Dear John,

Because of the nature of my job, I am frequently asking people to join the movement for racial justice by taking action, to take steps to dismantle systemic racism. There are lots of different ways to take action, whether it be within the organization in which you work, organizing with others on policy changes, or joining an Honest Education, Action and Leadership campaign. Taking action is so important, and financial contributions often follow because of the ways in which doing the work helps us to visualize the racially equitable world that is possible.

I firmly believe that we have the ability to move the needle on eliminating racial inequities in our lifetimes. We know from the study of history that change isn’t linear and progress isn’t consistent. We can move in leaps and bounds when the conditions are right and when we are prepared. I believe we are at one of those critical moments in time where we have a great opportunity to make significant progress.

For me, progress is when we see material changes in people’s lives; things like closing the racial wealth gap, removing barriers to equitable environmental justice, access to housing, honest and accurate public education, and increasing life expectancy. These are things that are totally within reach, if we hold them as priorities and act accordingly.

From a policy perspective, we know we can’t solve racial inequities in jobs if we aren’t talking about racial inequities in education, we can’t solve for racial inequities in health if we aren’t talking about racial inequities in neighborhood development, and so on. And from an identity perspective, we also need to take an intersectional approach. While Race Forward leads with addressing racism - we know that sexism, homophobia, ableism, and other areas of marginalization are all intertwined. We need to build bigger tents so we see all the ways in which issues and identities are deeply connected. 

Your partnership, passion, and generosity are so important, John. Together, we are making an impact, and leading toward a future where racial equity is grounded in the mission of wholeness and humanization for all people.

In Solidarity,

Julie Nelson

Senior Vice President of Programs

PS - Take action right now by tagging us on your socials with what you hope to see racial justice achieve #inmylifetime and give a gift before December 31!