As an organization committed to social justice, we cannot ignore the systemic injustice faced daily by black Americans. We know that the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other recent acts of violence are symptoms of the institutionalized racism that is a constant experience of black friends and colleagues.
At Community Connections, we believe that all people should live without fear in our communities. While we usually concentrate on promoting justice for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, today we must remember that belonging, dignity, and respect are rights for everyone. Racism denies those rights.
To all our black, brown and native colleagues, we are deeply grieved by the tragic events we’ve witnessed, and we want you to know Community Connections stands by you. We are committed to fighting discrimination and racism in all its forms.
And to our white colleagues, who are admittedly the majority of us at Community Connections, we remind you that if we are ever going to dismantle racism, it is the responsibility of white Americans to educate ourselves on racism and how it manifests. We cannot claim to be on the side of social justice and ignore the aggressions and microaggressions that our black colleagues experience within the work environment and in our communities.
I do not wish to be trite or give empty lip service to the complex issue of racism. But I also believe that we are living amidst two pandemics, and we’ve only addressed one of them. I hope we will all take the disease of racism as seriously as we’ve taken the spread of the coronavirus.
