MIR Statement Against Racism
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The murder of George Floyd was as senseless as the subsequent response has been powerful. But the impacts of this movement must outlast our current posts and protests. The editorial board of the McGill International Review has written the statement below to convey our commitment to allyship — not just now, but always.
The MIR stands in solidarity with the black community and Black Lives Matter in their fight against police brutality, systemic racism, white supremacy, and injustice faced by Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) in the United States, Canada, and across the world. We condemn all acts of violence against BIPOC, and we recognize that systemic racism is both historically rooted and institutionally reinforced at all levels of society. Now is the time to be better allies.
As a student publication at McGill University, we are committed to being allies to the black community, the Black Lives Matter movement, and to all BIPOC affected by systemic racism. Yet we also acknowledge that there are ample places where we, and the university under whose name we operate, have not done enough. Now more than ever, institutions of higher education must act as a forum for critical thinking and anti-racist activities, including reckoning with their own systemic blind spots. And there is arguably no instrument more important to this mission than student publications. As such, we are committed to using our platform to magnify BIPOC voices, and to stymie narratives that invalidate, overshadow, or misrepresent experiences of systemic racism.
The McGill International Review therefore commits to the following action points:
- Encourage the recruitment and spontaneous contributions of BIPOC writers
- Encourage current writers to tackle issues related to systemic racism and make sure that BIPOC voices and narratives are expressed
- Formalize in the style guide the elimination of any language encouraging or amplifying racism or white supremacy and the addition of inclusive language guidelines
- Organize anti-racism workshops for the MIR staff, pertaining specifically to journalism
By using our platform to these ends, we hope to provide a space for self-education and self-reflection. However, we also understand that individual recognition of white privilege and systemic racism is not enough. We must involve ourselves in collective anti-racist actions to bring about institutional and social change. For this reason, we offer our solidarity to Black Lives Matter and all BIPOC activists, organizers, and educators whose leadership is indispensable to the global fight against systemic racism.
Featured image: George Floyd Mural in Ottawa by Taymaz Valley, under license CC BY 2.0.
