Dear Friends of the Episcopal Impact Fund,
"Our nation’s heart breaks right now because we have strayed far from the path of love. Because love does not look like one man’s knee on another man’s neck, crushing the God-given life out of him. This is callous disregard for the life of another human being, shown in the willingness to snuff it out brutally as the unarmed victim pleads for mercy."
— The Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Washington Post Editorial
The unbearable brutality of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, Paul Castaway, Melissa Ventura, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and countless others compel us to stand with our brothers and sisters and speak out.
Our righteous rage begins with the overt act of murder and it extends to every dimension of systemic racism. The organizations that Episcopal Impact Fund supports fight against a quieter violence that intergenerational poverty begets. Structural racism keeps poor people poor, while blaming them for their poverty. Unless and until we not only name, but redress racialized economic inequality, we cannot claim to be a just society.
We echo Fred Blackwell’s call to action for donors and philanthropy. As an African American leader and CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, Blackwell lays our charge in recent public comments.
"I call on our donors and on all of philanthropy to meet this moment of need, crisis, and transformation. We must use our dollars and our voices to create a Bay Area and a nation where everyone thrives, no matter the color of their skin. Philanthropists must become advocates and use our privilege, power, and connections to enact fair policies that advance needed structural changes and dismantle generations of discrimination and racism. We cannot let only those with nothing to lose raise their voices; we must speak with them to demand change."
We hope that you too will use your power, privilege and connections to, in the words of Most Rev. Curry, relentlessly seek “love, justice, compassion and human decency.”
Sincerely,
Kathleen Piraino
Executive Director
Episcopal Impact Fund
Jennifer Brooks
President
Episcopal Impact Fund Board of Directors