The CUNYBA community joins other voices in CUNY as well as across the United States, and indeed the world, to condemn the systemic racial, social, and economic divide throughout this country that perpetuates racism, hatred, intolerance and prejudice against our fellow citizens. We should all feel collective outrage for allowing this to continue and must resolve to focus our energy and power, in whatever capacity we have, to seize this moment when real change is possible. Anything less is unacceptable.
As an incubator for educational reform CUNYBA is committed to social justice. In fact, when CUNYBA was founded in 1971 the Black Power movement was at its peak and it was also the year when a corrupt and racist President occupied the White House. It is precisely in this earlier period of social unrest, intolerance and bigotry that CUNY wanted to make a difference by creating CUNYBA. Over the past half century progress has been slow, and transformation is still desperately needed, so CUNYBA will, and must, continue to foster meaningful change to create a just and ethical society for all.
In fact, CUNYBA is perhaps even more relevant now as a catalyst for students who truly want to make a positive difference in the world. People who think outside the box, to question, to innovate, to lead. Our mission focuses on one student at a time – understanding them as individuals with different goals, passions, and expectations – because a single successful graduate, who has hope for a better future, affects positive change in the lives of countless others. With more than 8,000 alumni CUNYBA’s reach is wide and formidable in continuing our commitment of making social justice a reality.