Our community, our city, and our country are in pain because of the brutal and senseless killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by the men who took an oath to protect and serve. That pain includes the wounds left from the deaths of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Tony McDade in Tallahassee, Ahmaud Arbery in South Georgia, Nina Pop in Sikeston, Dreasjon Reed in Indianapolis, and countless others. This moment is the result of compounded grief.
As a Board, we believe Black Lives Matter.
These tragic events remind us yet again that we still have much to do to achieve equity for every public charter school student in Washington, DC – not just in education, but in their day to day lives. We acknowledge the structural and societal problems that continue to persist. We must disrupt white supremacy everywhere it exists because it impacts the students schools serve and the communities they live -- through inequitable housing policies, criminal justice systems, health disparities, policing, income imbalance, and much more. We must create a more just environment and equitable policies.
As a Board, we are committed to having an ongoing dialogue and examining our practices through an equity and anti-racist lens for DC students, their families, our schools, our communities, and our city. We will continue our journey by better understanding the impact that institutional and systemic racism has on our community, the Washington, DC public education sector. We want to be accountable to these commitments.
To all our Black, LatinX, and other students and families of color -- as well as school leaders, principals, teachers, and staff: You matter. We see you, and we stand in solidarity with you.
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