The inequitable and brutal treatment of Black people is unacceptable. We call out racism in all its insidious manifestations, which leaves Black people isolated and under-resourced. We grieve for and with those who have suffered injustice and psychological scarring for generations.

We stand in solidarity with those who fight for fundamental reform of systems that perpetuate structural racism:  criminal justice, education, health care, housing, voting rights, immigration and more.

Black Lives Matter.

We are committed to helping build a country and a world where everyone has an opportunity to live with dignity, respect and free from fear. We grieve for those who have suffered deeply in a pandemic of injustice, one that is in stark relief today with COVID-19. And, we mourn for those whose lives were stolen and whose full potential we’ll never know simply because they were Black.  

We say their names: George Floyd,  Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Atiatana Jefferson, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, Korryn Gaines, Sandra Bland, Manuel Ellis, Walter Scott, Eric Harris, Freddie Gray,  Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Ernest Lacy.  We know that there are countless others. 

They lived, they loved, were loved, and died for no reason.

We commit to being part of the solution.  We will start by:

• Contributing funds to anti-hate, anti-racist organizations, and beyond that, incentivizing employee contributions to these groups.
• Educating ourselves about the many facets of racism, discrimination, and stigma through the wisdom and experience of invited speakers and multi-media opportunities.  
• Lending our skills through pro bono support to anti-racist organizations and others explicitly supporting Black communities.
• Speaking out in our county as a business supporting anti-racist policies and expanding our current leadership of pro-equity initiatives such as Business Leaders Fighting Hunger.
• Continuing to examine and refine our internal practices to ensure that we are meeting and advancing the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism in our own operations.  We will do this in our hiring practices and through our commitment to vigilance so that each employee feels welcomed, respected, supported, valued and encouraged. We seek full participation in company culture, in which people bring their full, authentic selves to work.

We know we can do better, and we will.  We will hold ourselves accountable for our progress, making sure that our promises are more than aspirations. We are in this fight for the long haul, until Black Lives Matter in practice, and in policy in our community, across the nation, and around the world.