Statement
The 2020 racial justice movement in the U. S. and beyond has centered our attention on the pain and injustice Black individuals, families, and communities have endured for generations. The murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Amhaud Arbery illuminated the structural racism and injustice that, for too long, has been discounted and denied. We are stepping up and taking action both in our lives personally and in our organization to end racism.
Our work at 21/64 helps families and to catalyze strategic decisions across the generations. We believe lasting change begins with self-awareness, understanding where we have come from and how our world view and blind spots were shaped. Many of us at 21/64 have benefited from access to healthcare and education, intergenerational wealth, influential networks, and socioeconomic structures born out of the system that we are trying to make more just and more equitable.
And we are clear that the values of integrity, innovation and relationships that have always motivated us at 21/64, will continue to drive the actions we need to take. It is the responsibility of 21/64 to learn with humility. We will do more than learning and reflection. We want to be a part of the change process for a more just world. We commit to:
- Uphold justice as a fundamental human right in all that we do.
- Center the experience of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) by lifting up and amplifying the voices words and wisdom of BIPOC communities in our webinars and other public platforms in ways that are authentic and respectful, not extractive.
- Combat structural racism in our research by seeking a more diverse set of data in our research and tool development.
- Adopt practices and update policies for hiring, vendor selection and board nomination that incorporate the Rooney Rule.
We will share the steps we are taking as people and as organizations at 21/64 to embed anti-racism into our learning, training, tools, governance, policies, and practices. We will be reflective and push each other in our work to uphold our commitments. We will hold 21/64 as an organization and each other accountable. And we invite our clients, donors, networks, fellow organizational partners and community members to hold us accountable as well.