To our brothers and sisters in the Black community:
First, let us say that we see you, and we hear your pain. We are sickened by recent events, and yet we know that we cannot understand how you are feeling.
Black lives matter. We know that George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are far from the first to be murdered by white people who have held no regard for the lives of people of color. We are sorry that it has taken us this long to demonstrate that we care about the violence and hatred that is directed at you every day of your lives. We are sorry that for so long we have done so little. We are sorry that our racism has allowed us to disavow in ourselves any responsibility for such heinous acts. We pledge to work hard to see, name, and interrupt our racism and the racism of other white people in our families, our congregations, our neighborhoods, and our communities. We know that we will miss the mark many times, but we will keep trying. We will listen to you, we will stand with you, and we will take action with you.
As white people, we recognize that we have unearned privilege. In signing this letter, we pledge to use that privilege, and the power that comes with it, to stand up for justice and equity long overdue. Just as faith without action is incomplete and empty, so are words without action.
We also recognize that police brutality and murder is only one symptom of the centuries-old systemic racism in our country. Our pledge today is to work with you for justice and equity on many fronts and to overhaul the many broken systems prevalent throughout society such as criminal justice, affordable housing, immigration, education, health care, and climate injustice. We pledge our hard work to overturn the racist tax system, starting with the passing of the Fair Tax ballot measure.
White supremacy hurts us all. It robs us of our humanity. It blinds us to the suffering of our brothers and sisters of color. It blinds us to our complicity as white people in upholding racist systems and structures. And it keeps us separated. We pledge to work tirelessly to build a society that works for everyone, that values every human being, no matter their background or the color of their skin.
We see you. We hear you. We are here with you.
In love,
Your White brothers and sisters
For our White Leaders, if you would like to add your name, please sign here.