We at Freedom Institute stand in condemnation of acts of racial violence and oppression, police brutality, and systemic racism and inequality in our society recently made clear by the tragic murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and so many others.

Now is a time for us to listen, to turn the lens of reform on ourselves, and to elevate the voices of people of color.

We stand against racism.
We stand with our Black community.
We stand with those working towards justice and accountability.
We stand in support of meaningful change.

In the treatment and recovery work we do at Freedom Institute, we strongly believe that action speaks louder than words. Therefore, Freedom Institute is taking action and we recommend action. 

In a first step towards doing our part, Freedom Institute is donating $1 for every clinical service provided in the months of June and July to Campaign Zero (joincampaignzero.org), which uses evidence-based research and data to identify effective solutions to end police violence nationwide.

Secondly, we express our commitment to doing the ongoing work that needs to be done by amplifying the words of the Black writer and poet Scott Woods: 

“The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.” 

Freedom Institute is offering all staff one day of paid time off to engage in an action of their choice to address systemic racism and police brutality. Below are lists of possible action steps and resources we can all utilize to support the current movement for change and help bring our society closer to the fundamental ideals of liberty and equality.

Action steps:

• Listen for the voices of people of color, instead of white voices claiming to speak on their behalf

• Educate ourselves (and don’t rely on our friends/colleagues of color to do it for us)

• Examine the education we received about colonization, slavery, white supremacy, civil rights, etc. and seek out more comprehensive perspectives

• Talk to our family and friends about racism

• Focus on diversifying our employees, our social groups, and our arts and entertainment

• Challenge racist jokes, even when people of color are not present

• Buy from Black-owned businesses

• Follow, donate to and support Black-led organizations

• Sign petitions, attend protests, write our government representatives

• Subscribe to ColorLines Magazine by Race Forward, or similar publications

• Donate to organizations that do anti-racist work

• For helpful ways to volunteer and/or donate check out: blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate

Resources:

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz

• The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee

• An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

• I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

• Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

We hope you will join us on our journey of action and self-education.