A Statement from the MIT Museum

On May 29, 2020 MIT President Rafael Reif interrupted his preparations for Commencement, traditionally the happiest day of MIT’s year, to lament the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and “the tragic persistence of racism and systemic injustice in the United States.”

The MIT Museum stands with the MIT community, and with all who condemn the obvious injustices that are perpetrated so regularly against people of color in this country. We cannot claim to have realized the values we say we stand for – sympathy, humility, decency, respect and kindness – when so many black and brown people do not experience anything like this day-to-day. We cannot proclaim our freedoms, when so many marginalized people fear for their very lives in public places. As a nation, as a community, and, yes, as a museum we can, we must, and we will do better.

We are not perfect – far from it. But, with all our imperfections, we strive to work towards a better world. We commit to standing against racism and systematic injustice wherever we find them, and we commit to standing alongside those who are victims of prejudice wherever we can.

Black lives matter.

MIT Museum