Hi John,

This week, the world is watching the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering George Floyd last summer. Floyd’s murder, along with the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others in the spring and summer of 2020 sparked historic calls for change.

Like many others, this movement inspired us at the Alliance to reflect on our role in and relationship to harmful systems as well as our responsibility to be accomplices in the fight to dismantle white supremacy. It underscored that the fight for racial justice and the fight to end gun violence are inextricably linked. We cannot end the gun violence epidemic without rooting out the racism and injustice knit into the fabric of our country. And we cannot create a truly equitable and just future without ending gun violence.

In June, we shared this statement voicing solidarity with the movement for Black lives and invited our supporters to join us in committing to anti-racist work. We also compiled a list of resources we hoped could help guide anyone looking to deepen their understanding of structural racism and white supremacy.

We know that in order for our anti-racist work to be meaningful, it must be ongoing. This is not a task that can be checked off a to do list, but a commitment to continuous listening, learning, and acting. We are committed to the journey of unlearning harmful biases and inequitable practices and building a more just and equitable future. We will not always get it right, but we are dedicated to admitting our mistakes and learning from them.

Finally, we want to be transparent about this work, not in search of recognition but in the pursuit of accountability. In that spirit, we have shared some concrete steps we have taken to do this work. You can see those, along with additional commitments we have made here.

Next week, on April 7th, we’re exploring the link between white supremacy, gun laws, and gun culture in our first summit of the year. White Supremacy & Guns: Exploring the history is a free event featuring Mary McCord, serving Legal Director at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. If you haven’t already, please RSVP here.

Sincerely,
Renée (she/her)

PS - We know we have so much more to do. Please email us at [email protected] to provide feedback, criticism, and ideas on our racial justice work.