The following statement was emailed to all current members on July 8, 2020.

We on the LSA Executive Committee feel it is important at this time to affirm some of our shared values.

The Linguistic Society of America is committed to intellectual freedom and professional responsibility. It is not the mission of the Society to control the opinions of its members, nor their expression. Inclusion and civility are crucial to productive scholarly work. And inclusion means hearing (not necessarily accepting) all points of view, even those that may be objectionable to some.

The LSA does oppose, in the strongest possible terms, statements and actions of racism, misogyny, and other forms of hate. We would of course condemn the misuse of linguistic science and other scholarly ideas, tools, and resources to justify hateful statements and actions.

The Executive Committee has been meeting to discuss current concerns. A task force is being appointed to establish clear policies and procedures for ensuring transparent, equitable, and inclusive nominations, awards, appointments, and elections. A second task force is being appointed to establish clear policies and procedures for transparent, equitable, and inclusive public communications via social media and other means. The work of these teams will be reported in an open forum at the next Annual Meeting.

The Executive Committee

Linguistic Society of America