Statement of Solidarity

June 13, 2020

The faculty and staff of the Economics Department share in the deep sadness of humane people around the world over the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the many other acts of physical and psychological brutality against Black individuals, families and communities in the United States. We recognize that while these events are recent, they reveal a long-standing and deeply-seated racism that must be addressed if we are to have a just and civil society. To all our Tufts colleagues, students, alums, and friends but especially to those who, because of their ethnicity, stand in the direct path of this persistent race-based abuse, we declare unequivocally that we stand together in our condemnation of racism and racially motivated violence. And we affirm our commitment to working towards greater equity and racial justice through our teaching, research and civic engagement.

Economics graduate students have established a fund-raising effort steering donations to bail funds and other organizations working toward reform of the criminal justice system and policing policies. Economics faculty are contributing to these funds as well as pursuing related activities. We encourage everyone to make a personal commitment to confront racism and racist actions wherever encountered. Such efforts are essential if we are ever to achieve liberty and justice for all members of our community.

In solidarity,
Daniel Richards
Marcelo Bianconi
Drusilla Brown
Ujjayant Chakravorty
Thomas Downes
Kyle Emerick
Federico Esposito
Alan Finkelstein-Shapiro
Silke Forbes
Laura Gee
Anna Hardman
Yannis Ioannides
Cynthia Kinnan
Edward Kutsoati
Christopher Manos
Eoin McGuirk
Melissa McInerney
Margaret McMillan
Gilbert Metcalf
Lynne Pepall
Elizabeth Setren
Enrico Spolaore
Adam Storeygard
Jeffrey Zabel
Jenny Aker
Michael Klein
William Masters
David Garman
Brian Bethune
David Driscoll
Michael Fusillo
Nancy Kimelman
Peter Kronberg
Jeremy Luallen
Christopher McHugh
Deborah Menegotto
Michael Quinn
Joseph Swingle
Sergio Turner
Fahri B. Ulusoy
David Dapice
George Norman
Winifred Rothenberg
Debra Kendrick Knox
Linda Casey
Marcus Weir