Blake Strode ('15), Executive Director of ArchCity Defenders, authored a piece for Medium calling out the underpinnings of our crisis – including the pervasive police killings of black citizens and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on communities of color – as the manifestation of generations of racist policy, targeted disinvestment, and systematized violence ("Our Crisis," June 10). "So, we have a choice to make. We can deepen our crisis by doubling down on failed systems and racist policies, or we can respond to it by transforming our public institutions and investments to recognize the fundamental humanity and dignity of Black people in a way that America never has before. We should choose wisely, because it will determine whether this crisis, our crisis, becomes an artifact of history, or a harbinger of an even more deeply troubled future."