We, the 2020 Volunteer Leadership Board of UCLA Lambda Alumni Association echo UCLA in asserting that Black lives matter. They matter at UCLA. They matter in Minnesota. They matter everywhere. The most recent murders of Black transgender people including Tony McDade, Nina Pop, Dominique Fells and Riah Milton—as well as the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and countless others—highlight centuries of systemic racism. This racial inequity is compounded by the disparities found in almost every major societal institution, as seen today with the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 and deaths from law enforcement-related violence.

We recognize that the Black community has faced and fought against a long history of racism and other forms of social injustice. This moment calls upon us to amplify the Black activists that have led our LGBTQ+ movement. We must remember it was Black and Latinx trans people whose arrests spurred the Compton Cafeteria Riots in 1966. It was Black and Latinx trans people, including Marsha P. Johnson, Stormé DeLarverie, Sylvia Rivera, Zazu Nova and Jackie Hormona, who led the uprising at Stonewall as a response to ongoing police brutality. Within our UCLA community, Black LGBTQ+ Bruins have also been a part of this legacy of activism. Bruins like Jewel Thais-Williams ’71, legendary activist and founder of one of the first Black gay bars in Los Angeles, and Steven Canals, M.F.A. ’15, the co-creator of the acclaimed hit television series “Pose.” But we must all join these activists in standing up for the inherent worth of Black Americans, speaking out against violence and injustice, and demanding institutional equity and respect for Black lives.

Social justice is infused into UCLA Lambda Alumni Association’s foundational documents, policies and procedures, and volunteer leadership culture. However, given how pervasive systematic racism is, we are committed to finding even more ways to advance racial equity. We will continue to further diversify the organization’s leadership and culture to ensure we represent the full breadth of the UCLA LGBTQ+ community.

We want you to know that you do not have to be a board member to propose an event, program or initiative. If there is something you would like to see or help us create, UCLA Lambda Alumni Association will do what we can to leverage the power of UCLA and our volunteer network to make it happen. Please reach out at lambda@alumni.ucla.edu and one of our board members will get in touch with you.

In solidarity,

UCLA Lambda Alumni Association Volunteer Leadership Board