The Moran Center profoundly condemns the violence of structural racism born out by the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, as well as the failure of our nation’s public and private systems to address the deadly racial disparities resulting in the disproportionate loss of Black lives. We recommit to confronting and dismantling racism within our institutions and ourselves. We recommit to seeking justice and achieving liberation for the youth of color and families that we serve. We recommit to putting our bodies upon the lethal gears of state-sponsored oppression. We recommit to having youth of color and their families guide our organizational decisionmaking, ensuring that our work is truly for, by, and with the community we serve. And, we reaffirm that Black Lives Matter. How we act, and not what we write or say, will ultimately demonstrate our commitments and affirmations.
From the Executive Director
Worse yet, I allowed myself to indulge in this ignoble comfort, shielded my noble work. Every day I advocate on behalf of Black and Brown youth and their families, preserving their liberties and rights in the courtroom, in the classroom, and in the community, but this work does not absolve me of the obligation to practice radical accompaniment and action-inspiring outrage. In fact, it should compel me to swifter action, swifter condemnation. I will give myself no breaks.
There must be no lines between my children and our children. For our community to thrive, we must live, act, and feel our interdependence. What does that mean? It means that I am committed – now more than ever – to fight for structural and communal transformation. As our nation witnesses yet another killing of a Black American by an agent of the State, it is the absolute obligation for those of us who have the privilege of choice to remain proximate to those who are suffering and to change not just narratives but unjust laws, public policies, and structures.
It is a privilege to carry hope. It is my privilege. It is also my responsibility to act – standing up, stepping back, working with, and not for. This is the responsibility of all of us lifted by unearned privilege, most especially my White brothers and sisters. And so, I recommit myself to the work of transformation and radical change on behalf of my friend, for whom today hope is an illusion, and for her children, who are my children, who are our children, to work harder on behalf of their lives.
Yours,
Patrick Keenan-Devlin
Executive Director.
