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Statement Regarding the Racially Motivated Shooting in Buffalo

May 18, 2022 by pmb3fz@virginia.edu

Tracy Downs, MD

Tracy Downs, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The multiple hate crimes of this past weekend were horrific. The racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY on Saturday, killing ten people and injuring three others — 11 of the 13 victims being Black — was one of three mass shootings this weekend in the United States. We continue to be deeply saddened and outraged by the racially motivated hate crimes in our country and elsewhere, and extend deepest sympathies to those who lost family, friends, and loved ones in this insidious event.

The UVA School of Medicine and UVA Health is a community of healing, compassion, inclusion, and respect for all. Discrimination and prejudice have no place within and outside of our healthcare walls. The mission of our Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the School of Medicine as well as the Office of Diversity and Community Engagement of UVA Health is to cultivate an inclusive community that embraces, values and celebrates diversity as well as one that creates an engaging and equitable environment. Violent acts of racism affect every aspect of our lives, from personal safety, to education, to the health and wellbeing of the people in our communities. Our country must come together to stand against and dismantle racism and discrimination in all forms, especially those of race-related hate and violence.

Together, we join in the hope for a peaceful today, tomorrow, and future, universally free of hate, racism and discrimination.

Filed Under: Community, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion