Letter of Support for the Removal of the Egerton Ryerson Statue from Ryerson University's Campus
July 28, 2020
Dear President Lachemi,
It is with a sense of urgency that we are writing to you to express our solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Toronto (external link) protesters and our support for their peaceful and artistic protest on Saturday, July 18. In doing so they have elevated a global movement bringing attention to colonialist and racist values that are perpetuated by the language and symbols of architecture and monuments. In our own community, this is manifested in the statue that glorifies Egerton Ryerson at the centre of our campus. We support their right to protest and their activist call to remove the statue.
It was nearly two weeks ago that the Anti-Black Racism Campus Climate Review was released, which made clear that as a result of the systemic racism within and perpetuated by our university, our Black students, staff, and faculty do not feel safe on campus, nor a sense of belonging. This was also made clear in the thorough and comprehensive Final Report of the Taskforce on Anti-Racism at Ryerson from ten years ago, of which only 16.9% of the original recommendations were acted on (p. 25, Anti-Black Racism Campus Climate Review Report). The same expression has come from our Indigenous students, staff, and faculty through the report on Truth and Reconciliation at Ryerson University. Beyond these consultations, committees, working groups, and reports, our community members have long been organizing to confront the Egerton Ryerson statue. We share the same calls to action that have been expressed through the letters and statements from the Continuing Education Students' Association at Ryerson (external link) (CESAR), the School of Fashion (external link) , the School of Disability Studies (external link) , the Library and Archives (external link) , and the Unifor National Chair in Social Justice and Democracy (external link) .
We are at a pivotal historical moment in our country, in our community, and on our campus. Our call is one of the many expressions you will have heard across the university; our ambition here is to speak out and amplify those voices, and to call upon the Presidential Implementation Committee to take serious, meaningful action. We call for action in the form of removing the Egerton Ryerson statue and calling on the Crown Attorney to drop any charges associated with the peaceful protest.
Sincerely,
The Office of Social Innovation Team
Dr. Melanie Panitch, Executive Director, Office of Social Innovation
Jessica Machado, Coordinator, Programs & Events, Office of Social Innovation
Jocelyn Courneya, Coordinator, Marketing Communications, Office of Social Innovation