedy. The impulse to call for increased policing is even greater in the midst of rising anti-Asian violence calling for carceral punishment. We understand the pain that motivates our Asian and Asian-American community members’ call for increased policing, but we nevertheless stand against it. Policing has never been an effective response to violence because the police are agents of white supremacy. Policing has never kept sex workers or massage workers or immigrants safe. The criminalization and demonization of sex work has hurt and killed countless people–many at the hands of the police both directly and indirectly.”

Task forces and community conversations convened to reimagine public safety are still ongoing at campus and system-wide levels. In spite of this, and its promises of open deliberation, President Drake’s statement reveals that UCOP already has already taken a position on policing and the UCPD. This goes back on the promise made by President Drake to CUCFA on February 8th, 2021, that “all options” remain on the table with regards to policing and the UCPD.

We reject UCOP’s promises to reexamine or reform the police. Instead, we join with the Cops off Campus Coalition that demands the complete dissolution and replacement of policing in all spaces of education in favor of care-based solutions; UCSD’s BSU and their 2020 demands issued after George Floyd’s murder, which include a call for a community-controlled system of safety; and UCSD’s AAPI Studies’ statement following the killings of 6 Asian women in Atlanta that rejects the notion that safety for one community requires the strengthening of systems of policing and incarceration that ultimately uphold the violent structures of white supremacy for all.

SDFA Executive Board
Wendy Matsumura, Chair
Saiba Varma, Vice-Chair
Sal Nicolazzo, Secretary-Treasurer
Jessica Graham, Board
Simeon Man, Board
Matthew Vitz, Board