Black Lives Matter and We Will Not Remain Silent

The community mural in memory of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN. Photo by Wade Agboola. Mural by Cadex Herrera, Greta McLain, and Xena Goldman.

If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class and our nation
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​–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1967

We at the Institute of Cultural Affairs and the Ecumenical Institute are infuriated and deeply distressed by the murder of Black people by law enforcement and the continued racial violence being directed at the Black community over and over again on a daily basis.

We stand in solidarity with protesters, activists, and organizers expressing outrage at the long history of systemic racism that continues to perpetuate injustice with complicity by public officials. 

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Tony McDade. Ahmaud Arbery. These names and more will be said and remembered in the years ahead. Our heartfelt prayers go out to all the families who have experienced such a violent loss because they were Black.

We will also reflect on our own internal values and mission and challenge ourselves to confront our own responsibility to dismantle systemic racism and contribute to the movement for racial justice. We begin by adding our voice to the chorus saying unequivocally that Black Lives Matter and we will not be silent.

Now in 2020, the need is even more imperative to sound the call to commitment and to demonstrate what is possible. Inequality not only runs rampant as a virus, it remains the systemic cause of so many injustices. 

At the core of combating racism is not only embracing diversity but enabling it. To move forward, we are committed in engaging relationships rooted in equity and participation.

Justice demands no less.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith.