Letter of Solidarity
An Open Letter to all Employees, Volunteers, and Board Members of The Arc of Loudoun:
I am honored to lend my full-throated support to the statement released by Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc of the US, calling for swift and substantial action in our society and from our nation’s leaders to dismantle racism, end discrimination, and to honor, protect, and enforce the civil and human rights of all people.
The ongoing violence and police brutality against Black and Brown people in our country is unacceptable. We stand in solidarity with every person and community that is appalled by the homicides of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others before them. We stand in solidarity too with those who are taking action against the systemic racism that underlies this behavior. Racist attitudes and behavior should have no place in America.
Tragically, the historical and everyday reality is that the lives and humanity of people of color, and members of other marginalized communities, are too often not valued and respected. The Arc of Loudoun, in conjunction with The Arc of the US, renews its commitment to social justice and the dismantling of the systems of oppression and discrimination that further this violence and neglect.
We must all step up and speak out, including our nation’s leaders, to uphold the rights of communities of color to be free from over-policing, police brutality, misconduct, harassment, and racism.
To be silent is to be complicit. I am enormously proud that The Arc of Loudoun is neither.
I am confident that you will join me in reflecting and reaffirming our collective commitment to policies that work against racism and racial bias and promote efforts that offer empathy, compassion, and healing to our Black community and to all communities of color.
Together, we will bring about the change we wish to see.
Lisa E. Kimball
Chief Executive Officer, The Arc of Loudoun
Click here for a PDF version of the letter.