The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd are the most recent occurrences in an endless cycle of disenfranchisement, dehumanization, trauma, and violence committed against Black men, women and children since the arrival of the first slave ships in Virginia over 400 years ago. It is our country’s long and exhausting history of racism that has led to the anger and pain on display in cities across the country, including our own. At the Fund for Educational Excellence, we feel this anger and pain too.
Achieving our mission of an excellent and equitable education for every child cannot be accomplished without first acknowledging the systems that created the inequities to begin with:
- Systems deeply rooted in white supremacy.
- Systems that disproportionately and unjustly target Black individuals and communities of color.
- Systems that our students of color are forced to navigate, knowing it was not built with them in mind.
Education is critical—but it is one piece of a complicated ecosystem our students and families interact with every day. As we continue our work, we stand in solidarity with our friends and partners across sectors who are tackling the structural racism that led to this pivotal moment. We are committed to working with others and doing the work within our own organization to serve as disrupters and dismantlers. This work is hard. It is not comfortable. But it is required.
We will continue to push, to grapple, to learn, to listen, to question and to persist.
We hope you continue to join us in this process —act with us, learn with us, and challenge us to do better.
Black Lives Matter
The Staff of the Fund for Educational Excellence