A Response to Events in Charlottesville, Virginia

I am deeply saddened and outraged by the events that transpired over this past weekend in Virginia where demonstrators at a white nationalist rally descended upon Charlottesville with the express intent to spread hate, bigotry, and violence. These senseless acts were inspired and informed by the hateful messages of the white supremacy movement and its roots in the KKK, neo-nazism, the alt-right, and other like-minded domestic terrorist groups.

As you’ve doubtless heard or read, demonstrations by those groups this last weekend, sadly culminated in the death of Heather Heyer, and injuries for nearly 20 others when a car was intentionally driven into a crowd of counter protesters.

A thirty-two-year-old life has been snuffed out by intentional, hate-infused violence by a domestic terrorist who believes that his life is more valuable than others due to the color of his skin. Two others died in the line of duty protecting those in attendance at the event. Our country has been forced, once again, to face the fact that this kind of bigotry, hatred and violence has been, and continues to be, a part of who we are as a country. The question we must now ask ourselves as a community is are we willing to face and confront that reality? What steps are we willing to take to change our collective trajectory going forward?

Though it is comforting that so many have denounced the senseless acts of violence promulgated by the alt-right, KKK, neo-Nazis, and other like-minded domestic terrorist groups, we should be careful not to simply reject and discount these acts as from a few people on the fringe.

And, for Andrews University, as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian institution, we cannot be silent in the wake of these events. I would like to speak in a clear and direct way about where we stand on these issues and what we intend to do moving forward.

In particular, as we prepare to welcome students from all around our country and the world to our campus for this new school year, I want to make it clear that Andrews denounces hate, bigotry, and racism in all of its forms and reject the false ideas of white supremacy & white nationalism. Discriminatory hate speech on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender (identity or expression) or sexual orientation will not be tolerated on our campus.

We reject hateful groups such as the KKK, the alt-right, neo-Nazis, and other domestic terrorist groups as well as the beliefs they subscribe to. We also reject the notion that one can subscribe to the belief that their race alone should be allowed to have life, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness in this country while also claiming to be a Christian.

The book of First John makes this clear, “If anyone says ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20).

Here at Andrews, we are committed to modeling the commandment that finishes up the book of First John:

“And this commandment we have from Him, that one who loves God should also unselfishly love his brother and seek the best for him" (1 John 4:21).

Ultimately, the true value of our response will be found in our actions as we go forward as a campus community.

We will double down on our commitment to create a more equitable and inclusive environment for the faculty, staff, students and administrators on our globally and ethnically diverse campus. We are encouraged by the public statements made by the leadership of the North American Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, Oakwood University, as well local church leaders in our denomination who have come together to speak directly and firmly against the hate and bigotry they have witnessed and experienced in their own lives.

I call on all of those in leadership in our church: Pastors, Local Conferences, Unions, Divisions, the General Conference, our sister higher education institutions, and medical facilities, to take—and continue to take—affirmative steps to denounce the violent hatred and bigotry that was embodied over the weekend in Charlottesville by the alt-right, KKK, neo-Nazis, and other like-minded domestic terrorist groups.

These views are a danger to the future not just of our country, but also for our Church. We must proactively address any ways that these racist and bigoted views may have influenced or even infected the way that we operate here in our own Andrews community. If found, we must root those views out immediately.

“God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27).

At Andrews University, we fully believe that we have all been created in the image of God, equally. We are against any notion of racial, cultural, religious, or national superiority.
We all have eternal value and should keep in mind that when we interact with one another, we are interacting with the image of God that can be discovered and seen in one another.

As a Seventh-day Adventist Christian institution, we are committed to modeling the life and teachings of Christ in every aspect of what we say and do. We invite you to join us on this crucial and world changing journey.