FLAGSTAFF, AZ — We stand in support of and in solidarity with Black communities, today and every day. As George Floyd’s, Breonna Taylor’s, Dion Johnson’s, and Ahmaud Arbery’s names have been added to a growing list of people killed because of the color of their skin, we know change isn’t optional, it is necessary.
Across the United States we are seeing expressions of collective pain — reactions to broken systems in this country that continue to privilege white people and disproportionately disadvantage and endanger Black and Indigenous people, and people of color. Indifference to this pain and systemic racism allow injustice to continue, generation after generation. This is not acceptable, and never should have been. Systemic injustice and racial injustice go hand in hand, and we must consciously work together to change the broken systems in this country that perpetuate disparate rights to health, life, food, and clean water. Across the Colorado Plateau, these broken systems jeopardize the rights of Native peoples who belong to these lands as well as communities of color more broadly.
At the Grand Canyon Trust, we know we have work to do. The conservation field and the Colorado Plateau have their own histories of racial injustice and exclusion. As a largely white organization, we have a responsibility to listen, examine our roles as members of a diverse Colorado Plateau, and exemplify our commitment to environmental and social justice. We will listen to communities of color, and continue to uplift their voices. We will strengthen our commitment to cultivating justice, equity, and inclusion across the Colorado Plateau and beyond.
To learn more and raise your voice, we recommend the following organizations, among many others leading in this field:
The NAACP • Showing Up For Racial Justice • The Obama Foundation • Race Forward • Black Visions Collective