Protests have erupted around the country in response to racist incidents and killings of Black men and women. These incidents and murders come at a time when the nation is particularly vulnerable as it contends with the first deadly pandemic in a century.
Sadly, when we need national leadership to tackle these life-threatening issues and chart a clear path forward, galvanizing citizens around a common solution, we have a president who incites division, encourages violence, and nurtures insecurity in the American people.
The overt racist acts in the spotlight over the last several weeks must be condemned, but beyond that the insidious and institutional forms of racism at work every day in this country need to end. As an organization of mothers dedicated to working to curb climate change and stop our dependence on fossil fuels, we know our Black moms wake up everyday with the fear of not only climate change, but also the fear that their Black sons and daughters will not make it home. No mother should live with this fear, and justice must be served and a new way of policing must be practiced today.
Our collective condemnation has not made a difference. And the very communities who face daily injustices are hurt, angry and exhausted by having to live in fear of being targeted for carrying out everyday activities that most would consider routine.
We are well aware how difficult these systemic inequities are to resolve even at the organizational level. To say we are beyond reproach ourselves would be inauthentic. Mothers Out Front is committed to the hard but important work of moving towards applying a racial equity lens to our own internal development. Work needed to ensure that our own systems and values do not further perpetuate the state of inequality ingrained in the far reaches of our societies and institutions.
As Mothers Out Front we condemn all racist acts and we mourn for the lives lost and damaged. While incidents like these can make us feel helpless, it is the realization that our work together is to build a more just, equitable, and livable world for all children that sustains us through these dark days.
In solidarity,