Today we join in grieving George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among far too many others killed in recent weeks by racism and police violence – racism and violence that have been institutionalized and persistent in this country since its founding.
LearnServe International stands with Black Lives Matter and the Black Lives Matter movement. And we stand with our LearnServe students and community members of color for whom such racism and trauma are not new, are all too familiar, and are intensified right now.
We remain committed to building, strengthening, and protecting nurturing spaces for student changemakers to reflect and take action. At the same time, we know we have much more work to do as we push ourselves to fully live up to being the strong allies and inclusive community we aspire to be – always, not just after painful moments enter the public spotlight.
It is crucial that young people have the space to be centered in this conversation, and poised to take action. As Civil Rights champion Ella Baker taught: “To me young people come first; they have the courage where we fail.” In the coming days we will be holding space for our students to engage in facilitated dialogue. Later this week we will share educational resources we have compiled, along with opportunities for local action to support racial justice. In the meantime, visit www.blacklivesmatter.com for ways you can get involved.
What gives us the greatest hope is the way we have seen the LearnServe community and so many other communities come together for change. Thank you for being part of the LearnServe family. And thank you for being part of that change.
Emma, Florence, Sabine, Semira, & Scott