In light of the recent events at Yale, Mizzou, and other universities, The Harvard College Office of BGLTQ Student Life definitively and emphatically states its standing in solidarity with black students who are bravely facing the systemic racism within their schools and homes. Our mission has always been to foster a safer, more diverse, and inclusive campus by educating and engaging the Harvard community. This systemic oppression within higher education across the nation affects black queer and trans individuals, and as such we must hold ourselves accountable to combatting these racist systems. We recognize that higher education is compromised of institutions established for the betterment of white students and the silencing of black voices, and thus black students endure acts of violence every d ay. It is our obligation as an academic office within one such institution of higher learning—and our obligation as decent human beings—to bolster and aid black students in their activism in procuring their inalienable right of an education and a home in which they can flourish without constantly defend their existences.  No one is justified hiding behind the cause of “free speech” if it means the disenfranchisement and invalidation of black student voices.  We recognize that this statement is the merely the minimum acceptable show of support, and acts as a first step in our commitment to act in accordance with these sentiments, call all our groups to action in support of black students' struggle, and contribute our resources towards the betterment of students' lives within higher education nationwide.