The staff and board of League of Education Voters grieve the lives lost in the Black community. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Tony McDade. David McAtee. And too many others in our country’s recent and distant past. We stand in solidarity with our students, families, teachers, friends and neighbors against the continued injustices they face. We hear and echo the call for justice. We will not be silent, as it carries a brutality of its own.
League of Education Voters believes that education is a tool for justice. The project of dismantling the systems that perpetrate the violence and oppression experienced by communities of color begins in schools. We believe every child deserves an excellent public education that provides an equal opportunity for success. In order to achieve this, we must pursue radical change in our school systems for equity, justice, and liberation. We must build schools and systems that honor the humanity in every student.
To create the permanent change our students deserve, we at LEV know that we have much to learn and work to do as an organization and as individuals. We commit to:
Starting with the self — We will work to uncover and dismantle the racism within ourselves and the racist structures and practices within our own organization.
Listening and amplifying — The voices of the Black community and people of color are the center of this movement, and we must listen, learn and amplify their messages in our own circles.
Supporting — We will actively seek opportunities to support the work of organizations led by and serving communities of color, contributing our capacity and resources to support their work in dismantling unjust systems.
Being Accountable — We also call upon our networks to hold us accountable. We know we will take missteps and are grounded in our dedication to doing better for the students of Washington.
The urgency of this work requires us to seek solutions that challenge the status quo. We must ensure that no more names are added to the list of lives claimed by police brutality and systemic racism. And we must fight for a world in which true educational and economic equity exists.
The Board and Staff of League of Education Voters