Our nation’s families and communities of color are suffering due to racial inequities and injustices. The murder of George Floyd is tragically not unique and the events over the last week have been fueled by centuries of racism, white privilege and oppression. We are committed to listening to communities of color and commit to self reflection, growth and action. Black lives matter. 

Over the last few months many parents have experienced a level of stress that is unprecedented. For many parents of color, this high level of stress and state of constant worry is not something new. Parents of color have long felt worried about the safety and well-being of their children as they walk out the door each day. 

As an organization dedicated to strengthening families, organizations and communities to prevent child maltreatment, we recognize that pervasive and systemic racism, both overt and passive, causes stress and trauma that can physically change a child’s brain. Many families experience this racism and trauma when trying to access systems of support or resources such as child care, health care, housing and education.   We know it is critical to address stress, trauma and the root causes of racism and white supremacy in order to create the conditions for children and families to thrive. We also know we play a role in systems that have continued to produce disparate outcomes for families of color. Moving forward, we will work to identify and eradicate the influence of implicit bias and explicit discrimination in policy development, service delivery and training, internally and with our partners. We will also advocate within the systems with which we interact and ensure we listen to, lift up and honor the stories and experiences of families and communities of color.

As an employer, we are committed to being anti-racist and to addressing systemic racism and inequities that may exist within our organization. We do not have all the answers and we will look inward to have critical conversations and develop skills to build equity within our organization. 

We encourage, and need, everyone to help create stronger communities. Our children are watching, listening and learning from us. We commit to promoting resources through our social media channels every week to support parents in having conversations with children addressing race and inequities, here are a couple of resources to use right now:

• • • Resources for Parents Uplifting Youth Through Healthy Communication about Race –Created by the American Psychological Association
    • EmbraceRace – EmbraceRace was founded in early 2016 by two parents (one Black, the other multiracial Black/White) who set out to create the community and gather the resources they needed (need!) to meet the challenges they face raising children in a world where race matters.

We need to model behaviors that we hope to see more of in the world today. Please take care of yourself, your loved ones and your communities.

We are committed. For children and families of color to thrive, we must eradicate oppression and racism. 

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