Hello All,

As we come to the end of a very challenging semester, I would be remiss if I did not address the atrocity that occurred last week when George Floyd was murdered. I want to share the words of the CFT (California Federation of Teachers), teachers’ union with you. I think it is important for you, your families and our community to know where teachers stand:

The murder of George Floyd by a police officer was an unspeakable act of violence, and our communities across the country are responding to his murder with understandable grief and rage.

But we know this is not an isolated incident. Black communities, especially men, are exhausted and terrified because of the omnipresent structural and institutional racism they experience every day that often leads to violence against them.

As a union of educators and classified professionals, our work includes taking action to dismantle the systems and structures that uphold anti-Black racism in our schools and our communities.

We must continue to show up and speak up in solidarity for Black lives and refuse to be distracted from the urgent need for us all to work for racial justice every day. This work of anti-racism is for all of us – as individuals, as a union, in our schools, and across society – and we must remain fully committed to it until our vision of a just society is realized.

This is a time to be angry and demand justice. This is a time to demand change. This is not a time to look away. We honor these lives lost by pledging to do our part to dismantle systemic racism.

Please know, as a film teacher, I am focused on dismantling systems of oppression within education and ultimately within the film industry. I strive to teach inclusively, to expose students to the film work of under-represented people and to create educational and career opportunities for all students, especially those who have been historically discouraged from entering creative fields.

~Alexis Reyes