In Solidarity

Updated as of March 2021 – With the start of the trial of Derek Chauvin this week, we renew our calls for accountability and justice for the Black community. We are saddened that the horrific events that inspired this original post continue on—and do not happen in isolation.

STS unequivocally states our support for the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community, which also faces racist and xenophobic assumptions and attacks. The mass murder of AAPI community members in Atlanta earlier this month is a horrific continuation of racist behavior in the United States. It is all too common, and it must not be tolerated.

We must be conscious of how our own actions and language have contributed to this oppression and violence—just as we continue to listen, learn, and fight against the systemic racism and inequality in our society.

We have all witnessed the horrific events of the past several weeks. The wave of protests happening around the U.S. and all over the world is a culmination of centuries of systemic oppression against the Black community. And the wrongful deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and many others were catalysts.

STS is pledged to promoting the rights of children—including their right to education, health, and support from their communities. The events of the past few weeks have reminded us that foundational to all of these is the right to safety. This right is being denied to Black people in the United States.

STS stands with the Black community and condemns the racist systems that have denied Black Americans basic rights. Black Lives Matter.

Since our country’s founding, systemic racism against Black Americans, Black children, and Black communities has culminated in a moment we will not forget—nor should we. We believe it also culminates in an era of change. And we believe dramatic change in our institutions, systems, and policies is possible. This belief is embedded in the very core of STS’s mission and our personal values.

STS commits to continuing to work for change. This includes reviewing our hiring policies to ensure we are using explicitly anti-racist approaches, creating opportunities for our staff to reflect on how our work can promote the dismantling of racism, and to keep listening, learning, and acting. To that end, we offer a list of resources we have found instructive and inspiring. We encourage you to consult them and suggest others so that together we can work toward our common goal: the dismantling of the horror of institutional racism.

Articles

• For Our White Friends Desiring to Be Allies
• Welcome To The Anti-Racism Movement — Here’s What You’ve Missed
• The Aid Sector Must do More to Tackle its White Supremacy Problem
• How to Respond to Coronavirus Racism

Podcasts

• Seeing White
• Our National Conversation About Conversations About Race
• Intersectionality Matters! African American Policy Forum
• The Overlooked Reality of Police Violence Against Disabled Black Americans

Toolkits

• A Guide to Allyship from Black Lives Matter
• Stop AAPI Hate
• Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit

Sincerely,
Mark & Candace