 Dear Lee Mackenzie,The North American Society for Bat Research (NASBR) is saddened and moved by the long history of violence against the Black community and the systemic racism and intolerance that pervades the United States, including the role that scientists have played in perpetuating racism. We strongly condemn racism and discrimination in all forms, and we believe that science and society at large are best served when people treat each other with compassion, civility, encouragement, and mutual respect. We believe that Black lives matter. NASBR stands with our Black members, as we do with all members who are people of color. Our Society and its mission are enriched through the diversity of our members. We are committed to being better allies and advocates for all minoritized groups. However, we recognize that our Society’s membership is not reflective of the racial diversity of people in North America, and we aim to change this. Creating an inclusive, diverse, and equitable Society is part of our values, and we strive to continue moving NASBR towards this goal. To achieve this, we are establishing a fund specifically devoted to bringing Black student researchers to our annual conference. Members will provide the initial monies to create this fund, and we will seek funding from larger diversity initiatives to sustain this effort. We will continue to promote participation by people of color in our scientific and educators’ sessions. We will reserve time during our annual conferences for purposeful collaboration towards developing long-term solutions that will allow us to overcome our deficits. We acknowledge that there is much more work we need to do, and the NASBR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and Board of Directors are eager to work with and to challenge our members to drive positive change. As always, we welcome discussion. We are listening, we will not forget, and we will do better. Sincerely, NASBR Board of Directors www.nasbr.org |