June 5, 2020
As a place-based philanthropic organization, our commitment is to help north Flint residents create and sustain opportunities to thrive. We recognize that a person cannot thrive if they do not feel safe and if they cannot live free from the pain and suffering of racism and injustice. To that end, we will not be silent as people and systems in our society continue to place a hierarchy on human value, needlessly resulting in the loss of human life. We condemn police brutality, systemic racism, and white supremacy and stand in solidarity with those mourning the senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others throughout history. As a diverse organization, these incidents have left us outraged, heartbroken, and shaken.
We all have a role to play in making our communities and our world a better, fair, more just place. At the Ruth Mott Foundation, we strive every day to conduct our work through a lens of racial equity. These deaths and the undeniable patterns, statistics, and realities of what it means to be Black in America and in Flint reinforce why we are committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
It is up to all of us to take actions individually and collectively to advance racial justice. We vow to examine our efforts to bring about such change as we learn from and work together with our community. Our commitment to equity is a commitment we have made and will continue to make every day.
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**For those looking for information or resources, the National Museum of African American History & Culture has put together a thorough examination of what it means to be antiracist in its recently released online portal, “Talking About Race.”