Black Lives Matter

“What is #Black Lives Matter”

Black Lives Matter developed out of a response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman after his having shot an innocent black youth, Trayvon Martin. BLM is an international human rights movement that brings attention to black people being disproportionately jailed, excluded, treated as second class citizens, being seated in the back of the restaurant and bracing for self-protection every time they or their children leave their homes. It specifically targets police brutality, racial profiling and racial inequality in the criminal justice system. In our society where black lives have been treated as insignificant, undermined, betrayed and assumed inferior for centuries, Black people with their white allies are standing up and teaching about what equality and social justice looks like.

UCF CAPS stands in outrage, devastation, sadness, empathy and solidarity with our students, staff and faculty, and members of the entire UCF community who are being directly or indirectly impacted by current racially motivated events. 

 The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery; the weaponizing of race for a white woman’s benefit in Central Park; and the unfair targeting of our Asian communities based on the pandemic are just a few of the many incidents that have re-exposed oppression, discrimination and violence towards our communities of color that have been going on for decades. 

 Our communities are hurting because of the re-opening of deep racial wounds on top of the many losses caused by COVID-19. This is causing profound psychological impact and trauma on our mental health. CAPS staff sees you, we support you, and we are here for you. Please reach out if you would like to get support for this or other issues by calling 407-823-2811. We offer some links and resource for support.

Here are some of our groups/ workshops to support you:

Supporting Black Knights Fall 2020

In light of recent events, please find resources regarding help for racial and LGBTQ trauma and related issues:

Racial trauma:

Being a White Ally:

Coping After a shooting: