WJC stands with the Black community and communities of color as we call on America to confront and repair the impact of systemic racism.
As a nation, we have avoided confronting that legacy for more than 400 hundred years, passing on opportunities for resolution and reconstruction in nearly every generation.
The path of resolution is not an easy one. It demands that we open our hearts to the pain and suffering of our fellow human beings. It challenges us to see rage as an expression of long suppressed trauma and grief. It requires us to own our actions and inactions, individually and collectively. If we have the courage to embrace it, this practice of empathy and ownership can be a source of healing and growth for our nation.
WJC pledges to do our part.
We are committed to shifting the dynamics in our schools from punitive to restorative -- a shift that will benefit and support students of color. We plan on providing more than 1,000 students, educators, and volunteers with the conflict resolution skills they need to transform school culture and climate for more than 15,000 youth in our region.
We embark on this journey with great respect and humility, knowing that we are but one part in a larger movement to empower the next generation to succeed as agents of change in our communities.
We hope you will join us. We will be in touch with you in the coming weeks with opportunities to gather for reflection and conversation, to learn, and to act.
Until then, we offer these resources for nourishment and self-reflection:
Listen to Songs Giving Us (Much Needed) Life from Code Switch
Watch Jailbeddrop at SoLA Contemporary Art Space
Read Act Up activist Larry Kramer on non-violent protest
Learn How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
In solidarity,
Elissa D. Barrett, Esq.
Executive Director