LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY
Dear Ambassadors and community members,
As we stand with those voicing their outrage for the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and all those before who have been killed by racial violence, we are forced to examine the pain of centuries of trauma perpetuated against our Black neighbors in this country. We are forced to examine our role in being complicit in a society that maintains white supremacy at the expense of the lives of Black people and others. We are seeing revealed in front of us the hurt and death our complicity creates.
As an organization that says its mission is to “activate communities to heal,” we know we cannot heal until or unless our Black neighbors are afforded the same safety as white citizens of this country. Safety has to come in all forms – emotional, physical, and psychological. Law enforcement – along with other systems that are the fabric of American life – have long inflicted unjust pain on the families of Black people and others with marginalized identities. We know that this pain – again emotional, physical, and psychological – shortens people’s lives. This is an unjust outcome that should be unacceptable to every American.
The actions we are taking to stand with people around this country to fight for racial justice are outlined below. We will continue to examine and act to change our own complicity in white supremacy; we will evaluate our relationship with financial institutions to ensure our financial capital is invested in ways that lift up Black communities; we will continue to support and uplift the work of Black members of our community creating healing in their communities; we will continue to support change in institutions that seek to improve the lives of the people they serve, understanding how Black members of our community have been traumatized by their institutions; and we will continue to support policy changes at the local and national level that end these cycles of trauma. There is a place in this work reserved for you. Join us in these commitments and hold us accountable to them.
Until our Black neighbors are safe, none of us will be “Alive and Well.” We find solace in knowing we have a large community of people committed to making this change real, and we are eager to continue our work with each of you.
In solidarity,
Your team at Alive and Well Communities
Jennifer Brinkmann – she/her
President
P: (314)-898-4049 ext. 700