In the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police and the protests that have ensued all over America, executive directors from LISC's local offices have issued pained and impassioned calls to their communities: Each one of us is galvanizing our commitment to the work of upending racial injustice and to rebuilding a society where every life is sacred.
Photo Credit: Xena Goldman
From the LISC Bay Area Team
Let’s just say it, there is real pain that words have a hard time soothing at the moment and have left so many feeling angry, powerless and helpless. But we are not. In countless communities for countless hours, Americans have assembled and organized based on a belief in our shared humanity and a demand that this be recognized as the way we treat and love one another.
Read their message in full [+]
From the LISC Charter School Financing Team
Our commitment to this work continues. We will continue to pursue our mission of ensuring that all children have access to a successful public school in their community. This work is necessary because for centuries, structural racism and racist policies have barred black and brown families from accessing high-quality public schools. We will continue to educate ourselves and take the internal action necessary to be an anti-racist organization. We are committed to working with public charter schools that are also doing this work.
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From the LISC Chicago Team
...for Black Americans, that grinding fear is a tax our nation has placed upon them every day for the last 400 years. The impact of those daily doses of fear results in chronic stress and ravages the health of the Black community. Coronavirus has given us another wakeup call, watching as our Black brothers and sisters make up 33% of hospitalized cases and die at a rate 2.6 times higher than whites. As we wait to see what the long-term economic fallout from the pandemic is, we will almost assuredly see Black communities disproportionally affected as well.
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From Jim Horan, Executive Director, LISC Connecticut
LISC has worked in communities of color across Connecticut for over 35 years. And yet we recognize we must do more, and we must be better. We are here and we are listening. We are committed to using our position to ensure new policies and funding opportunities prioritize the needs of black and brown residents in the communities we serve. These new policies and programs will work to dismantle the institutional practices that have resulted in decades of disinvestment and injustice.
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From Tahirih Ziegler, Executive Director, LISC Detroit
LISC stands in solidarity and ready for action with Black communities everywhere - especially in Detroit, where Black residents exceed 80% of the population. We are working to support neighborhoods, residents, community leaders and small businesses that have been negatively impacted by Covid-19 or structural racism. In our work, we are doing more than just watching the news or feeling empathy. We will continue to lead and demonstrate with actions to elevate the voices of those negatively impacted by inequities. This has always been the center of our work. We will call out decisions and policies that support systematic racial bias. We will join residents, colleagues, elected officials and stakeholders to prioritize, endorse and enact policies that promote racial equality.
Read Tahirih's message in full [+]
From Pam Kramer, Executive Director, LISC Duluth
Racial inequity isn’t something easily dismantled. LISC Duluth is committed to working hand-in-hand with the community to contribute to systemic change that addresses community needs, improves lives and builds stronger neighborhoods. We will look internally at our own organization to make sure that we support and promote a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We commit to working externally and are ready to listen, find common ground, and build the lines of communication, relationships and trust that is needed in our community.
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From Tedd Grain, Executive Director, LISC Indianapolis
There is real pain that words alone cannot soothe and have left so many of us feeling angry, powerless and helpless. But we are not powerless or helpless. In countless communities for countless hours, Americans have assembled peacefully based on a belief in our shared humanity and a demand that this be recognized as the way we treat and love one another.
Read Ted's message in full [+]
From Richard Manson, Interim Executive Director, and Sherry Magill, Chair, LISC Jacksonville
Over two decades, we have forged deep relationships with neighborhoods and residents across Jacksonville. Many of our partners are especially hurting. To the communities we serve, LISC does not take our responsibilities lightly. We hear your fear and anger, we support your calls for justice, and we acknowledge the privilege afforded to us when you welcomed us to serve with you. We remain honored to work alongside you.
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From Geoff Jolley, Executive Director, LISC Greater Kansas City
While some circumstances differed, the root cause of each of their deaths is found in 400 years of oppression in our country that is now entrenched in structural racism. By allowing our country’s history to be ignored, glossed over, or even amended, white society’s advantage and avoidance for racial reconciliation has fueled the devastation, frustration, and exhaustion felt by many of our fellow black and brown Americans. We must do better.
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From Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, Executive Director, LISC LA
There is a jigsaw puzzle of proven solutions out there to pursue including education as a poverty alleviator, quality job access, accessible healthcare, community policing and capital access via community development financial institutions (CDFIs), like LISC. CDFIS were established in response to a need to move money to people and places that need it most. We will continue to take action and ask that you join us...
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From the LISC Milwaukee Team
But what we’ve seen in Milwaukee, gives us hope. Thank you to the courageous protestors who show up to say, our vision of Milwaukee is more than this. We don’t want our loved ones to die at the hands of law enforcement, we don’t want to explain to our children that this is our normal and we don’t want to live in a city divided by two stories; those that have and those that have not.
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From Valerie D. White, Executive Director, LISC NYC
LISC NYC values safe streets and supports responsible law enforcement practices that promote community safety. However, New York City history is filled with examples of unlawful, excessive policing of people of color, including with lethal force. Police brutality has marked the lives of countless victims before this moment, including New Yorkers such as Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, and Eric Garner, to name a few. This history is intertwined with the realities of poverty; too many low-income New Yorkers struggle on a daily basis to access quality housing, schools, jobs, medical care, transportation, and social services. Under these tragic conditions, it is hardly surprising that the New York Times reports that the coronavirus is twice as deadly for Black and Latinx people in New York City than for Whites.
Read Valerie's message in full [+]
From Andrew Frishkoff, Executive Director, LISC Philadelphia
We can and will do better by listening more intently and humbly to our community partners. We are prepared to support community organizing and justice, not just engagement and safety, and to invest in more resident- and community-owned housing and enterprises. We are committed to using our position of privilege to advocate more strongly for our communities and against the institutional policies and practices that have led to decades of injustice and the past weeks of devastation.
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From the LISC Phoenix Team
In this moment of national reflection, we rededicate ourselves to lifting the voices and agency of Black, BIPOC, Latinx, Native, refugee, immigrant, undocumented and LGBTQ people; to reassessing how we can call out policies that stand in the way of building equity; to being a conduit for public and private investment in communities that face systemic challenges; and to providing hands-on support to make community-driven change.We are here to have the conversation about how we can be better and do better.
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From the Rural LISC Team
Black and Indigenous people have formed the heart of Rural America since before the founding of this country, and immigrants and new Americans, many of whom are people of color, are our beloved neighbors in many rural areas. Current Census and Economic data shows that rural communities today are growing and thriving largely because of our immigrant brothers and sisters of color.
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From Peter McLaughlin, Executive Director, LISC Twin Cities
It is time to begin the process of healing. The Twin Cities are living through an unprecedented and tragic time. We saw the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of the police. We join protesters in the call for justice for the Floyd family, the Black community, and indigenous and people of color who have been wrongfully treated by the police. We commit to look internally into our own organization to make sure that we support and promote a strong culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We will also reach out to our partners to work together to activate the necessary conversations in order to foster the healing process that is critical for our society to progress. We are ready to listen, find common ground, encourage understanding, and build the lines of communication, relationships and trust that are necessary for our communities to live and thrive together.
Read Peter's message in full [+]
From the LISC DC Team
To the nation, we raise our voice alongside those calling to dismantle structural racism and white supremacy. Black and brown families continue to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic— only the most recent blow to health and economic equality. We stand in solidarity with those protesting for racial justice across the American landscape, and refuse to be distracted by a small contingent attempting to divert attention from the importance of this historic moment. We know the voices of peace in our communities are stronger, more resolute, and will prevail.
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From the LISC Western New York Team
The trauma of racial injustice has recently been compounded by the significant and tragic impacts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our neighborhoods that have experienced historic disinvestment have also experienced a disproportionate prevalence of the COVID-19 virus. We know this is a result of a lack of investment in services and supports for things like economic stability, housing, social & community services, the built environment & transportation, access to health care, and education.
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From Jane Ferrara, Executive Director, LISC Virginia
The pain is real and mere words cannot adequately soothe these feelings. But now is the time for action, not just words. It is my hope that as we all honestly reflect on our history, we accept the weight of personal and moral responsibility to answer this call to action. We at LISC are reaffirmed in our work to create more equitable, healthy, and prosperous communities with and for residents. With this resolve, we will continue to confront racial inequality in our community.
Read Jane's response in full [+]