The recent murder of George Floyd has understandably sparked a passionate response and led to many protests worldwide.

Here at University of Essex Online, we condemn any form of racism and stand in support of the fight to remove racism and racial inequality from wherever it may exist. In recent days discussions in our student forums and staff networks have reinforced how much more all of us could do to confront this issue.

Not having a campus where our students and staff physically mix, we may not encounter racism in a traditional sense, but that does not mean our students and staff do not experience it in their daily lives. Our diverse international student body, with students studying in over 140 countries worldwide, means that the University of Essex Online community is quite unique and special, and this is something we intend to protect.

We want to do everything we can to ensure that racism is not allowed to exist within our community, and for that we are asking for your help. We have started Black Lives Matter conversations with students and staff to suggest ways in which we can address this issue.

It is time for us all to come together to address this prejudice which has no place in a decent society.

David Dixon
Academic Director