
SICB Leadership statement in response to January 6 events in Washington, DC
Dear
SICB Community,
The insurrection in Washington, DC on January
6th has been deeply unsettling and disturbing to many SICB members.
We acknowledge the impact of the violent and seditious acts
perpetrated by a group of destructive individuals on our democracy,
but also recognize the value of continuing our scientific
gathering. We
support the continuation of SICB’s planned events, while also
committing to creating spaces for our members to respond to the
broader national crisis.
SICB
recognizes that the events that have unfolded in Washington DC,
including the woefully inadequate response of law enforcement
agencies, are acts of white supremacy, a problem pervasive in
institutions across the United States. SICB
leadership condemns these acts unequivocally.
SICB
also acknowledges that the impact of these events does not fall
equally on all of our members. We are cognizant that Black,
Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color and members of other
minoritized groups may experience a greater mental and emotional
burden during these unprecedented times. We
encourage all members to be especially kind to themselves and to each
other in the next few days, and moving forward.
SICB
is responding to this crisis in two key ways. First, we added
flexibility to the meeting schedule by immediately reaching out to
symposium organizers and speakers for Wednesday and Thursday symposia
to offer the option to suspend and reschedule, or continue. As of the
writing of this message, all six symposia have elected to continue
with their planned events. We support everyone’s individual
decision to participate in SICB today or not, including our
individual symposium speakers who may not be able to participate in
live Q&A. Additional opportunities for Q&A will be made
available in the coming days for any live interactions that were
affected this week.
Second, we have created spaces for
SICB 2021 attendees to discuss and respond to current events. These
spaces include a series of new, open meetings with SICB leadership,
and adjustments to our already-scheduled, society-wide member
meeting. One of the open meetings was held on Wednesday evening, and
SICB attendees are welcome to review and participate in the ongoing
chat from the January 6 event on the event’s Pathable
page.
Two additional open meetings and the member meeting will take place
today, January 7th. These events, found on pathable under ‘Special
Events’, can be accessed with following the links:
Open Meeting: 9:30-10:00 AM EST
Society-Wide Member Meeting: 12:00-1:00 PM EST
Open Meeting: 3:30-4:00 PM EST
Conversations
about allyship and white supremacy are already occurring within the
conference. As a resource for enriching these conversations,
SICB urges all
SICB 2021 participants to attend a special screening of Kendall
Moore’s film ‘Can
We Talk 2: “White Allies” at 1 PM EST today.
Based
on these conversations so far, we have felt encouraged to continue
with the conference. Science can be a positive force in the world,
and we want to carry on with the exciting scientific interactions and
connections that are happening at SICB 2021. We will also continue to
keep the lines of dialogue open between SICB members and SICB
leadership. Please look for additional opportunities to speak to SICB
leadership and interact with other SICB members to be offered through
the meeting platform (Pathable). Notifications will be sent via
email, Pathable
notifications,
and the SICB Twitter
account.
SICB
leadership wants all of you, our friends, colleagues and co-members,
to know that you are supported as you work to disseminate valuable
work in the midst of distressing events. We also want you to know
that you, as an individual, are more valuable than your work. SICB
encourages meeting attendees and all SICB members to take the
practices they need to process these unprecedented events and
maintain their mental and physical well-being. We developed the
digital conference to allow members to engage with SICB’s
content when they have sufficient time and mental bandwidth to do
so. All
SICB presentations will be available on-demand through the Pathable
platform until February 28th, 2021. Please take a break when you need
one, and come back to the meeting when you are ready and able.
SICB
leadership will continue to monitor the situation and work to support
SICB members affected by this ongoing crisis. Again, notifications
about town hall discussions and other special events with SICB
leadership will be sent via email, Pathable
notifications,
and the SICB Twitter
account.
We are also including our names and SICB addresses below. Please
contact any of us with your ideas, thoughts, concerns or
suggestions.
Sincerely,
SICB Leadership:
Beth
Brainerd, President, president@sicb.org
Melina
Hale, President-Elect, president.elect@sicb.org
Patricia
Hernandez, Incoming President-Elect (no SICB address yet)
Jake
Socha, Program Officer, programofficer@sicb.org
Thomas
Sanger, Program Officer-Elect, programofficer.elect@sicb.org
Molly
Jacobs, Communications Editor, comm.editor@sicb.org
Alice
Gibb, Secretary, secretary@sicb.org
Michele
Johnson, Secretary-Elect, secretary.elect@sicb.org
Shaz
Zamore, Public Affairs Committee Chair, chair.pac@sicb.org
Brett
Burk, Executive Director, execdir@sicb.org
