----The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States grants every American the right of equal protection under the law. This right was born of a national struggle to reconcile our stated ideals with our national reality – a crisis that ultimately precipitated a redefinition of the first three words of our constitution: “We the People.” Our U.S. veterans swore an oath to “defend the constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” This oath is not to a political party or president, but to the principles that guide our collective action today.

 

----The Wharton Veterans Club is outraged by the recent manifestations of inequality in the United States that have highlighted enduring systemic racial injustice. We are humbled by the leadership demonstrated by AAMBAA, CariBiz, and WASA; and we are committed to amplifying their call to action in response to the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and the countless other names we know and do not know.

 

----We pledge to take the following actions and implore other Wharton organizations and fellow veterans clubs across the country to launch similar initiatives.

 

• Educate:  We are dedicating a day of programming to racial inequality and education in the military during Wharton Veterans Week (November 9th-13th) in which Black veterans and students are invited to share their stories. We call on student organizations at Wharton to dedicate a portion of their programming in the next academic year as well.
• Engage:  We pledge to vote. We encourage others to register through When We All Vote, an organization fighting for fair, safe, and accessible voting for all Americans regardless of backgrounds, beliefs, and political ideologies.
• Mobilize:  We are rallying other MBA Veteran Organizations to commit to bold action in support of their Black classmates. We are inspired by the Columbia University Military in Business Association’s statement of support and intend to lead a national collaborative effort to harness the veteran community’s commitment to fighting systemic racial inequality.
• Sustain:  We commit to continuing this conversation by sharing stories, recollections, and reflections from our military’s history each month. We will emphasize the heroism, contribution, and impact of marginalized groups, but will also highlight examples in which military decisions were flawed, describing the times where we fell short.

----During the Second World War the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-Black unit in the segregated U.S. Army Air Corps, were awarded 14 Bronze Stars and 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses for acts of gallantry and bravery. These heroes, and the war’s more than 1.2 million Black service members, were instrumental in safeguarding peace for the entire world. They served their country to defend freedom – a freedom they themselves are unable to claim as their own. The legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen's experience nearly 80 years ago lingers today – Black men and women still yearn for equal treatment, and we must fulfill the promises outlined in our Constitution.

 

----Despite many of us leaving behind the rank, uniform, and orders of a past life, the veteran community at Wharton continues to live by our shared values of respect, integrity, and courage. We stand together with the Black community to state with one voice: there is no true peace without justice at home. This club is eager and willing to learn how we can be better partners, amplify efforts for change, and be stewards of the values we espouse as veterans, Wharton students, and global community members. We must ensure our desire for change outlives our outrage, because tomorrow must look different than today.