We Must Confront the Truth and Take Action Today

June 4, 2020 (New York, NY) – We stand in solidarity with all who say “Enough!” as a declaration that racial inequity and brutality can be tolerated no longer.

We call, first, for accountability. A commitment to change must start with holding those committing heinous acts accountable under the law. Then we must go further, by acknowledging our own responsibility through complicity with systems that denigrate, maim and kill.

Accountability without reform, however, cannot heal us. It is high time that we disassemble the multiple systems that keep Black people from achieving the social and economic equity that is their inherent human right.

We must confront the truth of the deep inequities in the nation that plague the justice system, the education system, healthcare, housing, and employment. There is no single strategy that can accomplish this comprehensive reform. Instead, we must commit to a strategy at the policy level that is informed and supported by what is experienced by people in our neighborhoods, on our streets, in our schools, and in our workplaces.

We must transform our cries of “Enough!” into the most powerful juggernaut of change our country has ever seen. And we must start today.

ABOUT FPWA:

FPWA is an anti-poverty policy and advocacy organization committed to advancing economic opportunity and upward mobility for low-income New Yorkers. Having a prominent New York presence for nearly 100 years, FPWA has long served New York City’s social service sector, providing grants to help individuals and families meet their basic needs, and advocating for fair public policies on behalf of people in need and the agencies that serve them. FPWA’s member network of 170 human-service and faith-based organizations reach more than 1.5 million people in New York’s communities each year. Join us at fpwa.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.