A GRIDS event: "Queer and Trans Migrations"

What is GRIDS? 

GRIDS is an advocacy initiative of the College of Liberal Arts Diversity Committee dedicated to protecting current and future scholars who study Gender, Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Sexuality and other systems of power. In forming this coalition, the following departments have committed to building their collective power in order to defend against any and all institutional interference in the scholarly pursuits connected to vulnerable populations:

Mexican American and Latina/o Studies Department
African and African Diaspora Studies Department
Center for Women’s and Gender Studies                                       
Center for Asian American Studies
Warfield Center for African and African American Studies     
Center for Mexican American Studies
Native American and Indigenous Studies Program                     
LGBTQ Studies

A Statement from Latino Studies on the events of January 6, 2021: 

Yesterday’s attack on the U.S. capitol by hordes of angry, overwhelmingly-white Trump supporters is a chilling representation of the depth of white supremacist rage in the United States. That this white mob had such easy access to the White House and chambers of Congress without aggressive police response—and apparently in some instances with police support—also reveals the power of whiteness and its presumed legitimacy no matter its form. Seeing yesterday’s images across the news is all too reminiscent of the 2017 white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, or of Klan rallies in the twentieth century.

Although President Trump summoned this white supremacist protest and has spent his presidency stoking the flames, he is not the root cause of US American racism, which extends to the founding of this country through Indigenous genocide and chattel slavery. Events such as yesterday should point us to this history and offer a robust justification for the significance of ethnic, race, and Indigenous studies. Latino Studies at UT, along with our colleagues in the field of intersectional studies—Black Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Asian American Studies, gender studies, queer studies, and disability studies—offers analysis and history of white supremacy, racial capitalism, national borders, gender disparities, and historical forms of discrimination. Such perspectives are vital in helping to make sense of events like yesterday’s attack from within a broader cultural and historical context and to provide templates for meaningful change.

We say to our students and our community that we know yesterday was a terrifying expression of a worldview that threatens who we are and our belonging on these stolen lands we call the United States. We also know that you and your families continue to be under immense duress because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to remind you that we’re not just here to support your intellectual growth, but we’re also your community. Take care of yourselves. Reach out if you need us. The most important thing we have is each other.