Dear Positive Voices Community,
Our hearts are heavy with grief at the systemic and structural racism and injustice in our world. As a community, we are deeply disturbed by the horrific murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others. Black Lives Matter. We stand with the Black community, today and every day.
At Positive Voices, we believe we all have a voice and a part to play in bringing about justice where there is injustice. We hope to use our platform to promote positive change in a real way.
Amidst all the sorrow, anger, and pain, we understand that negative emotions serve a purpose — research indicates that they serve to draw our focus and tell us to pay attention. When we lean into our feelings of sadness and frustration, we can be moved to act as agents of change.
There is hope when we work together. As an organization, and as people who deeply care about others, especially those who have been marginalized, we encourage all of us to take action. Listen and educate ourselves, continue to have uncomfortable conversations, sign petitions, make calls, and donate what we can to efforts that work toward social justice and equity. We must speak out against racism, prejudice, and injustice when we see it and lead with love. Love is action.
For action steps to learn about the psychology of racism and bias, we recommend the book, Biased, by leading Stanford researcher Dr. Jennifer Eberhart.
We know that we can all be a positive voice and agent of change during this time. If you are looking for ways to help, check this out as a starting point.
We see you, we hear you, and we are listening.
With love, open minds, and actionable hope,
The Team at Positive Voices
