We stand in solidarity with the Black community and with all of those who are seeking justice in the name of George Floyd, and so many others. Our hearts and thoughts are with all those in pain right now. USGBC-LA remains committed to creating a more sustainable society, with the knowledge that it is simply not possible without racial equity.
We don’t have all the answers, but we do know we need to do better. Sustainability should be synonymous with equity. We need to stand up for more than environmental justice, but also for social justice, for racial justice, for individual justice so that every person knows that they matter, are heard and acknowledged; and that we won’t stop until it is actually true. We can’t move forward in the work we do unless this is part of every conversation.
We’ve been working to figure out how we can protect the planet from ourselves, but so much of what has been happening this year has shown us that what we really need to be protecting ourselves from is actually, ourselves. That means we need to acknowledge we each have a role to play before we can see the change we need in this world.
There will be no going back to what was before, so let’s use this moment, a powerful one amidst a global pandemic of shared experience, to create and imagine what could be. Let’s commit to asking the hard questions. How can our movement be truly more equitable? How can our team implement anti-racism policies in our organization, our events, our committees, ourselves, and our community? It has always been there and for far too long sustainability has been too white, too well off, and too insular. We have no hope against climate change if that hope is only available to those with time, money, and opportunity.
We will ask these questions, we will look at ourselves, and we will listen harder than we ever have before. We will work to be better. We have so much work to do.
How You Can Support
Donate:
Learn:
- Anti-Racism Resources compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker & Alyssa Klein
- 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship from Mirielle Harper
- How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
- Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
How to Support Within Our Industry:
- The National Society of Black Engineers
- The National Organization of Minority Architects
- The American Association of Blacks in Energy