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Dear Swing Left,
As we all know, in recent weeks, our country has been going through a national reckoning with white supremacy and structural racism that continues to take Black lives. The murder of Rayshard Brooks by police in Atlanta is yet another in a long list that includes Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless more. We are sickened and angered by this ongoing police brutality. We recognize we all must use our voices to end systemic racism and demand change.
It’s been an inflection point for the world, and Swing Left as well. It has led our organization to pause our national events and conduct a deep examination of our work and how we show up for our staff, the Swing Left community, and allies in the movement for Black lives.
Electing Democrats alone is an important but clearly insufficient step towards achieving the progressive change needed to create a more inclusive and equitable government and society. We’ll continue doing our part to elect Democratic majorities by focusing on swing races, but we’re also going to do better at showing up to support communities who need it most.
We’ve taken stock of our own internal challenges—and failures—around diversity, equity, and inclusion, and are re-committing ourselves to doing better in the fight against systemic racism. As we’ve learned, it’s easy to say you’re an ally to Black and brown communities, but it takes lasting, sustained work to actually be an ally.
While adhering to the scope of Swing Left’s electoral focus, we’re turning to what we can do within our organization to elevate anti-racism work and show up for communities of color. Moving forward, Swing Left will be engaging in deep structural work to ensure our staff, board, and leadership reflect the diversity and composition of Democratic voters. We will be launching anti-racism and implicit bias training programs for staff and volunteers. We commit to using our platforms to uplift Black and brown voices and civic organizations. We will also maintain an anti-racism action hub for our volunteers to learn and take action.
After taking some time to identify and begin to incorporate these anti-racist commitments into our work, we’re continuing our electoral activities along with this ongoing examination of our work. We move forward with a deep sense of humility. The journey of allyship is not a single action or donation. It doesn’t happen overnight. But we commit to starting, showing up, and doing better.
Sincerely,
Ethan, Catherine, Tori, and the Swing Left Team
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